VESTAL – While the Corning boys and Vestal girls teams may have claimed the team titles at the Southern Tier Athletic Conference (STAC) Championships last week, the Norwich girls and boys track and field athletes performed above their standards, shocking some of the other teams at the large meet in Vestal.
Zack Race, Norwich’s speedster in the short distance races, was the only competitor of the entire meet to win two individual events on the track.
Watching Race start – in any of his races – many think they may have a chance against him in an event because of the way he gets off the starting blocks. However, once Race finds his stride, he is past the other competitors and racing against only the stopwatch.
Breaking his own record in the 100 meter event for the school record he set earlier this season, Race dashed to a time of 10.7 seconds. At the Quinney Invite at Sidney, Race clocked in a time of 10.75 to beat the school record he set last season at the New York State Championships with a 10.9.
Shortly after running the 100 meter final, Race took the track for the 200 meter dash.
Chatting with him before the meet started, Race said he wanted to wanted to run a time that would qualify him for the national meet in Greensboro, NC later this year. The time to qualify for the 200 meter event is 21.8 seconds.
Race won the event at STAC Championships with a 21.93, just .13 of a second over the qualifying time.
What makes everything Race does this season remarkable – more than just the times and speeds that he shows – is he is running with a knee that is not 100-percent healthy.
During football season, Race took a hard hit in the regular season game against Maine-Endwell. The blow delivered resulted in a senior year-ending knee injury. Many wondered if he was going to be ready for track season.
Doctors and physical therapists spoke alike, saying that he wouldn’t ever run the same way again, possibly not at all.
Well Race is proving all wrong, running the best he has ran throughout his career.
And so is the rest of the Norwich Purple Tornado track and field team.
The 4x400 meter relay team of Scott Tomanocy, Noah Bufalini, Eric Conant and Gabe Gawronski broke the Norwich school record at the STAC Championship. With a time of 3:28.87, the group ran to a second place finish at the meet but will now hold the best time for the school’s record books – until they break it again.
Also racing to a new school record, as well as a personal best, was the Lady Tornado’s Katie Gawronski in the 400 meter hurdles.
Focused on the event all day, Gawronski wanted to perform well in the event. Already setting her personal best in 100 meter hurdles at the REK Invitational, Gawronski was looking for the same in the 400.
Leaping over the hurdles, Gawronski looked gazelle-like throughout the full lap around the track. In the last straight away, she kicked it into another gear before crossing the finish line for a second place finish. Her time was 1:06.97.
On the boys side of the event, Nik Barber had an exciting finish. Coming down the final straight away, Barber was following close behind the opponent from Binghamton.
Jumping over the last hurdle neck-and-neck, Barber came down with the slight advantage. Sprinting out the final few meters, Barber beat out the Binghamton racer for a time of 1:02.2. He took fourth place in the event.
Most of the Norwich racers performing well on the high temperature, low wind day. Using the low to now wind at all to the advantage, both the 4x100 boys and girls teams ran great times in the finals.
While neither broke a record, the boys team placed first and came very close.
David Berger, Race, Tomanocy, and Conant finished with a time of 43.45 for the sprinting relay race. Earlier this season, the team ran a 43.3, setting the school record then.
The girls team finished in second with a time of 51.08 seconds. They foursome came in behind the Vestal team, which includes the fastest girls runner of New York State.
Conant placed third in the 200 meter dash with one his best times this season at 22.85 seconds. Conant would have placed in the top three of the 100 meter event but did not race it at the meet. Instead, he was a member of the 4x400 meter relay team that broke the school record.
As it was unusual, it paid off for the Purple Tornado.
In the 800 meter race, Nicole Jeffrey placed just outside the podium finish in seventh. She bounced back from the event and ran a 5:04.74, one of, if not the best time she has ran in the event this season. Jeffrey’s time was good enough third at the STAC Championships.
In the boys 800 meter event, Gabe Gawronski finished in second with a time of 1:57.17. He was just fractions of a second off from a personal best time in the race.
Doing what she does best, Caroline Stewart jumped out to a distance of 17 feet-5.25 inches in the long jump. Stewart has performed well throughout her career in this event. The distance is Stewart’s furthest this season.
In the 400 meter dash, Hailey Colabelli’s time of 1:02.46 edged out the other finalists for the final spot on the podium.
Riley Marsh, who has continued to improved throughout the season, also snagged the final points spots with her finish in the 100 meter dash finals. Marsh raced to a time of 13.12, also one of her bests this season.
With the Section IV Class B meet held Wednesday afternoon at Johnson City High School, all Purple Tornado athletes will look to best their times and repeat at the class champion. The team won their first sectional title just a year ago and all have hopes of bringing the trophy home with them once again.
The meet is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.