Winning a pair of Division II state championships in track and field as a sophomore was a pleasing experience for Neil Howard III of Taconic Hills, especially considering the 2020 and 2021 events were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Matt Thorsen, Chatham basketball and baseball: After being the leading scorer for the basketball team that captured a Section II Class C title, Thorsen’s excellence as a hitter, shortstop and pitcher helped propel the Panthers to a second straight Class C state championship. Thorsen, who clubbed 16 home runs and went 9-0 on the mound, is headed to play at Northeastern and he earned ABCA Rawlings All-American honors.
Bennett Wilson, Shenendehowa volleyball: The junior outside hitter shared Suburban Council Most Valuable Player honors with Columbia’s Henry Heeps. He led the Plainsmen to the program’s sixth sectional title in seven tournaments. The Penn State commit finished with 423 kills, including 29 in the Division I state match when Shen beat Webster 3-1.
Competing at the 2023 New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships at Middletown High School is an experience Howard will not soon forget. He emerged from the two-day competition having won both state and Federation titles in the pole vault and 400-meter hurdles to go along with a Division II championship in the 110 hurdles.
Five championships in two days, coupled with winning an indoor state title in the pole vault, made for a stellar junior track campaign for Howard.
“I had a total list of goals that I made at the beginning of the season and I was able to cross a lot of them off, so it was really rewarding to put that little check mark by those goals,” Howard said.
Howard, who led the Titans in assists in soccer as a midfielder and played golf in the fall to go along with being a top scorer on the basketball team…
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