WINTER TRACK
At the U.S. Army Officials Hall of Fame Invitational at The Armory in New York City Jan. 21, sophomore Jake Thomas of Haldane broke the school record for the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.0 seconds, beating the previous record of 7.06 seconds set by Corbett Francis in 2016. Thomas finished 18th in a field of 108 runners.
Other top finishers were sophomore Milo Pearsall, who finished 10th of 151 runners in a 55-meter dash in 7.22 seconds; ninth grader Samantha Thomas, who was fourth of 97 runners in a 55-meter event in 8.09 seconds; and ninth grader Anna Nelson, who finished 11th in the same race in 8.31.
Haldane returns to The Armory today (Jan. 27) for the Section I Northern/Rockland County championships.
Beacon was at the Section IX divisionals at West Point on Jan. 21, where the Bulldogs had two triple-winners on the boys’ side: junior Henry Reinke won the 1,000 meters and 300 meters, and junior Damani Deloatch took top honors in the long jump and triple jump. Both were also part of the winning 4×400 relay team with Andre Alzate and Jonah Mensch.
In other events, junior Rachel Thorne finished third in the 1,500 meters in 5:53.75; junior Rubio Castagna-Torres was fourth in the high jump at 5-0; and senior Tommy Rapp was fifth in the shotput at 32-03.5 and fifth in the long jump at 14-06.25.
“We don’t have much depth on either the boys’ or girls’ team this season, so it was gratifying to see the boys finish ahead of Port Jervis and Monticello,” said Coach Jim Henry. “I knew Henry and Damani would capture the bulk of our points, and there were a couple of surprise contributors, including Tommy and Rubio.”
Beacon is headed to the Section IX Last Chance Meet on Sunday (Jan. 29) at The Armory.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Beacon picked up a 60-47 win on Tuesday (Jan. 24) over visiting Cornwall behind 22 points from Joe Battle. Dylan Howard added nine and Danny Mercado had eight.
“Battle had his most dominant performance of the year,” said Coach Patrick Schetter. “They couldn’t stop him inside. And it was a great defensive effort. Dylan, Javan Verdile and Wilson Ciccone all gave us a great effort.”
On Jan. 19, the Bulldogs also won at Cornwall, 61-53, behind 21 points from Darien Gillins, 14 from Battle and 10 from Adrian Beato.
“That was Gillins’ best game, by far,” Schetter said. “He was also good on defense. And Battle led us in the second half.”
The Bulldogs trailed by six at halftime before coming back in the second half.
Beacon (10-3, 5-1 league) is scheduled to visit Haldane tonight (Jan. 27) for the fourth annual Battle of the Tunnel game. Beacon won the first game in 2020 but lost the most recent two.
“We’ve been locked into our league matchups lately,” Schetter said. “But this game means a lot to the community, and we want to be energized. There’s a bit of a rivalry developing, and the fact that we lost the last two does not sit well.”
Haldane picked up a 70-56 home win on Jan. 20 over North Salem. Matteo Cervone and Matt Nachamkin each had 17 points, followed by Ryan Eng-Wong with 13 and Ben Bozsik with 11.
A 10-0 run before halftime gave Haldane a 40-21 lead. “We came out hard, and shared the ball well,” said Coach Joe Virgadamo. “Ryan gave us some good defensive intensity, and made some nice passes,” he added. “Nachamkin has been dunking and shooting 3-pointers. Will Bradley came back [from a foot injury] and played well, and Evan Giachinta and Julian Ambrose were phenomenal off the bench.”
Virgadamo said his team (10-4, 5-0 league) is excited about hosting Beacon. “It’s a nice event, and the community is excited, so the kids are excited,” he said. “Beacon has a good team this year, they’re playing well and so are we. I would be surprised if it’s not a four-quarters battle. But we want bragging rights.”
The doors at Haldane open at 5:15 p.m. for the 6:15 p.m. tip. The game will be streamed at haldaneschool.org/athletics/blue-devils-live-stream.
The Beacon junior varsity team defeated Cornwall, 63-44, on Tuesday (Jan. 24) to improve to 10-0, led by Ryan Landisi with 17 points. It will travel to play Haldane at 10 a.m. on Saturday (Jan. 28).
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Beacon defeated host Goshen, 49-32, on Tuesday (Jan. 24), with Reilly Landisi leading the Bulldogs with 19 points. Lila Burke added 10 and Daveya Rodriguez and Devyn Kelly each had seven.
“We came out mentally tough and executed our game plan,” said Coach Christina Dahl. “We kept our composure, caused havoc on defense and handled their pressure well. Earning a win on the road at Goshen is never easy, so we’re proud of the girls for getting a big league victory.”
On Jan. 19 at home, Beacon topped Port Jervis, 58-27, behind 13 points from Rodriguez, 10 from Rayana Taylor and nine from Landisi.
“We moved and shared the ball extremely well, with nine of our 10 players scoring,” said Dahl. “Daveya was aggressive, Rayana and Reilly helped us take control early on and Erin Cleary, Shy’Anne Kush and Kiarra Rodriguez each had six points and gave us great minutes.”
Beacon (11-4) hosted Haldane on Thursday (Jan. 26) in the annual Battle of the Tunnel game, winning 44-27, and will face Goshen at home at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday (Feb. 1).
Haldane lost at North Salem, 42-29, on Jan. 20 before falling to Beacon. The Blue Devils (3-11) will host Rye Neck at 4:30 p.m. on Monday (Jan. 30) and Croton-Harmon at 6:15 p.m. on Feb. 3.
WRESTLING
Beacon picked up a 48-23 victory on Tuesday (Jan. 24) at Lourdes High School, with four Bulldogs earning pins.
Alex Khalil won by pin at 189 pounds, Jayden Calloway at 215 pounds (upping his season mark to 27-2) and Brody Timm at 160 pounds (improving to 19-2). Avery Davis also won by pin at 172 pounds, improving to 15-8.
“The guys wrestled well,” said Coach Ron Tompkins. “Khalil looked good; he beat one of their best kids. Callaway and Timm both continue to improve and Davis has also been working hard.”
The Bulldogs are scheduled to host Wallkill at 5 p.m. on Monday (Jan. 30).
BOYS’ SWIMMING
Beacon fell to New Paltz, 109-59, in its final meet of the season on Jan. 18 to finish 3-7. The Bulldogs won two events: Carlos Lazo was first in the 50-meter freestyle in 25 seconds and Bryce Manning took the 500 freestyle in 6:06.46.
Next up are the divisional championships at Newburgh Free Academy on Feb. 3. The Bulldogs will compete in Division 2 against 12 other teams.
BOWLING
The Beacon boys’ team defeated Marlboro, 5-0, on Jan. 19 to improve to 5-4. The Bulldogs were led by James Bouchard with a 678 series and Will Hockler with a 571 series.
The girls fell to Marlboro, 4-1, on Jan. 19 to drop to 3-5. The Bulldogs were led by Keira Istvan (392 series), Vanessa Campanella (401) and Cadence Heeter (400).
Both teams will face Monroe-Woodbury, Saugerties and Kingston next week.
