State pole vault record, school basketball scoring record fall in New York

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship that Jordan Yamoah won last spring was an indication that the Arlington (LaGrangeville) pole vaulter was a promising prospect on the track and field circuit.

But knee surgery less than a month before the start of his senior year had cast doubt on whether he could reach the figurative and literal new heights.

Well, consider the question to be asked and answered. Yamoah edged past the state indoor record Friday and then completely blew that mark away two days later.

Competing in the Jim Mitchell Invitational at The Armory, Yamoah cleared 16 feet, 6 inches on his first attempt, breaking the state indoor mark of 16-5.5 by Casey DiCesare of Irvington. On Sunday, the 5-foot-9, 145-pound vaulter returned to The Armory and became New York's first 17-foot vaulter — indoors or out — during the Section 1 Kickoff Meet.

"I wasn't expecting to even attempt 17 feet this early in the season," Yamoah told The Poughkeepsie Journal.

Yamoah, whose outdoor best was 16-6 last spring during the state meet at Vestal, had surgery in August to repair a slight meniscus tear in his left knee. After three months of rehabilitation, he resumed practice in November.

He said he's now setting his sights on 18 feet.

* Speaking of big performances, Mel Mosley of Middletown won the 600-meters in the Bishop Loughlin Games in 1 minute, 18.96 seconds, the No. 3 scholastic time in New York State history and No. 8 all-time in the U.S. The state mark is 1:18.70 by Terrence Livingston of Great Neck South two years ago.

BOYS BASKETBALL: EASY COME, EASY GO
Zach D'Alessandro started his season with a huge effort early this month by scoring 40 second-half points and 46 overall and making a school-record nine 3-pointers in a 91-52 victory for Sackets Harbor Central over Sandy Creek.

The record for 3s only lasted a week.

Teammate Zach Allen hit 10 shots from beyond the arc on his way to 36 points during Sackets Harbor's 84-56 Frontier League victory over Lyme on Friday.

The state record remains unchallenged. Quincy Douby of Grady High in Brooklyn nailed 18 3s in a December 2001 contest.

* On the subject of three-pointers, University at Buffalo-bound quarterback Joe Licata scored 17 first-quarter points and 31 overall to go over 1,000 for his career during Williamsville South's 87-69 win over Buffalo Bennett. Licata made eight 3-pointers to move up to No. 2 on the Section VI career list with 262. Buffalo Burgard star Richie Campbell made 285 from 1986-90.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: BIG NIGHT FALLS SHORT
Camden junior guard Lindsay Jones scored a school-record 48 points in the Blue Devils' 77-72 loss at Tri-Valley League West rival Vernon-Verona-Sherrill. Jones, who finished with five assists and five steals, scored 35 points in the second half — including 27 in the fourth quarter.

Three of Jones' 18 field goals were 3-pointers en route to shattering the 1993 school mark of 40 points by Amanda Paul.

MORE BASKETBALL NOTES
* Nazareth (Brooklyn) girls coach Apache Paschall was released from New York Downtown hospital over the weekend four days after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure and an enlarged heart. Paschall said he will undergo additional tests Wednesday. It's unclear whether he'll be on the bench this week.

Assistant coach Ron Kelley is running the nationally-ranked team in Paschall's absence.

* Jamesville-DeWitt is without senior guard Demetrius Mitchell for at least another month. Mitchell suffered a broken foot in the opening minute of a win vs. Elmira Southside on Dec. 12.

* Blair Estarfaa made 13 of his 14 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter on his way to 26 points for Maryvale (Cheektowaga) in a 48-42 victory against Amherst. The win was the 300th for 26th-year Flyers coach Mark Kensy, and it came against his son Chris, who is the coach at Amherst.

EMPIRE STATE GAMES STILL UP IN THE AIR
Rochester-area officials remain hopeful that they can salvage the 2011 Empire State Games, but time is running out.

Rochester was scheduled to host the ESGs for the fourth time next July, but state officials abruptly canceled the event last month amid ongoing problems with the overall state budget. County Executive Maggie Brooks has asked the Monroe County Sports Commission and the ESG local organizing committee to assess options for generating $1 million in private funding.

Lake Placid plans to host the Empire State Winter Games for the 31st time this February despite the state budget cuts.

John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.