Syracuse.com’s 2025-26 winter media day indoor track athlete poll: Flag bearer at Summer Olympics?

Syracuse, N.Y. — Some athletes established themselves as great leaders for their teams.

At Syracuse.com’s winter sports media day, we asked indoor track athletes which of their teammates is most deserving of carrying the flag during the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics.

Here are their responses:

Girls

Emma Millerschin, Altmar-Parish-Williamstown

“She has always loved America so much.” — Leah Tanner

Telhia Hosea, Bishop Ludden-Grimes

“She enjoys winning.” — David Shaw

Adrienne Chesebro, Camden

“She’s so supportive and mostly everything that everybody will be doing, so she deserves it.” — Izabella Johnson

Maura Phillips, Cazenovia

“She’s just got a lot of energy. She even does events that she doesn’t want to do.” — Alyssa Wardell

Kadence Williams, Central Square

“She’s most deserving because of how much she puts into this team and how much pride she shows throughout Central Square track and field.” — Stella Brancaccio

Ava McLean, Chittenango

“She’s been there for every season, shows up for everything, and carries everybody up who doesn’t do things.” — Chloe Payton

Clara Sommer, Christian Brothers Academy

“I feel like she puts in a lot of work into everything she does.” — Meryl Murphy

Sophia Graham, Cicero-North Syracuse

“She’s just super uplifting, and she really has a good effect on the team, so I think she deserves it.” — Mya Patti

Madelyn Copp, East Syracuse Minoa

“Last year, in outdoor track, she did the pentathlon. She has a lot of events, so I think she’d be the most deserving.” — Jaelyn Jordan

“She puts in the work and she puts in the hours. Every time she comes to practice, she’s there to work her hardest and really give it her all. She puts her times up and is really someone when you look at her, you’re like, okay, yeah, she’s strong. She’s working, and I think she would deserve the flag bearing.” — Olivia Hendrickson

Madison Melita, Hannibal

“She has been on the team the longest and I think that she’d be a good person to represent. She’s very outgoing as well and she’s got a good personality. I think she could do it.” — Cecelia Stone

Kaylee McGrath, Homer

“She shows up early to everything, she runs fast and she does what she needs to do.” — Natalie Funk

Shaniya Dugar, PSLA @ Fowler

“She’s just reliable, and she’s got great ambition.” — Journey Johnson

Brielle Rivera, Jamesville-DeWitt

“She has a lot of spirit. You can tell when she walks into a room because her voice carries. I think she’d be a great job at it.” — Ellyana Deng

Riley Pavlus, Little Falls

“She’s always worked hard. She is always trying new things. She’s definitely deserving of (the flag).” — Addyson Connelly

Taima Tearney, Liverpool

“It’s just the energy that she brings. I know that she has a dedication to track and she takes it very seriously. She treats everybody with respect and with kindness, and I think someone like her would definitely deserve (the flag).” — Madelyn Devendorf

Sophia Pilon, Marcellus

“I think Sophia’s drive is just insane. She does so good under pressure, so I feel like her ability is insane as well. Overall, she’s just the perfect athlete to run.” — Madison Foy

Haylee Hawkins, New Hartford

“She has worked hard at it since her freshman year, and she was one of our best athletes.” — Keira Ciufo

Chelsy Plows, New York Mills

“She’s very energetic, so I think she’d be a good mascot in a good way to represent us.” — Nevaeh Kimble

Olivia Kapuscinski, Oswego

“She always works very hard during practices and during meets. She always puts in her all, and she is a very dedicated teammate.” — Miley Sorendo

Lacey Goodman, Phoenix

“She’s my fellow captain and she just always completes everything. She’s always super hardworking. I think she deserves it the most.” — Samantha Hopps

Grace Carguello, Pulaski

“She’s probably one of our best leaders.” — Jack Lewis

Eden Cowles, Pulaski

“She’s really nice, so she deserves it.” — Grace Carguello

Monica Pohl, Skaneateles

“She’s very hardworking and she has a good work ethic, so I think that she would be really excited about (the flag).” — Lucy Fleckenstein

Serenity Williams, Solvay

“She’s just hardworking and she gives her all every time she races.” — Giovanni Cilani

Keelyn Simpson, Utica Proctor

“She’s a really good athlete.” — NyAshia Linen

Alexis Kinney, Vernon Verona Sherrill

“She has one of the biggest hearts on our team.” — Cora Wheeler

Marra Dickinson, Watertown

“She’s very resilient. She just had an injury, but she’s working and recovering to come back. I think that she’s just very motivated and she’s just uplifting, so I think she could represent that.“ — Kaile Wilcher

Adelyn Gross, Weedsport

“She would do anything for the team.” — Riley Gurak

Majda Milijkovic, West Genesee

“She is very reliable with everything that she does and is one of the most conscious people I know.” — Chloe Fietze

Boys

Dominic Dottolo, Baldwinsville

“He’s very outgoing, and he’s a representation of our team because he’s also very good. He also has that funny side to him, where he can take things seriously and not so seriously. That’s why he’s a good choice for that.” — Logan Bolton

David Shaw, Bishop Ludden-Grimes

“He’s probably one of the most familiar teammates I have. He pushes me to do better, so I feel like he would be most deserving.” — Telhia Hosea

Ty Hawkins, Canastota

“I think he just looks like he’d carry a flag.” — Kole Otts

Alex Dolly, Cazenovia

“He kind of seems like the guy who would be leading in the front.” — Eliot Comeau

Max McCaffrey, Central Square

“He puts in a lot of work with the team. He’ll be screaming at us in the practices that like motivate us to do better, so I think he’s definitely the most deserving.” — Rocco Brancaccio

Liam Maxson, Central Valley Academy

“He deserves it. He’s very involved. A big part of his life is running.” — Anthony Colone

“He’s very outgoing. I feel like he’d be a good flag bearer.” — Addison Smithson

Braydon Johnson, Christian Brothers Academy

“He also plays football for CBA, and he just has a big personality. He’d definitely take (the flag) and run with it.” — Jaden Bowen Henry

Tyler Graham, Cicero-North Syracuse

“He’s been really consistently running all year for the past three years that he’s been on my team. I feel like he deserves it the most.” — Camron Ingram

Jianni Berguer, Corcoran

“He’s one of the biggest leaders on the team.” — Pablo Joseph

Callen Cowden, Fulton

“He’s a very big positive impact on our team. He puts up really good times in the 3,200 and the one-mile races. I think he is deserving of carrying the flag.” — Mason Kinney

Caleb Moore, Hannibal

“I think he’d be a good representative. He’s a great kid overall. He really tries his hardest. He took a year off to wrestle, didn’t really like it and he came back to us, so I think he’d be a good fit.” — Austin Sauve

Alex Acevedo, Henninger

“He’s one of our best athletes. He always goes above and beyond, pushes everyone and pushes the team to be better. He’s got a good personality.” — Austin Arnold

Michael Campbell, Jamesville-DeWitt

“He gets everyone on the team hyped. He knows everyone and is friendly with everyone. I think just all in all, he’s just a great person for the job.” — Dairien Hunter

Ryan Anonye, Liverpool

“He just carries that athlete drive. He just wants to win really bad, so I really like that about him.” — Brayden Smith

Tyler Diehl, Marcellus

“He’s a pole vaulter for our team. I believe in him.” — Brody Mitchell

Joshua Knapp, New Hartford

“He did pole vaulting for the first year last season, and he’s done amazing at it. He scored first, second at pretty much every meet. He’s worked hard, so I think he deserves (the flag).” — Nitesh Constantine

Daniel Ramos, New York Mills

“He’s very kind and very gifted, always giving to everybody. He always treats everyone with respect.” — Vincent Paiz

Andrew Shaver, Oswego

“He plans on going to the Naval Academy. He’s our guy. I think when we look at the principles that we like in track, he kind of embodies all of them. He’s got everything that we look for. He’s got heart, he’s got talent and he’s certainly got the effort put in.“ — Aaron O’Brien

Jack Kocher, Phoenix

“He just goes out there and works very hard, so he can represent us well.” — Duncan Mackridge

Elijah Blados, Skaneateles

“He works harder than anyone on the field.” — Ryan McCrone

Fraz Syed, Vernon Verona Sherrill

“He just deserves a lot for the work he puts in.” — Nathan Geroux

Owen Mandigo, Watertown

“He’s hilarious and always happy. I think he would bring a lot of positive energy just carrying that flag in.” — Maddox Corey

Sean McGann, Westhill

“He’s just a really enthusiastic guy. He’d do the flag a great service. He’s very prideful and brings a great energy.“ — Alex Tyszka