Leading off today: An unexpected development is about to shake up the landscape for boys distance running in New York, with the Watertown Daily Times reporting that two of the best will be leaving the state soon.
Brothers Noah (a junior) and Sam Affolder (a freshman), who arrived from Illinois in 2014, will compete at the state track and field championships Friday and Saturday at Cicero-North Syracuse in what is presumably their last meet representing Carthage. Their father, a lieutenant colonel at Fort Drum, was accepted into the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., where the family will take up residence at the end of the month. The boys will enroll at Carlisle High.
Noah, a two-time NYSPHSAA cross country champion who finished third in the 3,200 and seventh in the 1,600 for Division I in the 2015 track meet, is seeded first in Friday's 3,200-meter run. Both Affolders are entered in the 3,000 steeplechase on Saturday, with Noah seeded second and Sam sixth in Division I.
"That to me would be just a great capper on Saturday morning to see them both standing on that podium together," Carthage coach Bryan Zevotek told the paper. "It'd be really cool."
Said Sam Affolder: "I'm going to give it my all, knowing it's possibly my last race on a New York team. We don't know my senior-year location, but I see this as my last race on a New York team."
More track and field: The full entry lists for the weekend's meet at Cicero-North Syracuse are available on the Leone Timing website.
In addition, the outstanding Milesplit site has event-by-event previews of the boys and girls meets.
Rosters filling out: Since it's happening in my neck of the woods, one of the events I plan on checking out over the summer is the 2016 New York Games, an invitation-only showcase for underclassmen promoted by Prep Baseball Report New York.
Organizers say the event a year ago attracted coaches from more than 70 colleges, including many in Division I, observing more than 180 players from across the state. This year's event is slated for June 27-29, using fields at St. John Fisher College, Monroe Community College and Geneva Redwings Stadium.
There are some recognizable names on the rosters if you're interested in checking them out.
NYSPHSAA change: When Robert Zayas arrived from New Mexico in 2012 to begin as executive director of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, he identified communication -- particularly via the web and social media -- as a priority.
The organization put in place a plan for improvements and expansion that has resulted in more news than ever before available via more channels and with greater speed. On Wednesday, Zayas announced that the man responsible for much of the improvement and innovation over the past three years is leaving at the end of the month.
Joe Agostinelli, the NYSPHSAA's director of communications and the primary contact for media inquiries, is leaving in order to take a position in social media in Rochester, his former stomping grounds.
