He then followed that up with an impressive debut at the state championships, nearly winning the pentathlon. Mays took second in Class C and was fifth overall, while posting personal bests along the way in the 110-meter high hurdles, 1,500 meters, high jump, long jump and shot put.

Returning for a final season, Mays was already among the favorites to return to the state championships and had a chance for the top spot on the podium.

Mays came back as a senior and over the course of the season was one of the most important members of the Silver Creek/Forestville track and field team because of his versatility.

At the Dunkirk Invitational, Mays won both the long jump and the high jump, while also cracking the top three in the 110-meter high hurdles. Mays then won the high jump and long jump at the Golden Falcon Invitational and took second in the hurdles.

OBSERVER File Photo Silver Creek/Forestville's Nathan Mays won the high jump and shot put, and took fifth in the long jump, eighth in the 110-meter hurdles and 18th in the 1,500 meters to earn the NYSPHSAA Class C pentathlon title this season.

His first full pentathlon was at the Jamestown Classic and he posted a winning score of 3,292 after wins in high jump and shot put, second place in long jump, and third place in the hurdles.

At the Super 8 Best of the Best meet, Mays competed in just the shot put and hurdles and managed third-place finishes in both events.

Moving into the postseason, Mays really began hitting his stride and put together some of his best performances.

Starting with the Section VI Class C championships, Mays won the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.81 and the high jump at 6 feet, 2 inches, then took third in the shot put at 47 feet, 0.75 inches,

That tuned Mays up for the Section VI state qualifier and he put together a record-setting performance of 3,564, surpassing John Swabik’s total of 3,489 for Clymer/Sherman/Panama in 2019.

Mays didn’t just beat the competition, he completely decimated it with Depew’s Cameron Christiano finishing second overall with 3,564. Mays finished fourth in his weakest event, the 1,500 meters, racing to fourth with a time of 4:49.96, he won the 110 hurdles at 15.78, took first in the high jump at 6-2, claimed the shot put at 47-6.75 — a Silver Creek record — and finished second in the long jump with 21-9.75.

It only got better for Mays as he entered competition at Webster Schroeder High School for the state championships.

On the first day of competition, Mays took first place in two events and sat firmly in the driver’s seat for first place. He finished eighth overall in the hurdles with a time of 15.39 — just shy of his Silver Creek record of 15.35 set at the Super 8 Best of the Best. That was followed up with a new Silver Creek high jump record of 6-2.75 that earned first overall among pentathletes and then his shot put of 13.63 meters was the best among the competitors.

Mays amassed 2,223 points after the first day of competition with just the long jump and 1,500 left to add for his score.

He had more than enough cushion with another top-five performance in the long jump, reaching 6.43 meters for fifth place, allowing him a Silver Creek-record run of 4:41.29 that took 18th in the 1,500 to cruise to the Class C state championship with a total of 3,523 points.

Mays finished his senior season as the Class C champion and came in second among all competitors as Nathaniel Johnson of John Jay-East Fishkill won his third straight Federation title with 3,636 points.

Not only does Mays leave Silver Creek/Forestville as a champion, but he is the record holder in each of the individual pentathlon events for Silver Creek with 15.35 in the 110-meter high hurdles, 22-feet and 3.25 inches in the long jump, 6 feet, 2.75 inches in the high jump, 47 feet, 6.75 inches in the shot put, 4:41.29 in the 1,500 meters and 3,564 points in the pentathlon.

Not only did Mays prove himself as one of the best athletes in New York this season, but he has earned himself the distinction as the 2026 OBSERVER/Post-Journal Track and Field Athlete of the Year.