Islip's Josiah Patterson, Bay Shore's Maggie McCormick best in state
Josiah Patterson of Islip ,competes in the weight throw at the Suffolk High School boys and girls indoor track pole vault and weight throw in South Huntington on Friday, February 14, 2025 Credit: Neil Miller
Islip senior Josiah Patterson has a knack for throwing things.
On the football field, the offensive guard throws defensive linemen around with ease, while doing the same in the other direction when he plays defensive tackle. However, on the infield of an athletic track, Patterson’s ability to throw things is better than most others’ — particularly in one event.
Competing at the Puma East Coast International Showcase in Baltimore on May 3, Patterson’s throw of 181 feet, 4 inches in the discus gave him the top ranking in New York State. That event welcomes some of the best talent in the world, such as Olympic runner Quincy Wilson.
Being in that kind of environment brought the best out in Patterson, which ultimately made him New York’s top high school discus thrower.
“Just having that atmosphere around you, you’re going to hit something big that meet; that’s the meet to do it at,” Patterson said. “I hit my 181-4 mark. I actually had a throw before that which beat my old personal record [166-8] by 10 feet.”
After being Long Island’s top male in the discus last year, he set out to rule a greater domain this year and become the best in the state.
He is still struggling to believe that he has finally done it.
“I’ve been putting all my work towards this,” Patterson said. “Getting that ultimate ranking feels really good. You don’t really jump that much in discus, but the fact that I did that was insane to me. To be honest, at this point, it still doesn’t feel real.”
Patterson recently committed to the University of Albany, where he will throw for the school’s men’s track and field team. He is not too shabby in the other throwing events, either, as he currently ranks 22nd in the state in the shot put (51-½) and ranked in the top 50 during the indoor season in the weight throw (57-9 ¾).
Bay Shore's McCormick races to the top
Maggie McCormick of Bay Shore wins the 1500 meter run at the Suffolk track and field championships and state qualifiers at Suffolk Community College on Tuesday, February 11, 2025. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Bay Shore junior Maggie McCormick is another top-ranked athlete in New York.
On May 2 in Randall’s Island at the Track Night NYC meet, McCormick ran the 1,500 meters in 4 minutes, 27.34 seconds for the state’s top spot. That time outranks some very big names, such as Bayport-Blue Point senior Sophia McInnes and Floyd senior Zariel Macchia — each of whom are multiple-time state champions.
In fact, eight of the state’s top 13 runners in the 1,500 are all from Long Island. In addition to McCormick, McInnes and Macchia, East Meadow junior Zaria Hall, Sacred Heart junior Maeve Going, Friends Academy senior Aislinn Frazer and Comsewogue sophomore Lexie Cole have all been league or county champions before, if not multiple times. Harborfields sophomore Sayla Fives, also in that top 13, was the sixth-fastest Long Islander at the 2024 NYSPHSAA cross country championships meet.
As of Thursday, in the 1,500, McCormick is better than all of them — and then some.
“It’s definitely kind of surreal,” McCormick said. “Going into the race that I ran that time, I never would’ve expected that. It’s definitely a good feeling knowing that I can rank in the state, but it’s also definitely a good motivator. If anything, it’s making me want to work even harder to keep that and continue to compete at the highest level.”
McCormick, who is Suffolk’s defending county champion in the 1,500 from this past indoor season, has surprised herself with her continued progress this spring.
“Even when compared to last year, I definitely wouldn’t have imagined that I’d be ranking that high at this point in the season,” McCormick said. “I’m super excited to race against really great competition in the upcoming weeks.”
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.
