Ethan Verbosky

Ethan Verbosky turned in a fine sophomore season at Maple Grove in 2024, culminating with a 11th-place overall finish in the 800 meters at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships.

That third-place Division 2 showing at Cicero-North Syracuse High School would turn out to be a precursor of things to come.

This spring, Verbosky was even better for the Red Dragons.

At the Dunkirk Invitational, Verbosky finished second to St. Francis senior Michael Stadler in the 800 meters with a time of 1:58.15.

At the Golden Falcon Track & Field Invitational, Verbosky took second to East Aurora freshman Jonah Seybolt with a time of 10:03.74 in the 3,200 meters.

At the Super 8 Best of the Best Meet, hosted by Salamanca, Verbosky was second to Southwestern’s Donavin Brown with a time of 2:04.59 in the 800 meters and third to West Valley’s Noah Klahn in the 1,600 meters with a time of 4:32.83.

But as the track and field “postseason” got underway, Verbosky got better.

At the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Championships, Verbosky beat Brown in the 800 meters with a time of 1:58.76, 29 hundredths of a second faster than his Southwestern rival.

In the 1,600 meters, Verbosky beat West Valley’s Jack Tharnish and Klahn with a time of 4:31.83, nearly 2 seconds faster than Tharnish and more than 8 seconds faster than Klahn.

At the Section VI Class D Championships, hosted by Randolph, Verbosky beat his Maple Grove teammate Owen Erlandson by more than 2 seconds with a time of 2:05.90 in the 800 meters.

In the 1,600 meters, Verbosky topped Tharnish by more than 6 seconds with a clocking of 4:26.70.

That led into a dominant performance at the Section VI state qualifier, hosted by Falconer. There, Verbosky was the fastest runner, regardless of classification, in the 800 meters with a time of 1:52.67, more than a second faster than Nicholas Morgan of Niagara Wheatfield.

Then, in the 1,600 meters, Verbosky beat Lewiston-Porter’s Leo Clark to the finish line in 4:17.25 to earn the title of fastest 800-meter and 1,600-meter in Section VI, regardless of classification.

At the state meet, Verbosky would be tasked with running both events while also taking part in the 1,600-meter relay with his Maple Grove teammates.

As a team, the Red Dragons finished fourth in Class C in the relay with a time of 3:28.52, just over a second behind the first-place finishers from Geneseo.

But fourth place was not the finish Verbosky was looking for in Middletown. He had his sights set on championships.

In the 800 meters, Verbosky raced to a time of 1:52.60, good enough for the Class C title over James O’Neill senior Bryce Kenny. Verbosky’s time was also good for sixth place overall, regardless of classification.

In the 1,600 meters, Verbosky again won the Class C crown with a time of 4:15.62, nearly 3 seconds faster than second-place finisher Liam Luff of the Trinity School. Overall, Verbosky took 11th.

For becoming a two-time Class C state champion in just his junior year at Maple Grove, Verbosky is the 2025 Post-Journal/OBSERVER Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year.