VESTAL – Chenango County can point to three athletes who ended the 2010 track and field season as the best in the state.
Greene junior Chad Noelle won two Division II state titles, the first track and field state championships in Greene school history, Oxford junior Katie Woodford repeated as a state champion, and B-G/Afton senior, Chris Burnett, put a wrap on his high school career garnering top-medal honors.
Woodford, sixth in the state in the 400-meter dash as a freshman, set a school record en route to a state title last year. Over the past three weeks this season, she has consistently lowered her times, and ran a 55.68 in the finals to eclipse her previous-best time – set a week prior at the Section IV state qualifier – by nearly a second. “My goal last week (at the state qualifier) was to run 56.99, and I beat that,” Woodford said. “I just thought I’d run my race this week, and hopefully I would win. Around 300 meters, I was wondering where people were, and I didn’t hear anyone behind me, but I felt good. I slowed down at end, but I knew it was faster than usual.”
Woodford only ran the 400 meters the last six weeks of the season. She suffered a broken collarbone – her third such break – before the season, and wore a modified brace so that she could continue to stay in shape. Because of the pain she endured pumping her arms, she was limited to the 100-meter dash and the 400-meter relay until early May. “It tells you what kind of athlete she is,” said Oxford coach Irene DeJager of Woodford. “She started the season running the 400 in 60 seconds, and to drop into the 55s, that’s just phenomenal. Whenever she steps on the track, I’m never surprised by what she does.”
Noelle, who was among the top three in division two a year ago in the 1,600 meters, set a personal best running a 9:04.77 to claim the Division II state title. Noelle took the lead before the bell lap, and held at least a five-meter lead heading into the final 50 meters.
Burnt Hills’ Otis Ubriaco, a Division I runner and the number one seed entering the race, made a hard charge at the end and outleaned Noelle by just two-hundreths of a second. “It was very close and Chad was disappointed after the race because he wanted to win the Federation title, too,” said Greene coach Sunnie Williams. “After he calmed down, he was excited about winning a state championship.”
In his post-race comments, Noelle, who raised his hands just before the finish line, admitted he thought he had crossed the finish line, at which point Ubriaco leaned forward in a photo finish. “I had a wicked bad stomach cramp on the last lap,” Noelle said. “I don’t know what happened.”
Noelle battled a stomach cramp in the 1,600-meter final, but finished strong on the final lap timing a 4:11.97 behind defending state champion Alex Hatz of Fayetteville-Manlius. Noelle was three seconds ahead of the next-best Division II runner, and his time is the second best in Section IV history behind his record-breaking effort set a week ago in the state qualifier. “Running in the indoor season really helped (Chad),” Williams said. “His times in everything really came down.”
Consistency paid off for Burnett who ran a 9:41.09 to win the Section IV, D-II title a week ago, and followed that up with a 9:41.20 for the state championship. Burnett entered the event as the number three seed, and he used a strong finish to beat Jon Eng of Norwood-Norfolk by three seconds.
Katie Woodford, Emily Woodford, Jessica Russo, and Amanda Marks placed second in the state in the 400-meter relay in 49.59, and Woodford was second in the 100-meter dash timing 12.39 seconds. DeJager said that Katie Woodford would likely focus on the 400-meter dash and perhaps the 400-meter relay next season. “She was okay with what she did in the 100, and it’s not her favorite race,” DeJager said. “She was pleased with how she finished, but she ran it this year more so because she was expected to do it.”
Norwich senior Sarah Bonnell had the best Tornado finish in the state meet in nearly 10 years finishing third in the Division II, 100-meter final. Her time of 12.40, converted to hand-held clocking of 12.16, and established a new school record. Bonnell was also the fastest senior in the D-II field as the two runners in front of her were underclassmen, said Norwich coach Phil Curley. “It was heart-breaking last year for Sarah because she just missed states by one-one hundreth of a second,” the Norwich coach said. “She was great out of the blocks and is probably as fast as anyone in the state the first 10 meters. It was a lot of fun and I was pleased to work with her the past few years. She’s someone you don’t replace, and she has set the bar pretty high.”
Emily Woodford, twin sister of Katie, suffered a fall near the finish line in her 200-meter final on Saturday, a race that she was poised to win. “I have no idea what happened, and she was just devastated after the race,” DeJager said. “She was winning by three or four meters, and was running the race of her life.”
Woodford suffered some scrapes on her legs and arms as a result of the fall, but she did pick herself up and cross the finish line. “She had a fantastic season and every goal that she set, she accomplished,” DeJager said. “She was mentally and physically prepared for this race, that’s why this is so tough for her. It’s not the ending she anticipated.”