Two Goshen Track and Field student-athletes, senior Dametrious “Lalo” Esannason and sophomore Laila Logan, earned medals and personal bests at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Track and Field Championships at Cicero-North Syracuse High School last Friday.
Day 1
Although thunderstorms and downpours caused the meet to be delayed by nearly four hours, the gladiators took the delays in stride.
Dametrious earned himself four medals and a state title, and started off strong with a speedy 10.80 performance in the 100-meter dash trials, the second fastest time of the day. Later, he ran in the 200-meter dash trials, finishing in 22.07 for the fastest time in the trials.
Meanwhile, sophomore Laila competed in the pentathlon, beginning with the 100-meter high hurdles. She was preparing to start in the next heat when the first bout of thunder clapped and the meet was delayed for 90 minutes. When the meet resumed, Laila competed in the pouring rain, running 18.47 to score 441 points. She also competed in shot put, throwing 16 feet, 11 inches. In Laila’s strongest event, the high jump, she cleared 5 feet, 1 inch for a new personal best.
Day 2
On Saturday, the competition resumed with four more races for Dametrious. He ranked sixth place in the Division I finals of the 100-meter dash, his first trip to the podium and medal. Then, he finished the Division I 200-meter dash finals in 21.88, earning a gold medal and state championship title.
The accomplished senior’s results qualified him to run in the New York State Federation finals which combine large schools, small schools, Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL), New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS), Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA), and Association of Independent Schools Athletic Association (AISAA schools).
In the Federation 100-meter, Dametrious placed fifth, running 10.90. In his sixth and final race of the meet, the fatigued runner placed sixth in the 200-meter to cap off an outstanding weekend.
Laila continued to compete as well on Saturday, jumping 15 feet in the long jump and finishing the 800-meter run in 2:26.84. With a total of 2,517 points, the talented Lady Gladiator placed 18th overall and 11th in Division I.
The meet concludes the interscholastic season for the Goshen track and field team, but two relays and two individuals will continue competing at New Balance Nationals under the Trotter’s Track Club. Be sure to keep an eye out for results.
by Kyle Lewis, Gus Lawson, Joseph Manaseri, & Shannon Bernhardt