Leading off today: Though her junior track and field season hasn't started, North Rockland distance-running prodigy
Katelyn Tuohy could already be taking a measured approach to her senior year.
For the time being, Tuohy, 17, isn't committing to anything beyond the Fall 2019 cross country season, in which she could conceivably three-peat at Nike Cross Nationals, The Journal News reported after speaking with her coaches.
Continuing to train and race in the high school ranks beyond the fall likely would not be a good fit for her desire to qualify for and run in the June 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials.
"She's accomplished basically everything you'd want at the high school level," North Rockland cross country and indoor track coach Brian Diglio said. "I think, at this point, if she wants to improve as a runner in terms of not only time but the strategy of racing, she needs a high level of competition she's not getting from high school."
Nothing has been finalized at this point, but the decision will belong to Tuohy and her parents at the end of the spring season under outdoor track coach Kyle Murphy.
"I'm not running the race," Diglio said. "It's not my career. We are working for her to take more ownership. It's not an easy thing for a high school kid to do, but in little over a year we'll turn her over to a college coach."
Tuohy couldn't be reached for comment by The Journal News, but she's made her love for running with her teammates clear. Despite owning five individual national high school girls track records, she lists relays as her favorite track event and has helped North Rockland win four consecutive national distance medley titles.
"Cross country is even more of a team sport and she loves that," Diglio said. "She'd love nothing more than for her teammates to have a great season and go out on top."
Speaking of distance runners: Track and Field News, the highly respected magazine covering the sport, made an interesting choice this week for its male high school indoor track athlete of the year.
The magazine has seldom weighed participation in relays in its voting, but former Carthage runner Sam Affolder has forced the editors to change their minds. Affolder, who now runs for Purcellville (Va.) Loudoun Valley, ran some ridiculous splits in his senior season. Coupled with the lack of a no-brainer from the sprints, hurdles or jumps, Affolder turned out to be their preferred candidate.
"The fact that he ran on national record teams is irrelevant; what is relevant is that he had a sterling 4:06.21 on the DMR and an even better 4:06.20 in the 4 x Mile. And a 1:51.37 on the 4×8," the magazine noted. "His collection of times in open races was solid backup: 2:27.23 in the 1000 (No. 8 on the yearly list), 3:51.08 in the 1500 (No. 3), 4:09.68 in the mile (No. 6) and 9:11.74 for 2M (No. 16)."
DeSouza will stay: Two months after resigning, Clinton DeSouza is back as the football coach at Spackenkill as the program prepares to make the conversion to eight-man football.
"After they decided to go eight-man, Marco (Lanzoni, the AD) came to me and said they haven't really found the right candidate to take up the charge," DeSouza told Hudson Valley Sports Report. "They wanted someone internal or with head coaching experience, and it didn't materialize."
DeSouza stepped down in January citing a desire to spend more time with his newborn daughter, Olivia, the child of the ninth-year coach and wife Katrina.
Dave Gettleman, current general manager of the NFL's New York Giants, started the Spackenkill program in the 1970s.
"I don't need Gettleman seeing that the Spackenkill football program is done," DeSouza joked.
