Condon wins state title, Wasserman finishes second

Andy Condon of John Jay leads the pack in the 3,200-meter race on his way to winning the New York State Class B championship. Jim MacLean photos

Sloan Wasserman of John Jay was second in the New York State Class B 3,000-meter race and the 2,000-meter steeplechase.

By JIM MACLEAN

Heading across the finish line in the 3,200-meter race at the New York state track and field championships you never would have guessed that John Jay senior Andy Condon had just won the state title.

There was no celebration from Condon, he wasn’t even smiling; in fact he looked a little disappointed crossing the finish line Friday night, June 13, under the lights at Middletown High.

That’s because Condon was competing in the final heat of the final race of the evening, the fastest runners in the state seeded by qualifying times from Class A, B, C, and the private and Catholic schools, all in one race to determine the N.Y. State Federation champion.

It went down to the wire with Condon leading the pack heading into the final lap of the grueling 2-mile race. Condon wanted to win it all, but he was outkicked down the straight away of an exciting finish as William Smitas of Guilderlands pulled out the victory less than a second ahead of Condon with a time of 8:55.04. Ryan Sykes of Horace Greeley nipped Condon at the line for second at 8:55.76, with Condon right behind at 8:55.96. That gave him a third-place finish in the Federation standings, but he was first in his class to claim the New York State Class B championship.

“I wanted to win, but it was a good race and looking back to say I am a state champ, it was a good meet,” admitted Condon. “We went out slow, slower than expected, so it became a tactical race. I tried to run away with 600 to go, but it came down to who had the most left in the tank and I didn’t have enough left.”

There were a lot of familiar faces in the race for Condon with five runners from Section 1 in the top 15 finishers, including a sweep of the top three in Class B with Victor Delgado of Hen Hud in second and Sam Gunther of Nyack in third.

“A lot of fun, but super hard racing against the best in the state. Having the competition we had in Section 1 all year definitely prepared us for this race. We finished 1-2-3 in Class B. We all met sophomore year in cross-country, and to see all three of us finish together, that’s pretty cool.”

Condon also competed in the 1,600-meter race on Saturday, and he finished second in Class B with a time of 4:15.77. A first and second place finishes in the state meet is a great ending to a great senior season for Condon, who entered John Jay as a lacrosse player before focusing on distance running after his sophomore year. Condon also won a state title in indoor track and finished second in the state in cross-country, and even he sounds a bit surprised by what he was able to achieve in his career at John Jay. He will compete next year in college in NCAA Division 1 athletics for the University of Richmond. 

“It feels really good to have come this far,” Condon said. “After sophomore year, I looked at the times and thought I might be able to make it to a state meet by my senior year, so to have made it five times to race at states and to win two state titles, that’s pretty cool.”

John Jay junior Sloan Wasserman was also busy at the state meet as she ran in two races, the 3,000-meter race on Friday night and the 2,000-meter steeplechase on Saturday, coming home with a pair of second-place finishes in N.Y. State Class B.

Like Condon, Wasserman was also not happy with her performance overall as she was also competing in the top heat by seeded times for the Federation titles and she was hoping to finish higher in both races.

Wasserman was seventh overall in the 3,000-meters with a time of 9:51.16, earning second-place in Class B.

She was then sixth overall in the steeplechase on Saturday with a time of 6:56.63, once again earning a second-place finish in Class B.

“They were not happy, but I’m proud of them, the work they put in, they committed to be one of the top runners in New York state. As a coach I can’t ask for anything more than that, so I’m happy for them,” John Jay coach Dey Dey said of his two star runners. “Andy was a state champ in B, but his plan was to come out on top in the 3,200. It was a good time against good competition. He can run with the best. I wish I could have one more year with him. He’s a special kid. He didn’t really start until sophomore year, once he put his mind to it, we started last July to get ready for this year, and to see what he did in cross-country, indoor and now outdoor, you don’t get many kids to coach that can do what he did. Sloan was not happy. She didn’t have a good race. It’s about the mindset, and she has one more year and she knows she can be one of the top girls in the state. She’s that good.”

With Wasserman returning to lead the way along with other returning veterans and promising young eighth and ninth graders, Dey is excited about the future for the John Jay girls’ team next year.

“I can’t wait for cross-country season, I see a lot of young kids that are committed to running at John Jay,” said Dey. “The girls team can be very good. A lot of them see what Sloan is doing and they admire her and want to get better. They don’t like to train with her because she is so fast, but they look up to her and we need them to get closer to her and we can have a fun ride.”

Before they can think about next year, both Condon and Wasserman were scheduled to compete at the New Balance Nationals meet at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa., from June 18-21.