Valley Sports ReportMIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — At first, Tioga senior Andrew Earley wasn't happy with his performance at the New York State Class C Track & Field Championships, but after a bit of reflection, he was pleased with a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles here Friday evening.
Earley reached the podium with a time of 57.09 seconds, a bit of his personal-best time of 56.91 seconds. The reason for his consternation was missing out on the school record in his last high school race.
"I was a little upset after the race. I really wanted to get the school record set by Jonny Polo Rankin ... I've been eyeing that record since I was a freshman," he said.
"Once I qualified for States, all I was focused on was getting that record.
"When the race was over, I went to my Mom and gave her a hug, and I was complaining about how I ran the race," noted Earley. "Eventually, I came to realize that not every can say they finished fourth in the State — I can't really complain about a fourth-place finish.
"I got a little bit happier after I thought about it for a while," Earley added.
Running in Lane 7, Earley posted the third-fastest time in his heat of the timed final.
James O'Neill's Daniel Bluman won Class C state gold in a time of 55.2 seconds, while Royalton-Hartland's Zach Schultz won the silver in 56.3 seconds, and Danville's Ivan Wolf-Mialky won the bronze in 56.75 seconds.
Earley said he was motivated to be the best he could be heading into his senior season.
"Last year wasn't my best," he said. "This year, I wanted to come out and do better, it was my senior year.
"My family was behind me ... I wanted to do it for them, and I wanted to make a name for myself," Earley added.
Earley, who is looking to walk-on to the track team in college, is headed St. Joseph's University and will major in Sports Marketing.
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PHOTOS BY SHEILA SUTTON.
