Boys' Athlete of the Year: Aidan Tooker, Saratoga Springs

It wasn't a calculated lunge, or even an outright dive to the finish line, for Aidan Tooker, who fell forward just enough at the end of the 3,200-meter race at the state championship meet at Cornell University.

Tooker extended himself as far as he could before falling down at the finish, nosing out Northport's Mikey Brannigan by .03 seconds to win the state title with a dramatic last-lap rally.

"With just a straightaway to go, I realized I was starting to close. I visualized ahead that it was going to be inches by the time we got to the line," Tooker said. "I knew I had to lean as much as possible on my tippy-toes with my chest as far out as possible. By the time I got to the line, my body was so far in front of my feet that I fell."

The win capped a tremendous season for the Saratoga Springs junior.

"It was, honestly, I don't know how to define it really — I was moving so fast and my feet were so far behind me, there wasn't really any air. But I hit the ground," Tooker joked.

A win is a win for Tooker.

First team

55

Lamine Gueye, Jr., Albany Academy: Won the Division 3 title at sectionals and also took top honors at the state qualifier.

300

Izaiah Brown, Sr., Amsterdam: Time of 34.63 seconds was best in Section II; won Division 2 title and state qualifier.

600

Rob Young, Jr., Saratoga: Top Section II runner at states; won state qualifier and was second at sectionals.

1,000

Jake Johnson, Jr., Colonie: Finished second at states, missing title by just over a half-second.

1,600

Aidan Tooker, Jr., Saratoga: Time of 4:18.40 during the season was more than three seconds faster than any other Section II runner this season.

3,200

Aidan Tooker, Jr., Saratoga: Set Section II record with state championship-winning time of 9:05.47.

55 hurdles

Shawn Bleichert, Sr., Shenendehowa: Capped tremendous season that featured win at sectionals and state qualifier by winning the state championship.

800 relay

Saratoga (Corey Briggs, Sr., Tom Conboy, Jr., Nick Anderson, Sr., Robert Haughton, Jr.): Quartet ran fifth at state meet.

1,600 relay

Amsterdam (David Gravely, Sr., Gabe Fernandez, Jr., Omahri Sturdivant, Jr., Izaiah Brown, Sr.): Third in state title meet.

3,200 relay

Shenendehowa (Connor Buhrmeister, Sr., Tyler Schmidt, Jr., Mitchell Halpern, Jr., Collin Rowe, Sr.): State champions; won Division I title at sectionals along with state qualifier.

High Jump

Harrison Bickmore, Sr., Guilderland: Raised the bar for Section II jumpers with a jump of 6 feet, 6 inches in sectional win.

Pole Vault

Tom Conboy, Jr., Saratoga: Effort of 14 feet at states was good for seventh, best in Section II this season.

Long Jump

Nick Anderson, Sr., Saratoga: Win at sectionals was one of three titles that day for Anderson; had Section II-best jump with effort of 21-71/4.

Triple Jump

Ronel Forde, Jr., Shaker: Won the state championship with jump of 48-21/2, best in Section II this year.

Shot Put

Nick Green, Sr., Saratoga: Won Division I title at sectionals; top area finisher at states; had best toss of season with effort of 52-7.

Coach of Year

Stephen Wendt, Gloversville: Led his team to the Division 3 title at sectionals, knocking off three-time defending champion Scotia for the school's first title since its Class B win in 1983.

Second team

55: Izaiah Brown, Sr., Amsterdam

300: Nick Anderson, Sr., Saratoga

600: Collin Rowe, Sr., Shenendehowa

1,000: Collin Rowe, Sr., Shenendehowa

1,600: Jake Johnson, Jr., Colonie

3,200: Jeremy Spiezio, Sr., Greenwich

55 hurdles: Nate Gerhardt, Sr., Cobleskill-Richmondville

800 relay: Schenectady (Colby Youngblood, Sr., Jacob Griffin, Sr., Hassan Miller, Sr., Edward Sichilongo, Jr.)

1,600 relay: Saratoga (Aidan Doti, Sr., Corey Briggs, Sr., Robert Haughton, Jr., Rob Young, Jr.)

3,200 relay: Saratoga (Rob Young, Jr., Aidan Tooker, Jr., Jake Deyoe, Sr., Will Navin, So.)

High Jump: Zaviir Berry, Jr., Guilderland

Pole Vault: Michael Budka, Sr., Gloversville

Long Jump: Omahri Sturdivant, Jr., Amsterdam

Triple Jump: Omahri Sturdivant, Jr., Amsterdam

Shot Put: Mason Tallman, Sr., Mohonasen

Girls' Athlete of the Year: Leah Moran, Holy Names

Leah Moran had been hoping to break the 39-foot barrier in the triple jump all season, but she never could find that final half-inch to attain her goal after jumping 38-111/2 at the state qualifier.

Following a second-place finish at states, the junior from Holy Names let loose at the national meet in New York City, blowing away her goal by more than seven inches and setting a Section II record with a leap of 39-71/4 with her seventh-place finish.

Moran initially didn't know she had broken 39 feet, as the scoreboard at the Armory was posting results in meters.

A quick look at Holy Names coach Carlo Cherubino confirmed the distance.

"I came out of the pit, and I tried to judge where I was. I was trying to look to see what I had, but I didn't know what it was. I looked over at Coach Cherubino and he started screaming '39!'," Moran said. "This entire indoor season, I was trying to hit 39 (feet). I was just so ecstatic when I finally hit it; it was more than I was hoping for."

The circumstance could give Moran a reason to study up on the metric system — she won't have to wait to celebrate her achievements in the future.

First team

55

Jahari Coleman, Jr., Albany: Won Section II title at Division I meet; took top honors at state qualifier before finishing fifth at states.

300

Jahari Coleman, Jr., Albany: Won the Section II crown a week before winning the state qualifier.

600

Sarah Knowles, Sr., Shenendehowa: Finished second at states and fourth in Federation. Time of 1:35.62 was best in section this year, school record.

1,000

Estela Smith, Sr., Saratoga: Had wins at sectional and state qualifier before finishing 10th at states.

1,500

Amelia Mahoney, So., Saratoga: First at both sectionals and state qualifier.

3,000

Emily Acker, Sr., Albany Academy for Girls: Top Section II runner at states with her 11th-place finish; won state qualifier.

55 hurdles

Jaleah Owens, Sr., Burnt Hills: Time of 8.45 at state meet was best in Section II this year and good enough for sixth-place finish; won state qualifier and Division 2 title at sectionals.

1,500 walk

Meaghan Podlaski, Jr., Colonie: Won state and Federation titles; time of 6:36.51 at state qualifiers set Section II record.

800 relay

Shenendehowa (Melissa Haas, Fr., Kerris Moore, Sr., Kelly Hamlin, Fr., Analise Kirby, Sr.): Won Section II title.

1,600 relay

Saratoga (Ellery Bianco, Sr., Sija Jos, So., Amelia Mahoney, So., Valentine Starnes, So.): Quartet of sprinters placed second in state championships.

3,200 relay

Shenendehowa (Emily Crounse, Jr., Caroline Rusch, Sr., Hannah Reale, Fr., Ally Arserio, Fr.): Finished second in state title meet; won state qualifier.

High jump

Grace Smith, Sr., Bethlehem: Placed second at states; won Section II title at Division I level.

Pole vault

Kalli Manly, Jr., Burnt Hills: Finished tied for fifth at states; won state qualifier with Section II season-best vault of 11-3.

Long jump

Leah Moran, Jr., Holy Names: Recorded best jump in Section II by nearly two feet; third at state meet.

Triple jump

Leah Moran, Jr., Holy Names: Second in state competition and third in the Federation scoring; jump of 39-71/4 at nationals was Section II record.

Shot put

Grayce French, Jr., Saratoga: Top Section II performer at states with sixth-place finish; Won Division I title at sectionals.

Coach of Year

Linda Kranick, Saratoga Springs: Guided the Blue Streaks to their first Section II title since 2012 with a narrow win over Shenendehowa.

Second team

55: Ellery Bianco, Sr., Saratoga

300: Sarah Knowles, Sr., Shenendehowa

600: Emily Crounse, Jr., Shenendehowa

1,000: Courtney Breiner, Sr., Emma Willard

1,500: Julia Flower, Jr., Schalmont

3,000: Spencer Hayes, Sr., Saratoga

55 hurdles: Mimi Liebers, So., Saratoga

800 relay: Albany (Mercedes Johnson, Jr., Larisa Chestnut, Jr., Destini Harris, So., Jahari Coleman, Jr.)

1,600 relay: Shenendehowa (Kelly Hamlin, Fr., Analise Kirby, Sr., Olivia Robbins, Jr., Sarah Knowles, Sr.)

3,200 relay: Saratoga (Estela Smith, Sr., Gabrielle Robens, Jr., Samantha Vetter, Fr., Mariellen Panzer, So.)

High jump: Samantha Hjelmar, Jr., Burnt Hills

Pole vault: Teddy DeMaria, Bethlehem

Long jump: Eileen Bequette, Albany

Triple jump: Teddy DeMaria, Jr., Bethlehem

Shot put: Jillian Shippee, So., Shenendehowa