Leading off today: Which state is off to the best start this week in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials? It's New York ... in a walk.
Two women from the Empire State earned spots Thursday in Salem, Ore., to compete for Team USA in the 20-kilometer racewalk in Brazil this summer. Former Sachem star Maria Michta-Coffey and Miranda Melville, who competed for Rush-Henrietta, took the top spots in times of 1:33:41 and 1:34:11, respectively. Katie Burnett of Rochester was third in 1:41:12 but did not qualify for the Rio Games.
Melville had narrowly missed qualifying for the 2012 Olympics.
"It's going to be floating on Cloud 9 and then getting down to business," Melville said. "We have just about seven weeks now until Maria and I race in Rio. We're ready to keep showing them that the U.S. is going to keep moving up in the ranks of race walk and make it better."
Michta-Coffey was a three-time NYSPHSAA champion in the indoor 1,500-meter racewalk for Sachem from 2002 to 2004. Melville's best showing in the state meet was a seventh-place showing as a senior in 2007.
The Olympic Trials meet continues Friday with running and field events in Eugene, Ore.
On the fast track: Paul Woods hasn't played a football game for Canisius High School yet, but he'll enter his junior year with at least one scholarship offer in his pocket.
Woods, a receiver who transferred to Canisius from Sweet Home late last year, tweeted this week that he has been offered by Boston College. The Buffalo news reported Woods attended a camp recently at BC and received a subsequent offer.
Woods made 16 catches for 233 yards and three touchdowns for Sweet Home as a sophomore. He also made four interceptions on defense.
A year ago, kicker Blake Haubeil of Canisius, a transfer from Amherst, verbally committed to Ohio State without having yet played a down for the Crusaders.
Mahopac honored: The New York State Public High School Athletic Association has selected Mahopac as the 2016 winner of its Community Service Challenge program.
Established in 2010, the program promotes student involvement in the community and beyond. Students and schools determined and executed a project, then submitted a summary to the sectional and NYSPHSAA offices for review.
The Mahopac athletic program won the award based on the success of a "Senior" Prom, a lunch and dance put on by the student athletic council for local senior citizens. The event is conducted the Sunday before Thanksgiving each year and takes place in the Mahopac gymnasium. Since 2002, the event has been a themed catered lunch with a DJ playing music for nearly 200 senior citizens attending.
"This is an award that means a lot to us and says a lot about what our school can accomplish," Mahopac AD John Augusta said in the NYSPHSAA release. "It's an honor to win. We preach excelling in the classroom and in the community and the kids will really take hold of this award when they realize what they accomplished and the honor they are receiving."
