Soaring to the state championship

Congratulations to Albany High outdoor track and field student-athletes Nasief Smith, Nyerere Young, Terrique Francis, Javanni Garland-Santana and Noah Bizer (left to right) for incredible performances at the Section 2 state qualifier meet last week. All five have earned the opportunity to compete in the upcoming state championship!

Bizer crossed the finish line second in the 800-meter run with a phenomenal time of 1:52.4. He smashed the Albany High record for this event, which was set back in 1995 by Marcel Burke!

Terrique Francis set a new personal record in the 100 meters, finishing first with a blazing fast time of 10.8 seconds!

Our boys' 4x100m relay team -- Nasief Smith, Nyerere Young, Terrique Francis and Javanni Garland-Santana -- soared into first place with an incredible time of 42.09 seconds!

We also want to celebrate additional commendable performances at the state qualifier meet:

Boys' team:

• Smith took third place in both the 100, with a time of 11.01 seconds, and the long jump, with a jump of 22 feet, 4.5 inches.
• Javanni Garland-Santana took fourth in the long jump with a jump of 22 feet, 1.25 inches.
• Our boys' 4x800 relay team -- Bizer, Sebastian Howard, Cameron Volk and Saleem Ismail -- took fourth with a time of 8:12.86.

Girls' team:

• Louisa Bee finished seventh and Ochuware Itebe placed eighth in the 400.
• Nyloni Smith finished ninth in the 100.

The 2026 New York State Public High School Athletic Association Outdoor Track and Field Championship will take place June 13-14 at Webster Schroeder High School in suburban Rochester. Tickets must be purchased via the GoFan webiste.

Let's go Falcons!