William Floyd High School standout student-athletes LaDuke Harris and Krishmar Powell took home medals and made the podium at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Indoor Track & Field Championships held this past weekend! Harris, who came in as the number one seed in the long jump event, recorded his best jump of the day of over 22 feet, placing him sixth overall in the state and earning him a spot on the podium. The difference between sixth and first place was only a matter of inches. Powell, who competed in the high jump, recorded a jump of 6’2”, good for eighth place in the state and mere inches away from the top spot. Powell also took home a medal!

The meet, held at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island, kicked off with a parade featuring all sportsmanship award recipients. “For Section XI, the representative was LaDuke Harris, who was selected by officials and Section XI coordinators out of a field of over 2,500 winter student-athletes,” said Ed Noll, head coach, boys’ varsity track. “They saw him as a fierce competitor, and someone who always shows high character, carries himself well, shows concern for other athlete’s performances and has the respect of all other athletes during our winter competitions.”

Both Harris and Powell will be attending the upcoming All-County awards dinner, where they will be recognized as All-State track athletes. Harris will be receiving a Most Valuable Player award, given to only five track and field athletes in the winter season. Harris is the fourth Colonial in program history to receive this prestigious award, joining former William Floyd track stars Diamonte Corley, Nigel Green and Eddy Vu.

“Wherever we go I always receive compliments about the way LaDuke and Krishmar carry themselves,” Coach Noll added. “They are complete gentlemen and also train and compete at the highest level. They are the best representatives of William Floyd, and I am lucky to coach them.”  

Girls’ Varsity Track Indoor Championships
Additionally, girls’ varsity track team members under the leadership of head coach John Ryan also competed in the Indoor Nationals with Zariel Macchia (pictured below) finishing second in the 1500-meter with a time of 4:26.16, the fastest time ever for a student-athlete from Long Island, the eighth fastest all-time for New York State and currently the sixth in the nation! The 4 x 800-meter relay team of Brianna Smith, Destiny Samuels, Aaliyah Jordan and Zariel Macchia will be competing this Sunday at the Nationals in the championship section!