GALLERY of Championship in Staten Island
Pictured are Coach DeGaetano, Flaitz, Delany, Bodin, and Coach Delany
Elaina Flaitz finished third in the Girls’ High Jump with a jump of 5-0 to advance to the NYSPHAA Track and Field Championship Meet at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex (Staten Island). Elaina finished just behind Camryn Cole of Webster Schroeder, the defending NYS Champion, and who is currently ranked #1 in NYS and #1 in the USA for the girls’ high jump. Flaitz qualified for the State Meet based on the NYS performance standard, having jumped 5-4 at the Jack Reed Invitational earlier in the season.
“Lainey just missed at 5-2; her shoulders and hips well over, but she just clipped the bar with her lower leg during the rotation over it. With her speed and jumping ability and a week to work on one or two technical aspects of her approach, another NYS medal is within reach. This is Elaina’s second trip to States. She medaled and placed 6th in the 400m Hurdles at the NYS Outdoor Championships last June.”
Flaitz also placed 12th in the 55m Hurdles with a career-best time of 9.55
Brennan DeLany advanced to the Boys’ 55m Hurdle finals placing 3rd, and missed qualifying for the NYS meet by the narrowest margin possible. Brennan’s time of 8.01 was .01 off the second-place finisher.
“Brennan had a great start out of the blocks and ran a technically perfect race. While some sports are a game of inches, in track the difference between a victory celebration and heartbreak is one-hundredth of a second-or ten times faster than the blink of an eye. The NYS qualifying time for the 55m Hurdles is 7.94, Brennan ran a 7.96 at Ocean Breeze earlier this season, just missing the performance standard by .02. But Brennan can hold his head high knowing he is bronze medal winner in Section V and one of the top hurdlers in New York State.”
DeLany also placed 7th in both the Triple Jump (42-6.25) and Pole Vault (12-0).
8th grader Elisa Bodin improved her 14th position seed by finishing 11th in the 3000m Run (11:54.47).
“As a championship distance event, the pace of the older runners at the start was a little faster than she is used to, but Elisa settled in and hit her splits, but those early laps took their toll late in the race. Overall it was a great experience and a successful first outing for Elisa, and she ran her second-best time of her young career.”
