The Warwick Valley boys indoor track and field team won the Section 9 Class A championship on January 31 at West Point, marking their first title since 2017. Kingston High's girls team tied for fifth place, highlighted by Hazel Lewis's victory in the 1,500-meter run. Monroe-Woodbury took the girls' team title with 111.5 points.
The Section 9 Class A Indoor Track and Field Championships took place on Saturday, January 31, at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. The Warwick Valley boys team dominated the event, securing the title with 85 points, ahead of Newburgh Free Academy's 74 points. This victory ended a drought for the Wildcats, who had finished ninth the previous year.
Luke Beattie led Warwick's effort, winning the 55-meter dash in 6.45 seconds and the pole vault at 17 feet, 4 inches. Leo Shostal claimed first in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 9:40.33 and placed fourth in the 1,600-meter run at 4:36.59. Isaiah Gonzalez won the long jump with a mark of 22 feet, 3 3/4 inches. Quenten Liciaga took second in the high jump at 6 feet, 4 inches, while Klaus Lindenau was second in the pole vault at 13 feet.
On the girls' side, Monroe-Woodbury won the team championship with 111.5 points. Kingston High tied for fifth with 39 points, driven by standout performances from Hazel Lewis. Lewis became the Class A champion in the 1,500-meter run, finishing in 4 minutes, 55 seconds, and placed second in the 1,000-meter run at 3:02.84. She credited her weight training for the improvements: "Lifting has helped me run better in both races. I was glad I was able to come back and win (the 1,500) after finishing second for the 1,000."
Teammate Maeve Paul earned third in the 1,000-meter run with 3:08.87, her first race in two weeks. "I feel like I was more nervous because I was out of the routine of running," Paul said. The Kingston girls' 4x800 relay, with Lewis, Paul, Charlotte McFarland, and Makenna Reuben, finished fourth in 10:09.82. McFarland placed fourth in both the 1,500 (5:00.84) and 3,000 (10:39.52), despite not feeling fully recovered. "I went into it confident and trusting all the work I’ve already done," she said.
Kai’Lynn Hagen scored points for Kingston with personal bests: fifth in the 55-meter dash (7.47 seconds), sixth in the 300-meter run (43.43), and seventh in the long jump (15 feet, 4 1/4 inches). For the Kingston boys, Jackson Beesmer and Richard Sullivan set personal bests, placing fifth in the 3,200 (10:03.68) and shot put (42 feet, 5 3/4 inches), respectively. The team recorded 14 personal bests overall.
Kingston is set to compete next at the Purple Champions Invitational on February 7 in New York City.
