In his sophomore season, the Randolph runner made it to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Track & Field Championships and even stormed to a second-place finish in Division 2 of the 800 meters.

“Roan is somebody who dreams and thinks big,” Randolph track & field coach Sean Ode said. “The odds were against him as a sophomore, but he wanted to win it last year, he wanted to win all of the Federation last year, but that’s just his mindset.”

Kelly surprised many with his high finish as a sophomore, but he still wanted more, which drove him to improve this season.

“It started with the Glenn D. Loucks Games in May,” Ode said about Kelly’s season. “He hadn’t run in any serious races, so we didn’t know what to expect out of him. The Loucks Games (is) a really serious invite, and it turned out he was the winner of the race (mile) and it set the tone of where the rest of the season went.”

Randolph junior Roan Kelly, left, is The Post-Journal/OBSERVER Male Track & Field Athlete of the Year for the 2023 season. P-J photo by Tim Frank

In that first significant race of the season, Kelly registered a personal-best time in the mile (4:14.09).

Kelly kept things rolling from there, claiming the Section VI Class D title in the 800 meters with a school-record time of 2:11.61 and another title in the 1,600 meters after posting a time of 4:45.10.

After sectionals, Kelly went on to the Section VI Track & Field New York State Qualifier which he claimed the title in the 1,600 meters, improving his time to 4:27.46 and earning his spot back at states.

Now a junior, Kelly returned with big goals in mind, winning the state and Federation titles in the 1,600 meters. In the championship race at Middletown High School, Kelly posted a personal-record time of 4:11.73 to claim both championships.

“It’s really exciting,” Ode said about Kelly’s performance at the state and Federation championships. “So where do you go now? Try to win the 800, 3,200 or maybe try to win all three of them.”

However, Kelly’s season did not end like most at states. Instead, he qualified for the New Balance Nationals in Philadelphia the following weekend. Kelly ran in the mile, which also timed the first 1,500 meters, giving him two placements.

In the first 1,500 meters, Kelly managed to run a personal record 3:58.24 for 28th place, but he turned it up the final stretch to take 22nd place in the mile with a time of 4:14.10.

“He was at nationals last year for Rising Stars,” Ode added. “This year he qualified for the championship division. I don’t think he’s thinking of winning the nationals, but a goal was to be faster than 4:10. Maybe it’s like states from last year and it’s just another goal to work toward.”

Working towards Kelly’s goal of winning the state and Federation championships requires a lot of training the whole year and his drive is a large part of what made it possible.

“It’s a tough balancing act and it’s not something everyone can do,” Ode said about Kelly balancing training for track, schoolwork and competing for the state championship basketball team. “I’ve had several try over the years, but this is a kid with a work ethic I’ve never seen. He can fit as many things into the day as there are hours in the day. He’s just a dream to have as a coach.”

Now headed into his senior season, Kelly has another year left to make his mark on the track and that’s exactly what he intends to do.

“You can dream big,” Ode said about Kelly’s next goals. “Something we’ve been looking at is the Section VI record for the 1,600 of 4:10.21, the 3,200 is 9:00.97 and he wants the mile record. If everything goes right he can go beyond those times, it’s putting in the training where the time comes.”

Kelly and Ode have already started working toward next year with runs with week, building up the miles necessary.

For all of these reasons, Randolph junior Roan Kelly is the 2023 Post-Journal/OBSERVER Male Track & Field Athlete of the Year.