St. Anthony's track and field's James Ciaccio captures three titles at CHSAA championships
James Ciaccio from St. Anthony’s HS cruises to victory in the 600 meter run at the CHSAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington, NY, on January 26, 2025." Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
The key to St. Anthony’s senior James Ciaccio’s dominance is simple — he takes care of himself.
Ciaccio won the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA title in the 600 and 300 meters in rather impressive fashion on Sunday at St. Anthony’s High School. In the 600, Ciaccio finished in 1 minute, 26.14 seconds to successfully defend his league title from last year. Later in the meet, he ran the 300 in 35.1 seconds to win his first league title in the event.
Ultimately, it was more than just the practice and mental preparation that led Ciaccio to his big day. On Saturday, he ran in the 400 at the Dr. Sander Scorcher meet in Manhattan, which left him with some fatigue in his legs. So he treated his legs delicately for the rest of the night, and they rewarded him with a pair of individual championships on Sunday.
“I do a lot of recovering,” Ciaccio said. “After every event, I would go outside for five to 10 minutes and do a little jog. Then I’d come inside, put my legs up, roll them out, drink to get some electrolytes, eat a little bit and then just focus on one race at a time. I find that doing that helps me to race to my max without sacrificing anything for later.”
Toward the end of Sunday's championship meet, Ciaccio ran the anchor leg for St. Anthony’s 4 x 400 relay team and completed it in 50.3 seconds to help the Friars place first in 3:35.03. Behind Ciaccio’s performances, the Friars won their 16th consecutive NSCHSAA team championship.
“I knew it was all about points [Sunday], so I just had to put it all out there,” Ciaccio said. “Obviously, I was a little tired from [Saturday], but I just had to keep it in my head that I was doing this for the team, so I gave it everything I had.”
Szymanski, Lisbon double winners
In addition to Ciaccio, there were two other boys who won multiple events: Chaminade junior Jonathan Szymanski and St. John the Baptist senior Shamir Lisbon.
Szymanski won the shot put with a throw of 56 feet, 1 inch and claimed the weight throw title at 65-1 3/4, seven feet better than his competition.
As for Lisbon, he added to his trophy case when he won the long jump, flying 20-6 to win by almost a foot and a half. He then triumphantly defended his league championship in the high jump when he cleared 6-2.
“It feels good; all that work I put in is paying off,” Lisbon said. “I’m just ready to defend these again in the spring.”
St. Anthony's girls win, too
The St. Anthony’s girls team scored 138 points — 90 more than second-place Kellenberg — to capture yet another NSCHSAA championship. The Friars combined to claim eight titles (two relays, four individual races, two field events) with a couple of repeat winners from last year. Camryn Daley won the 55 meters and Delia Miles won the shot put.
St. Anthony's also unveiled several new weapons, such as sophomore Alessia Crispo in the 3,000 and freshman Fallon Siriban in the 600. Both underclassmen became league champions in their races, and Siriban also ran the anchor leg of St. Anthony’s championship-winning 4 x 800 relay team.
Siriban’s time of 1:40.3 in the 600 edged out Sacred Heart senior Maeve Going by 1.01 seconds.
“It helped me show and really understand what I’m really capable of,” Siriban said. “It shows me how I’ve earned my spot on this team and where I am now.”
Going, Riches and Guerrera: champs
Other familiar female stars returned to the spotlight. Going got her restitution from the 600 by dominating the 1,500 in 5:01.38, more than six seconds faster than teammate Elle Riches, who placed second. Riches, who won the 1,600 at the Molloy Stanner Games two weeks ago, won the NSCHSAA championship in the 1,000 in 3:06.74.
St. John the Baptist senior Madison Guerrera victoriously defended her league championship in the 55 hurdles in 8.26. The Bryant University commit was proud to leave her final local indoor meet as both a champion and a role model for her younger teammates.
“It feels great to win," Guerrera said, "especially because I love teaching the younger kids everything, especially in the hurdles."
