St. Anthony's James Ciaccio runs to state title in 800 meters
St. Anthony's James Ciaccio gestures after winning the boys 800-meter run durig Day 1 of the state outdoor track and field championships on Friday in Middletown, N.Y. Credit: Neil Miller
MIDDLETOWN — St. Anthony’s senior James Ciaccio’s redemption story is complete.
On Day One of the New York State track and field championships, Ciaccio rallied on the home straightaway to win the 800 meters in a meet-record 1 minute, 49.64 seconds at Middletown High School. His time broke a 21-year record of 1:50.33, set by Tully High School alumnus Dominic Luka.
Though the victory came on Friday, the story began on May 25, 2024, when Ciaccio — who was new to running the 800 — scratched himself from running the race at the CHSAA Intersectional Championships due to a panic attack. He felt as though he did not belong there. A year later, this past May 24, Ciaccio, who had become one of the state’s premier 800 runners, felt confident enough to give the race a try at the Intersectional. Perhaps, a little too confident.
Entering the home straightaway on the last lap, Ciaccio jumped from third place to first and built a nice lead. While streaking toward victory, he began to slow down and pointed his finger to the sky and was caught from behind before crossing the finish line. The moment was captured and posted on MileSplit New York’s Instagram page.
“Being able to take that energy and turn it around today, plus everything else that I’ve been working on for this moment, it just feels great to finally cash in on that,” Ciaccio said. “It is such a relieving feeling. I’ve been on the podium three times for the 600, and last year for the 4 x 800, so to finally take that step up and get that gold medal is an amazing feeling.”
Ciaccio won the Federation and Class A title, but the 800 also yielded another state champion from Long Island, as Garden City senior DJ McDonough finished third in the final heat with a 1:51.86. That time topped all other NYSPHSAA Class B athletes, making him a first-time state champion, too.
Long Island also dominated in the 400-meter events, as Elmont junior Aidan Peterkin won the Class B 400 dash in 47.77 and North Babylon junior Jordan Peck won the Class A 400 hurdles in 52.99. Each win was the first state title of their respective careers.
Peck was motivated by his lack of teammates there, as several other North Babylon athletes narrowly missed the cut for the state meet. He sought out to win in their honor.
“This has been evading me for so long,” Peck said. “I knew I had to do it for them. That was my only mindset.”
Elsewhere, Malverne's 4 x 100-meter relay team of sophomore Jalen Blue, junior Louis Torres and seniors Isaiah Jolly and Keshawn Pinnock combined to sprint a 42.79 and win the Class B title.
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
