Bethlehem’s Jake Platel took first place in the pole vault at last Saturday’s New York State Indoor Track and Field Championships in Ithaca.
Platel was locked in a duel with Grand Island’s Adam Helman. The two seniors each cleared the bar at 15 feet, but they both missed at 15 feet, 3 inches.
Platel wound up with the state title since he needed fewer attempts to clear 15 feet than Helman.
Platel was one of four Section II athletes to win state titles and the only male athlete to top the medal podium.
Saratoga Springs sprinter Madalayne Smith won the girls 55-meter dash and 55-meter hurdles, Colonie’s Kyle Plante claimed the girls 300-meter dash title and Schuylerville’s Sarah Palmer finished first in the girls high jump.
Fellow Bethlehem senior Sam Smith tied for seventh place in the high jump. Smith and Beacon’s Tejorn Davis each cleared 6 feet, 2 inches, but failed in their attempts to clear 6 feet, 4 inches.
Hilton’s Eric Fontanez won the high jump after he cleared 6 feet, 8 inches in fewer attempts than Greece Olympia’s Jerry Ntumba.
Bethlehem’s Yousef Zaid competed in the boys 1,600-meter race at the state meet. The junior placed 17th in a time of 4:36.59.
Jordan Hamm from Canisius (Buffalo) won the state title in the 1,600 with a time of 4:19.3.`