Boys track & field shines at states & nationals

When the outdoor season kicked off in early March, the roster for the Monroe-Woodbury boys track and field team topped 160 student athletes. A number that had never been seen in program history. After a successful run during the regular season that included an undefeated dual meet record and a divisional, league and sectional championship, the M-W season was accentuated with stellar performances at the NYSPHSAA Championship at Middletown High School on June 9 and 10 and the New Balance Nationals in Philadelphia on June 15 and 18.

At the NYSPHSAA Championship, a trio of athletes - junior Oliver Jibb and seniors Collin Gilstrap and Collin Catherwood - qualified to compete in the 3200m run. Jibb finished in 9:48.03 seconds, good for a 31st place finish. Catherwood posted a 9:12.24 second performance earning him eighth overall and sixth in the public school large division. Gilstrap duplicated his indoor season with an overall win in 9:4.72 seconds, besting the M-W school record set in 1985 by John Trautmann. The victory enabled Gilstrap to complete the “distance trifecta” as the individual New York State Federation champion in cross-country and the 3200m run during the winter and spring track and field seasons.

Gilstrap and Catherwood teamed with Gavin Catherwood and John Urciuoli in the 4x800m relay, finishing in third in a tight race where the top four teams were separated by just three seconds.

At the New Balance National Championship, the 4 x 1 Mile relay team of Gilstrap, Urciuoli, Collin Catherwood and sophomore Shane Golio (who stepped in for an injured Gavin Catherwood), ran 17:29.49, establishing a new school and Section XI record and ranks them first in the U.S. for the 2023 outdoor season.

The following day, Gilstrap, Catherwood, and Urciuoli were joined by sophomore Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez for the Distance Medley Relay. During the indoor season, the same quartet finished second at Nike Nationals by less than a second. The team finished a strong second place in 9:59.22 setting another M-W school record with the second-fastest time ever run by a high school from NY and 17th fastest high school performance in U.S. history.

The weekend brought a fitting end to the careers of Gilstrap, Catherwood, and Urciuoli who combined to be 16 time All Americans and eight-time State Champions across the Cross-Country, Winter, and Spring Track seasons.