4 local athletes qualify for New York State Championships after day 1; Day 2 of meet scheduled for Thursday
ENDICOTT – The Section IV New York State qualifying event for track and field started on Wednesday with a bang for many Chenango County athletes.
Seven events were completed in their entirety, sending four area track and field stars to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Championships, held at Cicero-North Syracuse High School on June 8 and 9.
Molly Avolio of Unadilla Valley will head to C-NS the second weekend of June for a chance at a state title in the Shot Put. Avolio’s throw of 34 feet-7.5 inches landed her a first place finish in the girls event for Division-II.
“I’m pretty excited,” said Avolio. “It’s a relief to know that I am headed to states.
“I have been throwing for two seasons now, indoor and outdoor. Before that, I had been lifting all summer as well as work on my technique with repetition. It has now paid off.”
Avolio’s teammate, Julia Oglesby is also headed to the state championship meet in the long jump event after landing with a jump of 17 feet-5.5 inches.
Oglesby battled with Norwich’s Caroline Stewart for the top spot in Division-II. Winning by two inches in the event, Oglesby will be representative for Section IV at Cicero-North Syracuse, but Stewart could still qualify based on her final distance.
Oglesby will have a chance on Thursday to secure her spot at the meet in June in the high jump as well as the 100 meter dash. She will be facing the fastest girl in Section IV – Vestal’s Tia Jones.
The two raced in the final of a invitational meet earlier this season with Jones coming out at the winner.
The other two from Chenango County who have secured their spot in at the NYSPHSAA Championship are the Gawronski siblings from the Purple Tornado.
Gabe Gawronski landed his chance at a New York State title in the 800 meter run. Gawronski started the race in the front of the pack running the two laps around the track.
Staying somewhere in the front for the first lap, Gawronski’s pace picked up with the last lap remaining, taking the lead and holding on for the win. He finished the race with a time of 1:54.54 – a personal best by two seconds.
Gawronski had some struggles with this race recently and was unsure if he was going to race in the 800 meter or the 400 meter event. His times in both events this season have been strong until late for the longer race.
Putting all that behind him, Gawronski was determined from the start to win the race as it appeared on the track.
His kid sister, Katie, secured a state title shot in the 400 meter hurdles, running to a time of 1:06.92 just two events later. Leaping smoothly over each hurdle around the track for the one lap race, Katie took the lead in the last 200 meters. Holding her pace, Katie finished ahead of all other runners in the loaded heat. She was seeded first in the heat.
Other athletes will race again Thursday as many qualified for the finals of their events on Wednesday. The second day of the meet will once again take place at 5 p.m. at the Union-Endicott High School track. All first place winners will automatically head to the state championship meet.
Athletes who finish above the qualifications but not at the top of the podium will still have a chance to head to Cicero-North Syracuse but will need to wait to hear about their fate following the conclusion on Thursday’s meet.
Seven events were completed in their entirety, sending four area track and field stars to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Championships, held at Cicero-North Syracuse High School on June 8 and 9.
Molly Avolio of Unadilla Valley will head to C-NS the second weekend of June for a chance at a state title in the Shot Put. Avolio’s throw of 34 feet-7.5 inches landed her a first place finish in the girls event for Division-II.
“I’m pretty excited,” said Avolio. “It’s a relief to know that I am headed to states.
“I have been throwing for two seasons now, indoor and outdoor. Before that, I had been lifting all summer as well as work on my technique with repetition. It has now paid off.”
Avolio’s teammate, Julia Oglesby is also headed to the state championship meet in the long jump event after landing with a jump of 17 feet-5.5 inches.
Oglesby battled with Norwich’s Caroline Stewart for the top spot in Division-II. Winning by two inches in the event, Oglesby will be representative for Section IV at Cicero-North Syracuse, but Stewart could still qualify based on her final distance.
Oglesby will have a chance on Thursday to secure her spot at the meet in June in the high jump as well as the 100 meter dash. She will be facing the fastest girl in Section IV – Vestal’s Tia Jones.
The two raced in the final of a invitational meet earlier this season with Jones coming out at the winner.
The other two from Chenango County who have secured their spot in at the NYSPHSAA Championship are the Gawronski siblings from the Purple Tornado.
Gabe Gawronski landed his chance at a New York State title in the 800 meter run. Gawronski started the race in the front of the pack running the two laps around the track.
Staying somewhere in the front for the first lap, Gawronski’s pace picked up with the last lap remaining, taking the lead and holding on for the win. He finished the race with a time of 1:54.54 – a personal best by two seconds.
Gawronski had some struggles with this race recently and was unsure if he was going to race in the 800 meter or the 400 meter event. His times in both events this season have been strong until late for the longer race.
Putting all that behind him, Gawronski was determined from the start to win the race as it appeared on the track.
His kid sister, Katie, secured a state title shot in the 400 meter hurdles, running to a time of 1:06.92 just two events later. Leaping smoothly over each hurdle around the track for the one lap race, Katie took the lead in the last 200 meters. Holding her pace, Katie finished ahead of all other runners in the loaded heat. She was seeded first in the heat.
Other athletes will race again Thursday as many qualified for the finals of their events on Wednesday. The second day of the meet will once again take place at 5 p.m. at the Union-Endicott High School track. All first place winners will automatically head to the state championship meet.
Athletes who finish above the qualifications but not at the top of the podium will still have a chance to head to Cicero-North Syracuse but will need to wait to hear about their fate following the conclusion on Thursday’s meet.
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