Track

Seidl sets national mark in steeplechase

Defending NYS state champion now U.S. premiere high school runner

By RICHARD A. ROSS

CORNWALL, NY — Just a year ago, Sullivan West’s Colin Seidl began to turn heads as he ran a 9:42 at the Cornwall Steeplefest, besting all of Section Nine’s runners. By the time the OCIAA championships rolled around a month later, Seidl was the number one seed in the section.

That OCIAA race at Warwick would turn out to be the low point in the runner’s spring, but the disappointing finish led to his resolve to turn it up to the max from that point forward.

The effort paid off last June, as Seidl won the state title with a personal best time of 9:33.62. It was Sullivan West’s first-ever gold medal at a state track meet.

Look out world, SW’s Golden Boy is entering a new zone.

On May 4, he set a national season’s best in the boys 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Cornwall Steeplefest. He won the race in 9:25.2, lowering the previous meet mark from 9:28 for a new Section Nine record.

With a new PR and a place in the national spotlight, Seidl is primed for his big push as he approaches the big races yet to come.

Ironically, Seidl was slated to run in the steeplechase at the Tri-Valley relays on May 2, but the team couldn’t get a bus to take them to the meet. That extra rest turned out to be key in Seidl’s burst at Cornwall, a place he has grown to dearly love running at.

For a series of photos of Seidl at various points in a steeplechase race, visit riverreportersports.com and look in the album on the Monticello Games.