Syracuse.com’s 2025-26 winter media day indoor track coach poll: Crazy comebacks in final lap?

Syracuse, N.Y. — Track athletes are always giving it their all, especially in the heat of competition.

At Syracuse.com’s winter sports media day, we asked indoor track coaches which of their athletes would pull off a crazy comeback in the last lap.

Here are their responses:

Girls

Ja’da Parker, Auburn

“She’s just like her brother (Jordan). They’re both great athletes.” — John Oliver

Ainsley Mead, Bishop Ludden-Grimes

“She’s got a little more staying power with her speed. She’s fast like most kids.” — Bob Nicholson

Izabella Johnson, Camden

“She doesn’t like losing, especially if I put her at drag anchor in a lot for relays. She’ll see a girl, you know, 10 paces ahead of her and be like, ‘Give me the baton, and I’m going to go.’ She has that next level of we’re not losing. I’ve seen her many times jump in the baton and be like, ‘Give me that.’ She’ll take off, and she does really well.” — Elizabeth Alvord

Addison Anderson, Canastota

“She’s a kid who has that dog in her. She sees somebody and she’s not going to let them pass her.” — Tabitha White

Isabella Wilkins, Cato-Meridian

“She has a great kind of sit and kick attitude, and she finishes well.” — Ryan Ellis

Kadence Williams, Central Square

“She is our top distance winner. She’s phenomenal. She can run for miles, but she also has some speed that you wouldn’t think of when you see her. So you can give her that baton in second to last place, and she’ll make up ground for you.” — Eric Wasacz

Addison Smithson, Central Valley Academy

“She’s been with us. We pulled her up as an eighth grader, but she had a broken foot. She’s just gradually gotten better, and I think she’s starting to gain confidence and realize that she’s actually pretty good. I think this is going to be the time that she’ll hunt (a win) down.” — Chris French

Madelyn Noon, Chittenango

“When she’s on some wheels, she might be able to make some comebacks late in races.” — Derek Gott

Mya Patti, Cicero-North Syracuse

“She works really hard, and she’s really developing well as an athlete.” — Jack Harbold

Amil Stroman, Corcoran

“She did cross country this year. This was her first year doing cross country, so we got her to finally commit to it after four years. She is probably the little wild card that we have. You wouldn’t expect it from her. She’s very relaxed, but when she starts hearing her name screamed in the stands, she will definitely turn it on.” — Olja Martinez

Joslyn Cantine, Fulton

“She’s proven it to us. It’s her third year going to states for cross country, so we’re excited to see what she can do for indoor this season as well. I think she just wants to win. She sees that person in front of her, she doesn’t want them to win, so she goes after them.” — Bethany Fancher

Cecelia Stone, Hannibal

“She was a captain last year. She worked extremely hard. She’s the first one at practice, the last one to leave. Somebody that everybody looks up to. She’s a hurdler, mid-distance sprinter. And you know, we’re hoping that she hits her personal best each week, and she’s one to watch on the track.” — Dan Pawlewicz

Ingrid Aagaard, Homer

“If there are people within reach, she will run them down.” — George Schneider

Alyssa Bladek, Little Falls

“She has another gear when she is behind. She just hates to lose and is just able to go to this different level that you can’t get to unless she is in second place. It’s crazy.” — Mark Rauch

Madison Foy, Marcellus

“Maddie was a state champion in the spring and outdoor for hurdles. She’s my anchor on the 4x2 and the 4x4 (relay) teams. If she’s getting beat, she’s going to come back and beat that person. She’s the GOAT.” — Rick Belvito

TyLynn Morales, Nottingham

“She’s just a very strong athlete. She has the strength and the willpower to be able to dig deep and pull something out where you’re not expecting.” — Andre Dowdell

Amoni Gary, PSLA @ Fowler

“She’s a very good athlete, so I can pretty much put her in anything and she’ll excel.” — Derrick Williams

Serenity Williams, Solvay

“She’s a fighter, especially during the 800 last year in the pentathlon. It wasn’t her favorite event, but when it came down to it, she pushed at the end. That’s what won her the state title last year. It was that push at the end.” — Mike Acchione

Amie Valentine, Utica Proctor

“She is going to be a tremendous athlete. We’re looking forward to great things this year.” — Walter Savage

Alexis Kinney, Vernon Verona Sherrill

“She is a freak of nature. She’s humble and quiet, but she’s vicious. She’s like a mongoose.” — Todd Bauer

Boys

Jordan Parker, Auburn

“He’s done a lot of hard work, he’s very level-headed and he does everything for the team.” — John Oliver

Oscar Pieklik, Bishop Ludden-Grimes

“He tends to have a little more than he thought he could.” — Bob Nicholson

Alex Freywald, Camden

“He doesn’t like losing. He kicks it into gear and says to himself that he’ll do it.” — Elizabeth Alvord

Ty Hawkins, Canastota

“He is a kid that cares so much and he just all of a sudden takes off and forgets he’s running a race because he’s just chasing down the next person.” — Tabitha White

Landon Gillmore, Cato-Meridian

“I would say Landon because I just don’t know if he knows that he’s tired. He would just keep going because he doesn’t know any better.” — Ryan Ellis

Tristan Field Bradley, Cazenovia

“I watched him get spiked last year, split his ankle wide open. It was a bad one. It required stitches, and he ran like the wind after getting while being spiked. He finished the race.” — Mark Tugaw

Charles Raymond, Central Square

“He has great endurance and speed and it’s kind of a deadly combo. He can kind of toy with some runners. He can sit back and just kick if he wants, or if he really wants, he can go in front of the pack and drive a race and just lean the whole way.” — Eric Wasacz

Zachary Driscoll, Chittenango

“He’s got heart for days. He’s a great kid, and that’s a tough choice on our team when you look at the roster we have. We’re loaded with it, but just overall, I don’t have to go with Zach.” — Miles Levesque

Camron Ingram, Cicero-North Syracuse

“He was the best hurdler in the state last year. He’s going to be the best hurdler in the state this year. When push comes to shove, he’s going to come through, and I would trust him with everything that we’ve got.” — Todd Hilt

Chase Croop, Corcoran

“This will be his third year running on varsity. We could depend on him for anything. We asked him to do it, he’s going to do it, and he’s going to give us his best.” — Ozzie Mathis

Jay-Neil McDuffie, East Syracuse Minoa

“He’s one of the best kids in the area. He might not be a relay, but he’ll hit a big jump or a whole lot in a big hurdle race. He usually gets us points in every big meet.” — Mark Carr

Callen Cowden, Fulton

“He’s our top distance runner. He’s got pretty good endurance, but that last lap, he usually does try to dig deep and really come out of nowhere if he can, so it’s nice to watch him.” — Bethany Fancher

Miles McCraw-Howland, Hannibal

“He’s short distance, mid distance and long distance, but he’s like that Energizer bunny. He keeps going, going and going.” — Dan Pawlewicz

Garrett Berthelot, Homer

“He’s our top returning 800 (meter) runner. I think that at 800, you have a chance to make that last comeback.” — George Schneider

Jason Radcliff, Institute of Technology Central

“He’s our only distance runner, but he’s been working very hard. He’s been holding the team tight for the distance runners and hopefully this year he has some people, so he could go against competition.” — Jaquale Breland

Jamison Palen, Marcellus

“He plays soccer in the fall and runs cross country. He’s been doing two sports, but he goes until the end of the race.” — Rick Belvito

Theo Benjamin, Nottingham

“He’s built up a lot of speed because he plays soccer. He’s coming off soccer season. With the speed that he’s developed over the course of that season, he’s going to bring that to track.” — Andre Dowdell

Joshua Brown, Phoenix

“Josh is a hurdler for us. He also does some sprints and mid-distance. He’s really kind of almost a jack of all trades type of kid on the track. He has the ability to come from behind or to take off and lead from the front as well.” — Keith Walberger

Jack Lewis, Pulaski

“As time went on, he was throwing down some really fast times and just really attacking the track, attacking the race as one should. He did a fantastic job.” — Deana Peter

Sawyer Sweet, Utica Proctor

“He’s one of the top runners in the TVL. One of the. One of the top runners in section three. He was one of those guys who would be the one who would get through the back end of that race and finish for us. He’s been a very hard worker, and I’m very excited to see what he does this year. He’s got the energy and he’s got the long strides. He’s very consistent with his form and he just knows how to work.” — Giuseppe Battista

Ammon Novoa, Vernon Verona Sherrill

“In outdoor track, he came back in the 800 a few times. He came from behind at sectionals last year. He was dead in the race, came back and won it in the last hundred. It was nice.” — Todd Bauer

Christian LaValley, Weedsport

“He’s been working super hard. He always wants to win, so he’ll probably go the extra mile and make it happen.” — Dameon Barnhart

Michael Gomes, West Genesee

“He’s been doing it since his freshman year and it’s almost become a joke. He’d be behind this huge pack of runners. You kind of have a hard time seeing him; you could almost set your watch to it. The final lap would come, and then all of a sudden, it was like this flashy yellow. Now it’s going to blue, but there’s this flash of yellow. All of a sudden, he’s in first, and you’re like, how did he do that? It still gets me nervous, but it’s nice having him on my team.” — Mike Palmisano