The Kingston High School girls’ varsity basketball team’s topsy-turvy season is over following a rough 57-25 Section 9, Class AA quarterfinal home loss to Newburgh Free Academy on Saturday, February 26.
The game was tight early on, with the Tigers trailing 10-9 in the second quarter. But the Goldbacks went on a tear from there, taking a 24-11 lead into intermission. The second half was more of the same.
Senior Kalia Hylton-Jackson, playing in her final game for Kingston, poured in 17 of her team’s 25 points. In a stark contrast, five Goldbacks scored in double figures.
Both teams left the gym with 11-10 overall records, but for Newburgh it was their ninth win in their last eleven games. Meanwhile, the Tigers dropped their sixth game out of their last seven.
The Kingston High School boys’ varsity basketball team nearly doubled up on visiting Warwick Valley in the second half of their Section 9, Class AA quarterfinal matchup at Kate Walton Field House on Saturday, February 26 to earn a 65-52 win.
The Tigers outscored the Wildcats 42-22 after intermission, led by Kevin Andrade, who scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the second half. Ryan McCardle (12 points) and Ke’montae Thawe (10 points) also contributed on the offensive end.
Kingston fell behind by seven points twice before finding an even keel, and the game was ultimately decided by a 24-12 fourth quarter advantage, with McCardle scoring seven and Andrade six in that final frame.
The Tigers looked to ride that momentum into a semifinal matchup at Middletown on Sunday, February 27. The teams split their regular season battles, with the Tigers winning 64-61 at Middletown in January, and the Middies returning the favor in Kingston with a 70-62 win one week ago.
Local high schools competed in the Section 9 state qualifying indoor track meet held on Saturday, February 26 at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in Washington Heights, upper Manhattan.
Luca Maneri and Peyton Lane were tops for the Kingston High School boys, each finishing second in individual events. Maneri finished the 1600 in a time of 4:29.85, while Lane cleared the pole vault with a height of 11-06.00.
Also faring well for the Kingston boys were Jack Connolly, who placed fourth in the weight throw (41-01.25) and 11th in the shot put (34-07.00), Andrew Lee (11th, 1600, 4:49.06) and Mauricio Castellanos (13th, 3200, 11:38.34).
Castellanos also ran the second leg of Kingston’s 6th place (4:23.98) effort in the 1600 sprint medley alongside Jack Aberle, Charlie Molyneaux and Ethan Tobey.
Maia Rich and Charlotte McFarland each earned seventh place finishes for the Kingston girls. Rich ran the 1000 in 3:19.63, while McFarland finished the 3000 in 12:08.37. Ellie Meyer (9th) and Alexandra Coffey (14th) finished the 600 in 1:50.08 and 1:51.74 respectively. Paige Molyneaux did double duty for the Tigers, placing eighth in the weight throw (25-09.00) and 13th in the shot put (21-10.75).
New Paltz High School also fared well at the Armory on Saturday. For the boys, Finn Gibson turned in a second place result in the high jump, clearing 5-08.00.
Alexander Peyser (4th, 55 hurdles, 8.16), Aidan Ifkovits (9th, weight throw, 35-00.50; 13th, shot put, 33-06.75), Matthew Secreto (12th, shot put, 33-08.00), Maxwell Hawkins (14th, 1600, 4:52.60), Chace Snyder (14th, 1000, 2:56.02) and Elijah Flynn (15th, 1000, 3:00.65) turned in solid individual showings.
The Huguenots placed fifth in a pair of relays, with Jack Ifkovits, Gibson, Brandon Sirof and Peyser finishing the 4×200 in 1:38.28; and Snyder, JJ Giordano, Flynn and Hawkins finishing the 4×800 in 9:07.92.
Siri Walsh had the best individual outing for the New Paltz girls, taking third in the triple jump (32-04.00) and sixth in the pole vault (9-00.00). Veda Keon took seventh in both the 55 hurdles (9.52) and the shot put (24-11.00). Zlata Shmarina (7th, long jump, 14-04.50; 13th, triple jump, 28-03.25), Ady Laurie (9th, pole vault, 8-00.00), Laura Johnson (10th, pole vault, 7-00.00), Maggie DiDonna (12th, 600, 1:50.81) and Hannah Ettinger (13th, 1000, 3:32.64) also competed for the Huguenots.
Onteora High also competed, with Marquies Treasure’s eighth place distance of 17-05.00 in the long jump the best showing.
Also faring well for the Eagle boys were Jozus Munoz (16th, 600, 1:55.82; 18th, 1000, 3:38.65), Henry Swasey (16th, 3200, 13:32.46; 17th, 600, 2:00.41) and Griffen Van Dreason (19th, 1000, 4:05.96).
On the Onteora girls’ side, Jade Belfiore (15th, 1500, 6:11.10), Amelia Swasey (20th, 1500, 6:38.51), Madeline Mills (23rd, 600, 2:12.78), Arely Tapia (24th, 1000, 4:34.52) and Sophia Wall (25th, 600, 2:15.66) all turned in solid showings.
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