On a chilly and overcast Friday afternoon, Marvin W. Goldberg Track played host to the PSAA Championships for the fifth time as the best athletes from across the league battled for top honors in 13 events and three relays. The 53-degree weather and light rain did nothing to dampen the competitive spirit as numerous athletes turned in impressive performances.

The boys’ and girls’ teams each finished runner-up to deep and talented Dalton teams, but the Bears left their mark with some outstanding individual performances.

Senior Tony Ying earned the meet’s Most Valuable Performer Award with a pair of victories in the 100 and 200. In the 100 preliminaries, he ran an 11.41 to take the top qualifying spot in the finals. Five events later, in the 100 final, he came out of his blocks like a rocket, and by the 50-meter mark, the race was effectively over as he surged to the victory in 11.34. In the 200, he dominated the field by nearly 1.5 seconds, taking the title in 23.08.

Duncan Kipkoech, who was named the PSAA regular season MVP after the meet, won a trio of individual titles, matching his haul from last year’s meet. The two-time PSAA Cross Country Champion began his day with a 4:31.46 victory in the 1600, narrowly missing the 4:31.0 meet record set in 2007. Making the time more impressive was the fact that the senior ran the entire race alone, winning by a 12-second margin. He returned to the track four events later in the 800. After he traded the lead several times with a Dalton runner, he pulled ahead for good going into the bell lap and won by nearly four seconds with a time of 2:06.21.

Kipkoech was golden again in his final individual event, putting the hammer down in the 3200 with a time of 9:58.26 that gave him a winning margin of 1:21. Despite the lack of competition and light rainfall, he ran his third sub-10 time of the season, the last Bear to accomplish that feat in at least the last two decades. He added a 4 x 400 relay gold for good measure, joining Jayson Amin, Daniel He, and Tony Ying for a 3:41.24 mark that bested Dalton by over 14 seconds.

Evelyn Apazidis earned gold in the 400 hurdles with a 1:10.42 mark. The senior surged out to a sizeable lead and held on down the stretch to repeat as the PSAA Champion. She also served as the leadoff leg for the 4 x 400 relay, combining with Sury Guadalupe-Pena, Mindy Yoder, and Quinn Davey to take first in 4:48.74. Friday marked the final meet on the home track for the senior whose memorable six-year running career not only included six PSAA track titles and a cross country crown, but was defined by leadership, sportsmanship, and drive that we hope to see in all of our student-athletes. After the meet, she was named the PSAA regular season MVP.

Maya Venkatesh won the discus crown as her 74-5 heave bested the runner-up by 11-feet, 5-inches. Freshman Janelle Mikisa was golden in the high jump with a leap of 4-8 that gave her a winning margin of two inches. The boys’ 4 x 100 relay team benefitted from a Dalton disqualification stemming from a handoff outside the allotted zone, giving William Zeron, Eddie Kim, Jason Qian, and Roberto Rappa the victory in 49.33.

The Bears will now look ahead to the NYSAIS Championships held at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island on May 22.

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