Anthony soars to glory

Eldred long and triple jumper garners four gold medals in NYSPHAA Division II and Federation Meet combined

By RICHARD A ROSS

CANTON, NY - When it comes to making a statement, Eldred’s Kyle Anthony believes that actions speak louder than words. A soft-spoken, mild-mannered scholar athlete, Anthony is far more comfortable in the long and triple jump pits than on the podium.

This past weekend, Anthony made his statement and the echoes of it reached his hometown of Eldred numerous miles away and are apt to resound for years. Anthony realized his dream of becoming a state champion. Not once, but four times.

As Section 9’s leader in the long jump with a mark of 22-10½ and a triple jump of 47-8½ at the state qualifying meet at Warwick on June 4, Anthony headed into the state meet as the number-one seed in Division II schools that have fewer than 600 students from grades 9 to 11.

Sitting next to him at this past week’s Academic Achievement Dinner hosted by the Sullivan County school districts, this reporter engaged the humble star in a conversation about the upcoming state championships. Anthony was at the dinner by virtue of his status as Eldred’s 2006 valedictorian, another accomplishment about which this young man’s comments are notably understated.

Anthony wasn’t that pleased with his state qualifying jumps. He had already recorded a mark of 23-2 at a dual meet at Sullivan West and had jumped 49-6½ at the indoor state championships this past winter.

“I did okay, I guess,” Anthony said in regard to the state qualifying jumps. “I hope to do better this weekend,” he said almost apologetically.

Hope?

This reporter emphatically assured Anthony that he had his best jumps still in him and that he would unveil them for all to see on the biggest of stages.

That prediction proved to be partly true. He bested all comers in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHAA) competition held at St. Lawrence University with a mark of 22-10 in the long jump.

In the triple jump, Anthony recorded a leap of 48-1½ to take the Division II NYSPHAA title.

With two gold medals in hand, Anthony was far from satisfied. He had set his eyes on the next day’s Federation Meet, a grueling competition that pitted NYSPHAA’s champions against the best of New York City’s Public School Athletic League (PSAL), along with the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) and the Association of Independent Schools (AISAA).

Fresh in his mind was his defeat in the triple jump to Gary Jones of Webster-Schroeder, who jumped 50 feet to garner the title. Anthony braced for a rematch with a jumper whose accomplishments the muted Eldred senior described as “phenomenal.”

In the warm-ups for the championships, Jones pulled up lame with a hamstring injury after winning the Division I title the day before with a leap of 49-6. Given the cold conditions, the possibility of pulled muscles was on everyone’s mind. Jones competed in the triple jump but his condition prevented him from beating Anthony. The stalwart Eldred senior recorded a leap of 47-2 on his second attempt. It was clear that he was going to win, having bested Maalik Oliver of Rosalyn by nearly a foot. On his last attempt, Anthony fouled. It was a jump that his coach Frank Schorling noted was far and away his best jump.

Anthony also won the Federation title in the long jump, a much closer match up in which he bested Connor Bonner of LaGuardia by a mere half inch. Anthony jumped 22-10.

Exhausted and drained, Anthony slept for most of the long trip home.

Anthony is Eldred’s first-ever track state champion. His total of four gold medals represented one-third of the 12 brought home by Section 9 athletes this past weekend, the third most since 1996. In 2003, the section garnered 21 wins.

Other Section 9 winners this year included Warwick Aislinn Ryan, who won the NYSPHAA and Federation titles in the 3000. She narrowly missed beating the existing NYSPHAA record held by 1992 Tri-Valley grad Kate Landau. Ryan ran her best ever 9:38.21. Landau’s mark stands at 9:35.7. Washingtonville’s Stacy Duffy was the state’s top pole-vaulter with a leap of 11-0. Warwick’s Jesse Fuca took the state title in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.47. Completing the list of Section 9 winners was Marlboro’s Kristen Burpoe with a winning high jump of 5-3. She is Marlboro’s first female state champion in track.

To add to Eldred’s glory, it was the top Division II team at the state meet with a total of 20 points. Max Gunther finished 11th in the Division II 800 with a time of 2:02.35.

This coming weekend, Anthony will be attending the national high school championships held at North Carolina A&T University.

Ackermann takes second in discus; Messenger takes 5th in 110 hurdles

Sullivan West’s Alan Ackermann took second place in the Division II discus with a throw of 155-6. He finished behind Blake Eaton of Allegheny-Lime, who threw 185-01.

Tri-Valley’s Sean Messenger took fifth in the Division II 110 hurdles with a time of 15.75, far off the pace of his 14.8 state qualifying time. Teammate Max Fiedler was disqualified in the 400 hurdles. Tri-Valley’s Kanacia James took ninth place in the discus with a throw of 95-10. Jacquie Holmber of Falconer won the event with a lengthy toss of 134-04.

Fallsburg’s Matt Moore placed 6th in the Division II shot put with a throw of 47-06 1/2 ft.