Gold Rush track: N. Rockland's Tuohy, Bronxville's Gravier break records, Korman ties one
WEST NYACK — Prior to the start of the girls 1,600-meter race at Saturday’s 40-school Gold Rush Invitational track and field meet at Clarkstown South High School, a PA announcement noted the meet record in the event was established in 2018 by Katelyn Tuohy.
Not long after that another announcement was made.
The boys 1,600-meter meet record had just been broken.
Its new owner?
Tuohy’s younger brother, Ryan, a North Rockland sophomore.
Ryan ran 4:21.94, knocking more than four seconds off his previous personal-best time at the distance.
And Tuohy wasn’t really pushed.
Monsignor Farrell’s Mike Maresca (PB 4:24.58) was second and Monroe-Woodbury’s Oliver Jibb (PB 4:26.25) was third.
Ryan's record put a Tuohy family stamp on three levents in the Gold Rush record book.
Katelyn’s and Ryan’s older brother, Patrick, , who was on hand, cheering Ryan, established the meet’s boys 800 record of 1:57.6 in 2016 and his time wasn't approached Saturday..
The youngest Tuohys reaction to his race was one of happiness and surprise.
“I ran faster than I expected,," he said.
Of the three siblings now being part of Gold Rush history, Ryan said, “It’s definitely awesome. I’m just carrying on."
“I remember seeing my siblings do it," added Tuohy, who also recalled the fun of rolling down the hill that overlooks the track during past Gold Rush Invitationals when he was years too young to compete but was at the track because Pat and Katelyn were running. .
Laughing, Tuohy looked at his classmate Claudel Chery, who won the boys 800 but didn’t challenge Pat Tuohy’s record, and said his goal is to run the 1,600 sub-4:20 to beat Chery’s best time to date.
Chery clocked 2:00.27 in the 800. Bronxville’s David Patterson (2:02.69) was second and North Rockland’s Devon Piccone (2:03.68) was third.
While Chery, who described himself as “more of a mile guy,” enjoyed a nice cushion in his win, he jokingly noted some teammates told him he’d run “slow.”
His immediate goal going forward, he indicated with a smile, is running fast enough to beat one of his buddy,Ryan's top times.
Spinal fracture to record book
A year ago, Suffern pole vaulter Todd Korman was wearing a back brace.
He did so for two months.
After completing the 2022-23 winter season, Korman was in preseason outdoor track training when it was determined the pain he was experiencing in his back was due to a spinal stress fracture.
The almost-certain cause was repeated motion of pole planting and pulling himself upward during vaults.
Korman wouldn’t pole vault again until last fall, when he began with easy workouts at The Barn, the well-known pole vault ttraining facility in Warwick.
"I was definitely worried. I went to The Barn. It was small steps but I kept progressing," Korman said.
During the past indoor winter season, a fully-healed Korman vaulted a personal-best 13-7.
Saturday he smashed that and his outdoor record of 13-6 with a 14-foot vault.
That vault tied the meet record established in 2018 by Clarkstown South's Tommy Qualter.
With nearly ever other event either winding down or done, Korman had the bar raised to 14-3, instead of 14-1. The higher height made it a long shot he'd increase his personal-best mark and take sole ownership of the record.
Korman, who missed on all three of his attempts at 14-3, noted he was happy with his 14-0 clear and also didn't want to further delay the girls pole vault competition, which proved to be the last event of the day.
But there should be plenty of opportunities for the junior, who'd like to vault in college, to go higher.
"I think even if I got injured again, I'd come back to pole vault," Korman said, citig, "the adrenaline, constantly improving and being that high in the air," as reasons he's drawn to the sport.
Gravier strikes gold 3X and sets one meet record
Entering the meet, Wyatt Gravier had run three 110-meter hurdles races and one 400-meter hurdles race this spring. He’d won gold in each.
So, perhaps it wasn’t a surprise when the Bronxville junior won the Gold Rush boys 200-meter hurdles, a non-traditoinal distance for hurdles that he’d only run once before – at Gold Rush in 2022.
Back then, Graveir was ninth and had clocked 30.28.
Saturday, he left that time and his oppoinents in the dust.
Gravier set a meet record in winning in 24.79 with Farrell’s Joe Castelano second (26.48) and Clarkstown South’s Vegas Petersen taking bronze (26.9).
Gravier replaced Calrkstown North's Josh Etkind (25.0 in 2015) as the meet's all-time leader in the event.
It was quite the meet for Gravier, who, running anchor, teamed with Javier Tomala-Reidel, Tommy Henningson and Davis Patterson to win the boys 4x100 relay in 44.58. North Rockland, with two teams entered, took both second (44.6) and third (44.86)
Gravier closed things by winning hisi third event (and, in turn, third event T-shirt) in the boys high jump.
There he cleared 6-2.
Marc Arroyo took second at 5-10 and Peekskill's Amir Thames was third, also at 5-10 but in more attempts.
Gravier said he was happiest about the relay win. He noted this team didn't have time to practice its handoffs before the gun started the race.
"It wasn't the outcome I expected," he said of the relay win.
Somers' Duzynski, John Jay-CR's Condon win popular steeplechase
A bunch of kids, who were assembled near what's arguably the most popular section of tracks constructed to hold full steeplechase, started a chant.
“Cannon ball. Cannon ball,” they yelled.
Multiple athletes unintentionally obliged, falling into the water jump pit during the steeplechase events before emerging looking, to one degree or another, like drowned rats before contintuing to run.
But both John Jay-Cross River's Andy Condon and Somers' Julia Duzynski stayed upright and in the lead throughout their races to claim easy wins.
Running in the 18-athlete, 3,000-meter boys steeple, Condon clocked 10:10.35 with Somers' Christian Brooks (PB 10:52.34) second and Westlake's Tyler Masiello (PB 10:59.7) third.
In the girls 16-athlete 2,000-meter steeple, Somers' Julia Duzynski ran a 7:17.35 PB. Teammate Jessica Masterson (7:42.3) was second and Nanuet's Katie Schmid (7:50.09) was third.
The sophomore Duzynski, whose best steeple time last year was 7:57, credited her improvement to increased training.
"Last year was not too great. I didn't put as much effort in. But this (past) summer I went for it and ran a lot," she said.
"I think it's a lot a mental game," she said of steeple, alluding to athletes being thrown off by the water.
Amazingly, while teammate Julia Aquilino went for an unplanned dip, yet managed to get up and finish in fifth for a medal, Duzynski didn't have any trouble with the water, despite Somers' track not having any.
She noted her time Saturday qualified her for outdoor nationals. She also hopes to qualify for and competein the event at states.
Pearl River's Claire O'Sullivan is hoping her team wins league and sectional titles this spring. But Saturday her focus was on her own 800 race and that focus paid off.
In a season-best 2:17.68, O'Sullivan won the girls 800.
North Rockland's Kaelyn Prince (2:21.82) and Somers' Chelsea Lewitt (2:22.21) finished second and third, respectively.
O'Sullivan hopes to get under 2:15 (her personal-best is 2:15.9) and qualify for the state championships.
Other top-3 finishers
Clarkstown South junior Maggie Hansen was a double winner in throws.
Hansen took the girls shot put at (33-11.75. The second best throw was by White Plains' Isabella McGuire at 32-2.75 amd Spring Valleuy's Ayanie Thomas had the third best at 31-10.5.
Hansen won the girls discus at 109-2.5. Pearl River's Julia Vitiello was second ( 106-7) and Nanuet's Gabriella Vizcarrondo's 105-9 throw was the third farthest for girls.
Clarkstown North's Marissa Gordon clocked 29.31 in winning the girls 200-meter hurdles.
Suffern's Karen Augustin ran 29.71 for second and Nanuet's Sam Dow won bronze in 30.08.
The top boys shot put throw of the day belonged to Monroe-Woodbury's Jared Durand at 45-10. Clarkstown South's Connor Sullivan took second in the boys shot at 45-0.5 and Suffern's Christian Morales (44-9) was third.
In boys discus,, the throw of the day was Enzo Rappacciuolo's 134-11 for Farrell. Briarcliff's Ethan Weiss went 129-10 for the second and Pearl River's Liam Reilly hit 125-0 for the third beast discus throw.
Ainara Schube Barriola of Rye Neck, a junior who has already competed in the cross-country and winter and spring state championships, won the girls 1,600 in 5:15.12.
Albertus Magnu's Danielle List was second (5:27.13) and North Rockland's Sophonie Michel (5:26.6) was third.
The girls pole vault went to Bergen County's Isabella Formoso at 11-0. Suffern's Anna Riskin took silver at 9-0 and Pearl River's Kate Dowling won bronze at 8-0 .
At 18-1, DeWitt Clinton's Shania Young captured the girls long jump.
Spring Valley's Destiny Lawrence (17-3.25) was second and King's Anya Anderson (17-1.5) was third.
Young also won the girls triple jump at 37-4. Suffern took second and third with Karen Augustin going 35-1 and Lau;a Darois 33-3.25.
Albertus Magnus took home two golds in the horizontal jumps.
Xavier Reyes went a personal-best and current NY high school-season No. 2 23-4.75 for the boys long jump win.
Ty Lawless of Monsignor Farrell was second (PB 22-9) and North Rockland's Shamell Roberts (PB 21-4) was third.
Magnus senior Theo Lodge recorded a personal-best and state high school current-season No. 4 44-8.5 to win the boys triple jump.
Lawless waas second (43-8) and Monroe-Woodbury's Ethan Gutierrez (42-10.5) was third.
Somers junior Haylie Donovan ran 25.77 for the girls 200 win.
King's Anya Anderson (25.92) was second and Chrystelle Fignole of Pearl River (26.24) was third.
North Rockand's Desirae Hernandez cleared a season-best 5-0 to win the girls hihg jump.
Teammate Hope Italiano (4-10) was second and Pearl River's Alyssa Croke (4-8) was third.
More relays
Clarkstown South (Ramsey Heredia, Chris Ouesph, Kevin Vidal Santamaria and Daniel Burkholder) ran 3:33.07 to win the boys 4x400 relay.
Ardsley (3:35.4) was second and Monsignor Farrell (3:36.41) was third.
DeWitt Clinton (50.02) won the girls 4x100 relay with Spring Valley (51.16) second and Nanuet (51.47) third.
DeWitt Clinton (4:16.03) also took the girls 4x400.
Clarkstown South (4:31.59) was second and North Rockland (4:33.58) was third.
Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Gold Rush track: Tuohy, Gravier break meet records, Korman ties another
