Norwich sweeps 12th annual REK ‘Friends Forever’ Invitational; multiple records fall
Frank Speziale Photo
NORWICH – The REK Invitational seemed to go off without a hitch on Friday, May 5, save the occasional heavy session of rain – Norwich’s boys and girls earned first place team finishes, topping the Sidney Warriors and Unadilla Valley Storm.
This rain failed to slow down any of the top Chenango County Track and Field athletes, as multiple top-end records fell to the wayside during the 12th annual running of the REK.
The REK began the same way it has for the past 12 years, with a 100m memorial walk to remember the lives of Rachel Nargiso, Emily Collins, and Katie Almeter – all NHS graduates in 2000. The trio tragically lost their lives in a car accident on the campus of Colgate University in Hamilton, in November of 2000.
To note how precious life can be and to remember the three Norwich athletes who lost their lives too soon, the REK acts as a way to bring all together – 12 seasons later and one can find some of the top area Track and Field athletes competing all in one spot, in a friendly, yet competitive manor.
The Norwich boys and girls sought to dominate the home invitational, doing just that with first-place finishes on both sides. The Norwich boys earned themselves a 183 point day, besting Sidney in second-place with 67 and Unadilla Valley in third at 65. Norwich’s Zack Race took home a second consecutive year of being named the Male MVP award for the boys track, breaking four meet records on the day. Dale Lake of Morrisville-Eaton was named the Male MVP for the field events.
The Tornado girls followed suite of the boys, taking home a first-place team win with 181 points. This 181 points bested Unadilla Valley at 71 points and Greene at 61 points. Norwich’s Caroline Stewart was named Female MVP for the field events, breaking two meet records. Morgan Westerman of Cherry Valley-Springfield was named the Female MVP for the track events.
The 4x100m relay was claimed by the Norwich quartet of David Berger, Zack Race, Ky’sawn Veale and Eric Conant. The Tornado sprinters raced to a new school and subsequently the meet record when they ran a time of 44.39 for a first-place finish. Notably, the record was previously held by Josh Favaloro, Morgan Crawford, David Layman, and Patrick Taylor at 44.43 – a record set in 2011.
Claiming a second-place finish behind Norwich was Unadilla Valley – Ben Avolio, Jordan Mirabito, Alex Taylor, and Goeff Keach – who ran a time of 46.35; followed by Sherburne-Earlville in third-place at 48.98 – Hunter Zbydniewski, Michael Doeberl, Michael Giglio, and Lincoln Owen.
The ‘big men’ stepped onto the track for a shot at glory in the throwers 4x100m relay – Norwich’s top squad of Jacob Franklin, Wesley Mills, Carter Hubbard, and Zack Clipston snagged the win at 49.87 – besting Cherry Valley-Springfield at 52.03, and Unadilla Valley – Dawson Carson, James Peterson, Kyler Butts, and Hunter Butler – in third-place at 55.78.
The 110m hurdles garnered a Morrisville-Eaton champion, when Dale Lake won the event at 16.46. Sherburne-Earlville’s Owen Rodriguez climbed on the podium at sixth-place with a time of 18.30.
Norwich returned to the forefront in the 3200m relay, when Noah Bufalini, Gabe Gawronski, Connor. Nial, and Ben Ericksen took the top spot in the event with a time of 8:40.99. Coming in second-place was Unadilla Valley, as Brady George, Josh Nogaret, Alex Taylor, and Than Garry attempted to push Norwich for the win with a time of 8:54.90.
Norwich’s claim to fame in the past few months – the sprinters stepped to the starting blocks in their first individual event at the REK. The Tornado trio of Race, Conant and Berger saw solid performances in the 100m dash, with Race taking home the first-place spot. Race’s time of 11.03 not only earned him the top-spot, but smashed a meet record for the REK itself.
Coming in second through fifth – sixth-place was scratched due to injury – were all Chenango County sprinters. Second-place from Norwich was Eric Conant at 11.65, third-place from Greene was Coy Austin at 11.91, fourth-place from Norwich was David Berger at 11.94, and fifth-place from UV was Geoff Keach at 12.24. S-E’s Lincoln Owen ran an 11.7 in the preliminary round of the event but was an injury scratch for the finals.
Unadilla Valley saw their first top-finish come on the day, when Ben Avolio bested his competition in the 400m dash for the win. UV’s Avolio snagged the win in the 400m with a time of 53.23, besting Scott Tomanocy of Norwich for second-place at 53.76. Sherburne-Earlville’s Jonah Robertson found the podium at sixth-place with a time of 55.31.
The Tornado distance runners looked for the complete sweep of the 1600m run, however, would manage a first, second, and fourth-place in their efforts. Taking the first-place win in the 1600m was Norwich senior Ben Ericksen with a time of 4:56.28. Coming in second-place for Norwich, was Noah Bufalini, who pushed Erickson the entire race – running a time of 4:59.13.
Taking fourth-place was Chris Barton of Norwich at 5:08.32, followed by Josh Nogaret of Unadilla Valley at 5:09.77, and Oxford’s Adam Brady at 5:11.78 for sixth-place. Norwich’s Stanton Baker would notably finish the 1600m with a personal best time, but failed to land in the top-six finishers. Bainbridge-Guilford’s Dan Locke managed an eighth-place finish with a time of 5:24.75.
Edmeston took home their first first-place spot of the night when Bryce Graham earned the win in the 400m hurdles with a time of 59.91. Unadilla Valley’s Than Garry was attempted to crack the one-minute mark in the event with his second-place finish and time of 1:0.52. The Tornado’s Connor Nial finished in fourth-place with a time of 1:03.82.
Norwich saw another champion on the night when Gabe Gawronski ran his pace to a first-place finish in the 800m run. Gawronski ran a time of 2:06.60, besting fellow teammate Noah Bufalini for second-place at 2:12.24. Sherburne-Earlville stacked the event for a solid third, fourth, and fifth-place finish – when Harrison DuBois ran a 2:12.87; Tristan Rainford ran a 2:18.49 and Ryan Asma ran a 2:19.39, respectively. Greene junior, Nolan Scofield finished in sixth-place with a personal best time of 2:20.23. B-G saw a solid run from Dan Locke, who squeezed out a ninth-place finish with a time of 2:21.44.
The 200m dash saw a multitude of personal best times – with Male MVP for the track events, Zack Race speeding his way to a first-place finish, tackling yet another meet record with a time of 22.42.
Norwich’s Eric Conant and David Berger would finish in second and third-place, with times of 23.75, and 24.37, respectively. UV’s Ben Avolio snagged a fourth-place spot in the event with a time of 24.51; followed by Hunter Zbydniewski of S-E with a sixth-place finish at 25.04. Notably, David Berger, Garret Thorton, and James Heath and Luka Kamps– all of Norwich – each earned personal best times in the event.
The Tornado’s top-distance runner, Ericksen, returned to form in the 3200m run. A goal Norwich head coach Shaun Horan stated would be for Ericksen to break the 10 minute mark the event. Despite falling short of the lofty goal, Ericksen came away with a first-place finish and a time of 10:31.09. Adam Brady of Oxford would finish in fourth-place at 11:30.01; followed Norwich’s Nick Loscavio and Chris Barton in fifth and sixth-place, with times of 11:33.12 and 11:52.01. Loscavio would claim a personal best time in the event.
Another record falls, Norwich’s sprint medley relay team – Conant, Berger, Race, and Gawronski – downed yet another meet record, when they took home a first-place finish in the event running a time of 1:38.64. Taking second-place was the Norwich ‘B’ team – James Heath, Connor Nial, Ben Ericksen, and Scott Tomanocy at 1:44.40. Unadilla Valley put together the team of Avolio, Jordan Mirabito, Alex Taylor and Josh Nogaret to pull out a third-place with a time of 1:44.40.
S-E nailed a first-place spot in the long jump with Lincoln Owen jumping a 19’3”. In doing so, Owen aggravated an injury, causing a scratch from the 100m finals. Taking second-place in the long jump was Greene’s Coy Austin at 19’1.5” – defeating Norwich’s top jumper Ky’sawn Veale at 19’1” and UV’s Alex Taylor at 19’. S-E rounded out the event, with a sixth-place as well, as Hunter Zbydniewski landed at 18’9.5” for the podium appearance. B-G’s Aidan Nolan found himself in ninth-place with his best jump of the evening coming at 17’1.75”.
Despite losing the long jump, and subsequently being edged in the triple jump – Norwich’s Veale would hit a massive landmark personal best jump for second-place at 39’1.5”. Dale Lake of M-E would win the event, jumping a 40’3” mark. Following Veale were his teammates Zack Clipston in fourth-place at 35’6.5” and Jacob Russel in fifth-place at 35’2”. The Marauders sent Michael Doeberl to the podium for a sixth-place finish in the event, with a jump of 34’6.5”.
Norwich’s Zack Clipston followed up his performance in the triple jump with a solid outing in the high jump – earning a top-finish for the event when he cleared 5’6.1”. UV’s Geoff Keach snagged a third-place clearing 5’4” followed by a three-way tie for sixth-place between Mike Willard of Greene Kyle Timian of Waterville and Myrick Elrod of S-E at 5’0.1”.
The Bobcats claimed the lone Chenango County top-finish at the pole vault, when Aidan Nolan snagged a sixth-place spot when he cleared 9’6”.
Sherburne-Earlville’s Sam Tuttle landed in fourth-place with his best throw in the shot put coming at 38’7.5” – besting Norwich’s Carter Hubbard who finished in fifth-place with a throw of 37’5”.
Tuttle returned to round out his day of throwing with a third-place finish in the discus, managing a launch of 113’3”.
Boys Team Finishes: Norwich 183, Sidney 67, Unadilla Valley 65, Cherry Valley-Springfield 62, Morrisville-Eaton 49, Sherburne-Earlville 43.33, Waterville 27.33, Edmeston 18, Greene 15.33, Cincinnatus 9, DeRuyter 8, Oxford 5, Bainbridge-Guilford 1, Madison 0.
On the girls side, the lady Tornado were headlined by Nicole Jeffrey, Katie Gawronski, Meghan Komendarek, and Hailey Colabelli. Norwich’s 4x800m relay team broke the facility record, meet record and NHS school record, that had stood since 1997. Jeffrey, Gawronski, Komendarek and Colabelli ran a 10:03.96, taking down the old school record at Nancy Heiss, Mary Ritzel, Amanda Burke and Marie Gager at 10:12.03 – all while hitting a personal best time by over 20 seconds.
Taking second-place in the record-setting event was Greene’s squad – Mary Klecha, Katie Anderson, Alyssa Davenport, and Chloe Parks at 11:03.94; followed by UV’s team of Sadie Dibbell, Isabel Mendoza, Sophie Off, and Rebecca Ruffino in third-place at 11:06.47.
Unadilla Valley’s Kyleigh George snagged a second-place finish in the 100m hurdles, running a 17.90, defeating Norwich’s Hannah Klockowski in third-place at 18.28. UV and Norwich would exchange blows in the event, as the lady Storm saw Cearah Dacostefaro take a fourth-place spot at 18.50, followed by Norwich in fifth-place, when Riley Marsh ran a 18.51. Both Klockowski and Marsh hit personal best times in the event.
Norwich’s star female sprinter, Emily Shattuck, shined in the 100m dash, running a winning time of 13.30. Shattuck earned the win, defeating Amberlyn Robertson of S-E at 13.48, Maggie Merlo of UV at 13.63, Shay Franklin of S-E at 13.80, and Nicole Flohr of Greene at 13.93.
Greene saw their first top-finish come by way of Katie Anderson in the 1500m run. The Trojan senior edged out Norwich’s Nicole Jeffrey as the two ran split races – Jeffrey leading the first half, Anderson leading the second half. Anderson finished in first-place with a personal best time of 5:10.08, followed by Jeffrey at 5:15.49.
Sherburne-Earlville’s Megan Furner finished in fourth-place in the event with a time of 5:35.19, followed by Sadie Dibbell of UV in sixth-place at 5:46.28.
One event later, and the Trojan girls team were making an early mark on the 12th annual REK, as Madison Rice took the win in the 400m dash, defeating Norwich’s Hailey Colabelli. Rice, a freshman, ran a personal best time of 1:01.89 for the top-finish. Colabelli finished in second-place at 1:03.10, followed by teammate Meghan Komendarek in third-place at 1:05.15. Unadilla Valley’s Isabel Mendoza finished in fourth-place at 1:05.99, followed by Oxford’s Katelyn Ingraham in sixth-place at 1:07.76.
The 400m hurdles saw Female track MVP, Morgan Westerman take the win at 1:13.02 – followed by a slew of Chenango County athletes. Norwich’s Katie Gawronski hit a personal best time in the event for a second-place finish at 1:13.26. Gawronski was followed by Mary Klecha of Greene at 1:20.81 who ran a personal best time, Destiny Gladney of Norwich at 1:21.56, Cearah Dacostefaro of Unadilla Valley at 1:21.70, and Madison Kerr of Norwich at 1:22.94.
Meghan Komendarek, a Norwich senior made her voice heard at the REK with a top-finish in the 800m run. Komendarek edged out Greene’s Chloe Parks for the top-spot, with Komendarek running a 2:34.92 and Parks running a 2:38.81, a personal best time for Parks. Hannah Lawrence of S-E finished in fourth-place at 2:50.52, followed by Sophie Off of UV at 2:54.52.
Much like the boys side, Norwich saw a multitude of runners earn PR times in the 200m dash, however, none would finish in the top-six spots. Taking second-place in the event was the lady Marauders Amberlyn Robertson at 27.96. Taking third-place was Maggie Merlo of UV at 28.58, followed by Shay Franklin of S-E in fourth-place at 28.69, Nicole Flohr of Greene in fifth-place at 28.90, and Jadyn Munson of Oxford in sixth-place at 28.95. Norwich’s Delilah Geislinger, Samantha Binelli, and Riley Marsh each hit personal best times in their efforts.
Jeffrey of Norwich returned to form in the 3000m run – staking her claim to the event by nearly besting the competition by a full minute. Jeffrey snagged the first-place win with a time of 11:49.74. Megan Furner of S-E slid into a third-place finish in the event with a time of 12:41.38, followed by Amanda Walker of Greene in fourth-place at 13:02.27.
Norwich climbed back to the top-spot, one event later when their 4x100m relay team – Hailey Colabelli, Emily Shattuck, Caroline Stewart, and Delilah Geislinger – earned themselves a first-place finish in the event, running a seasons-best time of 52.13. Unadilla Valley’s squad of Jessica Smith,Kyleigh George,Maggie Merlo,Malinda Keach took home a third-place finish in the event at 54.41. Greene would finish in fourth-place at 55.42, followed by Norwich’s ‘B’ team at 55.69, Sherburne-Earlville in sixth-place at 56.95, and Unadilla Valley in seventh at 56.95.
The throwers 4x100m relay saw a top-finish go to Cherry Valley-Springfield at 1:01.74, while Norwich’s team of Emily Evans, Kara Evans, Elizabeth Karlson, and Ayanna Bell earned a second-place finish at 1:03.66, followed by UV’s team at 1:04.83.
The sprint medley relay event went to the lady Storm – Stephanie Montgomery, Malinda Keach, Gracie Oglesby, and Isabel Mendoza – who ran a winning time of 2:03.71. UV was followed by Greene in second-place at 2:05.03, and Norwich in fourth-place at 2:10.76.
Norwich’s female MVP laid her claim to fame in the 2017 REK Invitational when it came to the long jump and triple jump. Caroline Stewart ripped off a meet record in the long jump at 17’0.75” for the first-place finish. Teammate, Emily Shattuck finished in second-place at 16’1.75”, followed by Merlo of UV at 15’7”. Nicole Jeffrey would sneak onto the podium in the event, landing in fifth-place with a 14’8.5” jump.
Stewart followed up her stellar performance in the long jump by breaking the meet record in the triple jump as well – taking first-place with a jump of 35’2.25”. Oxford’s top-performer on the day was Katelyn Ingraham as she finished in second-place in the triple jump with a jump of 32’11”. Norwich’s Taylor Hansen and Saige Benedict finish third and fourth-place, respectively, with jumps of 31’3.75” and 30’9.75” – all followed by Kyleigh George in sixth-place at 30’7”.
Sherburne-Earlville heard that Oxford earned a second-place and followed that up wit a first-place finish in the high jump. Miranda Niles cleared 4’10” to take home the first-place, besting UV’s George and Gracie Oglesby at 4’4” and 4’0.1”, respectively, for a UV third and fifth-place finish.
Norwich’s Taylor Hansen proved to be the bravest of the girls side, earning a first-place finish in the pole vault – as the lone female contestant on the rainy Friday – as she cleared 6’0.1”.
Norwich senior, Kara Evans put together a stellar day in the throwing pits – taking a first and second-place finish, both personal best marks.
In the shot put, Evans launched a throw of 31’1” for a second-place finish behind Sidney’s Ariyahna Bernard at 34’10.25”. Rose McKay of B-G followed up Evans for a third-place finish off her best throw on the day of 29’3.5”. Nicole Turner snagged a podium spot for S-E with a throw of 27’8” for a sixth-place spot.
Evans followed up the second-place finish with a first-place finish of her own in the discus. With another personal best throw in the event at 105’6”, Evans was the lone female athlete to hit triple digits on the day. Taking fourth-place from Norwich in the event was Elizabeth Karlson at 73’3”, followed by Morgan Homann of S-E at 68’4” for a fifth-place spot.
Girls Team Finishes: Norwich 181, Unadilla Valley 71, Greene 61, Morrisville 55, Sherburne-Earlville 49, Sidney 44, Cherry Valley-Springfield 40, Cincinnatus 15, Oxford 12, Bainbridge-Guilford 6, DeRuyter 2, Madison 0, Morrisville-Eaton 0, Edmeston 0.
Norwich boys and girls track and field returns to action on Monday, May 8, when they travel to Chenango Valley at 4:30 p.m. The MAC league teams will be sending athletes to Bainbridge for the MAC league Pentathlon on Monday, May 8, at 4:30 p.m.
Full results of the 12th annual REK can be find on Milesplit.com.
NORWICH – The REK Invitational seemed to go off without a hitch on Friday, May 5, save the occasional heavy session of rain – Norwich’s boys and girls earned first place team finishes, topping the Sidney Warriors and Unadilla Valley Storm.
This rain failed to slow down any of the top Chenango County Track and Field athletes, as multiple top-end records fell to the wayside during the 12th annual running of the REK.
The REK began the same way it has for the past 12 years, with a 100m memorial walk to remember the lives of Rachel Nargiso, Emily Collins, and Katie Almeter – all NHS graduates in 2000. The trio tragically lost their lives in a car accident on the campus of Colgate University in Hamilton, in November of 2000.
To note how precious life can be and to remember the three Norwich athletes who lost their lives too soon, the REK acts as a way to bring all together – 12 seasons later and one can find some of the top area Track and Field athletes competing all in one spot, in a friendly, yet competitive manor.
The Norwich boys and girls sought to dominate the home invitational, doing just that with first-place finishes on both sides. The Norwich boys earned themselves a 183 point day, besting Sidney in second-place with 67 and Unadilla Valley in third at 65. Norwich’s Zack Race took home a second consecutive year of being named the Male MVP award for the boys track, breaking four meet records on the day. Dale Lake of Morrisville-Eaton was named the Male MVP for the field events.
The Tornado girls followed suite of the boys, taking home a first-place team win with 181 points. This 181 points bested Unadilla Valley at 71 points and Greene at 61 points. Norwich’s Caroline Stewart was named Female MVP for the field events, breaking two meet records. Morgan Westerman of Cherry Valley-Springfield was named the Female MVP for the track events.
The 4x100m relay was claimed by the Norwich quartet of David Berger, Zack Race, Ky’sawn Veale and Eric Conant. The Tornado sprinters raced to a new school and subsequently the meet record when they ran a time of 44.39 for a first-place finish. Notably, the record was previously held by Josh Favaloro, Morgan Crawford, David Layman, and Patrick Taylor at 44.43 – a record set in 2011.
Claiming a second-place finish behind Norwich was Unadilla Valley – Ben Avolio, Jordan Mirabito, Alex Taylor, and Goeff Keach – who ran a time of 46.35; followed by Sherburne-Earlville in third-place at 48.98 – Hunter Zbydniewski, Michael Doeberl, Michael Giglio, and Lincoln Owen.
The ‘big men’ stepped onto the track for a shot at glory in the throwers 4x100m relay – Norwich’s top squad of Jacob Franklin, Wesley Mills, Carter Hubbard, and Zack Clipston snagged the win at 49.87 – besting Cherry Valley-Springfield at 52.03, and Unadilla Valley – Dawson Carson, James Peterson, Kyler Butts, and Hunter Butler – in third-place at 55.78.
The 110m hurdles garnered a Morrisville-Eaton champion, when Dale Lake won the event at 16.46. Sherburne-Earlville’s Owen Rodriguez climbed on the podium at sixth-place with a time of 18.30.
Norwich returned to the forefront in the 3200m relay, when Noah Bufalini, Gabe Gawronski, Connor. Nial, and Ben Ericksen took the top spot in the event with a time of 8:40.99. Coming in second-place was Unadilla Valley, as Brady George, Josh Nogaret, Alex Taylor, and Than Garry attempted to push Norwich for the win with a time of 8:54.90.
Norwich’s claim to fame in the past few months – the sprinters stepped to the starting blocks in their first individual event at the REK. The Tornado trio of Race, Conant and Berger saw solid performances in the 100m dash, with Race taking home the first-place spot. Race’s time of 11.03 not only earned him the top-spot, but smashed a meet record for the REK itself.
Coming in second through fifth – sixth-place was scratched due to injury – were all Chenango County sprinters. Second-place from Norwich was Eric Conant at 11.65, third-place from Greene was Coy Austin at 11.91, fourth-place from Norwich was David Berger at 11.94, and fifth-place from UV was Geoff Keach at 12.24. S-E’s Lincoln Owen ran an 11.7 in the preliminary round of the event but was an injury scratch for the finals.
Unadilla Valley saw their first top-finish come on the day, when Ben Avolio bested his competition in the 400m dash for the win. UV’s Avolio snagged the win in the 400m with a time of 53.23, besting Scott Tomanocy of Norwich for second-place at 53.76. Sherburne-Earlville’s Jonah Robertson found the podium at sixth-place with a time of 55.31.
The Tornado distance runners looked for the complete sweep of the 1600m run, however, would manage a first, second, and fourth-place in their efforts. Taking the first-place win in the 1600m was Norwich senior Ben Ericksen with a time of 4:56.28. Coming in second-place for Norwich, was Noah Bufalini, who pushed Erickson the entire race – running a time of 4:59.13.
Taking fourth-place was Chris Barton of Norwich at 5:08.32, followed by Josh Nogaret of Unadilla Valley at 5:09.77, and Oxford’s Adam Brady at 5:11.78 for sixth-place. Norwich’s Stanton Baker would notably finish the 1600m with a personal best time, but failed to land in the top-six finishers. Bainbridge-Guilford’s Dan Locke managed an eighth-place finish with a time of 5:24.75.
Edmeston took home their first first-place spot of the night when Bryce Graham earned the win in the 400m hurdles with a time of 59.91. Unadilla Valley’s Than Garry was attempted to crack the one-minute mark in the event with his second-place finish and time of 1:0.52. The Tornado’s Connor Nial finished in fourth-place with a time of 1:03.82.
Norwich saw another champion on the night when Gabe Gawronski ran his pace to a first-place finish in the 800m run. Gawronski ran a time of 2:06.60, besting fellow teammate Noah Bufalini for second-place at 2:12.24. Sherburne-Earlville stacked the event for a solid third, fourth, and fifth-place finish – when Harrison DuBois ran a 2:12.87; Tristan Rainford ran a 2:18.49 and Ryan Asma ran a 2:19.39, respectively. Greene junior, Nolan Scofield finished in sixth-place with a personal best time of 2:20.23. B-G saw a solid run from Dan Locke, who squeezed out a ninth-place finish with a time of 2:21.44.
The 200m dash saw a multitude of personal best times – with Male MVP for the track events, Zack Race speeding his way to a first-place finish, tackling yet another meet record with a time of 22.42.
Norwich’s Eric Conant and David Berger would finish in second and third-place, with times of 23.75, and 24.37, respectively. UV’s Ben Avolio snagged a fourth-place spot in the event with a time of 24.51; followed by Hunter Zbydniewski of S-E with a sixth-place finish at 25.04. Notably, David Berger, Garret Thorton, and James Heath and Luka Kamps– all of Norwich – each earned personal best times in the event.
The Tornado’s top-distance runner, Ericksen, returned to form in the 3200m run. A goal Norwich head coach Shaun Horan stated would be for Ericksen to break the 10 minute mark the event. Despite falling short of the lofty goal, Ericksen came away with a first-place finish and a time of 10:31.09. Adam Brady of Oxford would finish in fourth-place at 11:30.01; followed Norwich’s Nick Loscavio and Chris Barton in fifth and sixth-place, with times of 11:33.12 and 11:52.01. Loscavio would claim a personal best time in the event.
Another record falls, Norwich’s sprint medley relay team – Conant, Berger, Race, and Gawronski – downed yet another meet record, when they took home a first-place finish in the event running a time of 1:38.64. Taking second-place was the Norwich ‘B’ team – James Heath, Connor Nial, Ben Ericksen, and Scott Tomanocy at 1:44.40. Unadilla Valley put together the team of Avolio, Jordan Mirabito, Alex Taylor and Josh Nogaret to pull out a third-place with a time of 1:44.40.
S-E nailed a first-place spot in the long jump with Lincoln Owen jumping a 19’3”. In doing so, Owen aggravated an injury, causing a scratch from the 100m finals. Taking second-place in the long jump was Greene’s Coy Austin at 19’1.5” – defeating Norwich’s top jumper Ky’sawn Veale at 19’1” and UV’s Alex Taylor at 19’. S-E rounded out the event, with a sixth-place as well, as Hunter Zbydniewski landed at 18’9.5” for the podium appearance. B-G’s Aidan Nolan found himself in ninth-place with his best jump of the evening coming at 17’1.75”.
Despite losing the long jump, and subsequently being edged in the triple jump – Norwich’s Veale would hit a massive landmark personal best jump for second-place at 39’1.5”. Dale Lake of M-E would win the event, jumping a 40’3” mark. Following Veale were his teammates Zack Clipston in fourth-place at 35’6.5” and Jacob Russel in fifth-place at 35’2”. The Marauders sent Michael Doeberl to the podium for a sixth-place finish in the event, with a jump of 34’6.5”.
Norwich’s Zack Clipston followed up his performance in the triple jump with a solid outing in the high jump – earning a top-finish for the event when he cleared 5’6.1”. UV’s Geoff Keach snagged a third-place clearing 5’4” followed by a three-way tie for sixth-place between Mike Willard of Greene Kyle Timian of Waterville and Myrick Elrod of S-E at 5’0.1”.
The Bobcats claimed the lone Chenango County top-finish at the pole vault, when Aidan Nolan snagged a sixth-place spot when he cleared 9’6”.
Sherburne-Earlville’s Sam Tuttle landed in fourth-place with his best throw in the shot put coming at 38’7.5” – besting Norwich’s Carter Hubbard who finished in fifth-place with a throw of 37’5”.
Tuttle returned to round out his day of throwing with a third-place finish in the discus, managing a launch of 113’3”.
Boys Team Finishes: Norwich 183, Sidney 67, Unadilla Valley 65, Cherry Valley-Springfield 62, Morrisville-Eaton 49, Sherburne-Earlville 43.33, Waterville 27.33, Edmeston 18, Greene 15.33, Cincinnatus 9, DeRuyter 8, Oxford 5, Bainbridge-Guilford 1, Madison 0.
On the girls side, the lady Tornado were headlined by Nicole Jeffrey, Katie Gawronski, Meghan Komendarek, and Hailey Colabelli. Norwich’s 4x800m relay team broke the facility record, meet record and NHS school record, that had stood since 1997. Jeffrey, Gawronski, Komendarek and Colabelli ran a 10:03.96, taking down the old school record at Nancy Heiss, Mary Ritzel, Amanda Burke and Marie Gager at 10:12.03 – all while hitting a personal best time by over 20 seconds.
Taking second-place in the record-setting event was Greene’s squad – Mary Klecha, Katie Anderson, Alyssa Davenport, and Chloe Parks at 11:03.94; followed by UV’s team of Sadie Dibbell, Isabel Mendoza, Sophie Off, and Rebecca Ruffino in third-place at 11:06.47.
Unadilla Valley’s Kyleigh George snagged a second-place finish in the 100m hurdles, running a 17.90, defeating Norwich’s Hannah Klockowski in third-place at 18.28. UV and Norwich would exchange blows in the event, as the lady Storm saw Cearah Dacostefaro take a fourth-place spot at 18.50, followed by Norwich in fifth-place, when Riley Marsh ran a 18.51. Both Klockowski and Marsh hit personal best times in the event.
Norwich’s star female sprinter, Emily Shattuck, shined in the 100m dash, running a winning time of 13.30. Shattuck earned the win, defeating Amberlyn Robertson of S-E at 13.48, Maggie Merlo of UV at 13.63, Shay Franklin of S-E at 13.80, and Nicole Flohr of Greene at 13.93.
Greene saw their first top-finish come by way of Katie Anderson in the 1500m run. The Trojan senior edged out Norwich’s Nicole Jeffrey as the two ran split races – Jeffrey leading the first half, Anderson leading the second half. Anderson finished in first-place with a personal best time of 5:10.08, followed by Jeffrey at 5:15.49.
Sherburne-Earlville’s Megan Furner finished in fourth-place in the event with a time of 5:35.19, followed by Sadie Dibbell of UV in sixth-place at 5:46.28.
One event later, and the Trojan girls team were making an early mark on the 12th annual REK, as Madison Rice took the win in the 400m dash, defeating Norwich’s Hailey Colabelli. Rice, a freshman, ran a personal best time of 1:01.89 for the top-finish. Colabelli finished in second-place at 1:03.10, followed by teammate Meghan Komendarek in third-place at 1:05.15. Unadilla Valley’s Isabel Mendoza finished in fourth-place at 1:05.99, followed by Oxford’s Katelyn Ingraham in sixth-place at 1:07.76.
The 400m hurdles saw Female track MVP, Morgan Westerman take the win at 1:13.02 – followed by a slew of Chenango County athletes. Norwich’s Katie Gawronski hit a personal best time in the event for a second-place finish at 1:13.26. Gawronski was followed by Mary Klecha of Greene at 1:20.81 who ran a personal best time, Destiny Gladney of Norwich at 1:21.56, Cearah Dacostefaro of Unadilla Valley at 1:21.70, and Madison Kerr of Norwich at 1:22.94.
Meghan Komendarek, a Norwich senior made her voice heard at the REK with a top-finish in the 800m run. Komendarek edged out Greene’s Chloe Parks for the top-spot, with Komendarek running a 2:34.92 and Parks running a 2:38.81, a personal best time for Parks. Hannah Lawrence of S-E finished in fourth-place at 2:50.52, followed by Sophie Off of UV at 2:54.52.
Much like the boys side, Norwich saw a multitude of runners earn PR times in the 200m dash, however, none would finish in the top-six spots. Taking second-place in the event was the lady Marauders Amberlyn Robertson at 27.96. Taking third-place was Maggie Merlo of UV at 28.58, followed by Shay Franklin of S-E in fourth-place at 28.69, Nicole Flohr of Greene in fifth-place at 28.90, and Jadyn Munson of Oxford in sixth-place at 28.95. Norwich’s Delilah Geislinger, Samantha Binelli, and Riley Marsh each hit personal best times in their efforts.
Jeffrey of Norwich returned to form in the 3000m run – staking her claim to the event by nearly besting the competition by a full minute. Jeffrey snagged the first-place win with a time of 11:49.74. Megan Furner of S-E slid into a third-place finish in the event with a time of 12:41.38, followed by Amanda Walker of Greene in fourth-place at 13:02.27.
Norwich climbed back to the top-spot, one event later when their 4x100m relay team – Hailey Colabelli, Emily Shattuck, Caroline Stewart, and Delilah Geislinger – earned themselves a first-place finish in the event, running a seasons-best time of 52.13. Unadilla Valley’s squad of Jessica Smith,Kyleigh George,Maggie Merlo,Malinda Keach took home a third-place finish in the event at 54.41. Greene would finish in fourth-place at 55.42, followed by Norwich’s ‘B’ team at 55.69, Sherburne-Earlville in sixth-place at 56.95, and Unadilla Valley in seventh at 56.95.
The throwers 4x100m relay saw a top-finish go to Cherry Valley-Springfield at 1:01.74, while Norwich’s team of Emily Evans, Kara Evans, Elizabeth Karlson, and Ayanna Bell earned a second-place finish at 1:03.66, followed by UV’s team at 1:04.83.
The sprint medley relay event went to the lady Storm – Stephanie Montgomery, Malinda Keach, Gracie Oglesby, and Isabel Mendoza – who ran a winning time of 2:03.71. UV was followed by Greene in second-place at 2:05.03, and Norwich in fourth-place at 2:10.76.
Norwich’s female MVP laid her claim to fame in the 2017 REK Invitational when it came to the long jump and triple jump. Caroline Stewart ripped off a meet record in the long jump at 17’0.75” for the first-place finish. Teammate, Emily Shattuck finished in second-place at 16’1.75”, followed by Merlo of UV at 15’7”. Nicole Jeffrey would sneak onto the podium in the event, landing in fifth-place with a 14’8.5” jump.
Stewart followed up her stellar performance in the long jump by breaking the meet record in the triple jump as well – taking first-place with a jump of 35’2.25”. Oxford’s top-performer on the day was Katelyn Ingraham as she finished in second-place in the triple jump with a jump of 32’11”. Norwich’s Taylor Hansen and Saige Benedict finish third and fourth-place, respectively, with jumps of 31’3.75” and 30’9.75” – all followed by Kyleigh George in sixth-place at 30’7”.
Sherburne-Earlville heard that Oxford earned a second-place and followed that up wit a first-place finish in the high jump. Miranda Niles cleared 4’10” to take home the first-place, besting UV’s George and Gracie Oglesby at 4’4” and 4’0.1”, respectively, for a UV third and fifth-place finish.
Norwich’s Taylor Hansen proved to be the bravest of the girls side, earning a first-place finish in the pole vault – as the lone female contestant on the rainy Friday – as she cleared 6’0.1”.
Norwich senior, Kara Evans put together a stellar day in the throwing pits – taking a first and second-place finish, both personal best marks.
In the shot put, Evans launched a throw of 31’1” for a second-place finish behind Sidney’s Ariyahna Bernard at 34’10.25”. Rose McKay of B-G followed up Evans for a third-place finish off her best throw on the day of 29’3.5”. Nicole Turner snagged a podium spot for S-E with a throw of 27’8” for a sixth-place spot.
Evans followed up the second-place finish with a first-place finish of her own in the discus. With another personal best throw in the event at 105’6”, Evans was the lone female athlete to hit triple digits on the day. Taking fourth-place from Norwich in the event was Elizabeth Karlson at 73’3”, followed by Morgan Homann of S-E at 68’4” for a fifth-place spot.
Girls Team Finishes: Norwich 181, Unadilla Valley 71, Greene 61, Morrisville 55, Sherburne-Earlville 49, Sidney 44, Cherry Valley-Springfield 40, Cincinnatus 15, Oxford 12, Bainbridge-Guilford 6, DeRuyter 2, Madison 0, Morrisville-Eaton 0, Edmeston 0.
Norwich boys and girls track and field returns to action on Monday, May 8, when they travel to Chenango Valley at 4:30 p.m. The MAC league teams will be sending athletes to Bainbridge for the MAC league Pentathlon on Monday, May 8, at 4:30 p.m.
Full results of the 12th annual REK can be find on Milesplit.com.
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