Purple Tornado boys’ team finishes third

WHITESBORO – Friday afternoon saw many events cancelled in the area due to the rain, putting ball fields throughout Chenango County underwater and unable to play on. However, it did not stop the Norwich boys’ and girls’ track and field teams from traveling to the Utica area for the Ed Wadas at Whitesboro Invitational meet.
The Lady Tornado came away with the team win, scoring 63 points, as most of the events had a member of the team place in the top six of their events while the Norwich boys placed third with 47 points. With the points combined, the Norwich Track and Field team brought home the overall team championship for the meet.
Katie Gawronski of the Purple Tornado captured first place in the 400 meter hurdles, an event she continues to strive at year after year. The Norwich junior crossed the finish line first after the a full lap around the track at a time of 1:10.82. She also placed second during the 100 meter hurdles.
With the hurdles off the track, Gawronski’s teammate Hailey Colabelli topped the field in the 400 meter race, coming in at a time of 1:02.03. Norwich senior Nicole Jeffrey finished the 800 meter race at 2:32.04 for third place, adding yet another podium runner to the Tornado’s list.
Riley Marsh, another Norwich senior, returned home with ribbons as she scored fourth place in the 100 meter dash and third place in the 200 meter event.
Marsh, running the 100 meter event in 13.26, came in just behind Tornado teammate Miranda Cole by eight-hundredths of a second. Together the two sprinters added 10 points to Norwich’s team total in the event, aiding in the girl’s team win.
Taylor Hansen of the Purple Tornado placed third in the triple jump with a distance of 31 feet-11 inches and jumping teammate, Angela Carlson, finished fifth in the high jump, reaching a final height of 4 feet-6 inches.
Norwich’s thrower Shakira Alexander fell just outside the top six in the shot put, tossing a distance of 28 and a half feet.
Also participating in the girls’ meet was Sherburne-Earlville’s Lily Stoddard. The Marauders’ eighth-grader took home fourth in the discus throw, launching the discus through 93 feet-10 inches. She also placed 21st in the shot put.
The Purple Tornado boys also saw a third and fourth place finish in the 100 meter dash as Eric Conant and David Berger crossed the finish line within .22 seconds of each other. Conant came in slightly before Berger, running a time of 11.22 seconds in the event.
Conant placed sixth in the 200 meter event, adding more points to the Norwich total. The Tornado sprinter finished the event in 25.37 seconds.
Gabe Gawronski and Zach Lowe had highlight wins for Norwich at the invitational. Gawronski placed first in the 400 meter dash, winning the event by seven-hundredths of a second with his time of 50.67.
Lowe won yet another invitational this season in the shot put event, tossing a top throw of 48 feet-5 inches. Lowe also took to the podium in the discus, placing fifth overall with a distance of 103 feet-6 inches. Teammate Zach Mills placed sixth in the same event.
Nik Barber and Eli Craddock joined Lowe and Conant for the most times to reach the podium for the invitational as all four athletes finished in the top six in two individual events.
Barber placed in both the 400 meter hurdles (1:20.51) and the high jump. Barber’s time in the hurdling event secured third place while his height of 5 feet-2 inches tied for fourth.
Craddock placed in both the long jump and triple jump. His best jump was for a distance of 19 feet-3 inches, capturing fifth in the long jump. He finished in sixth for the triple jump with a jump of 39 feet-1 inch.
Also placing in the long jump was Norwich’s Griffin Mills, coming in sixth, placed behind teammate Craddock.
Norwich’s next meet is scheduled for Tuesday at Chenango Forks. The Purple Tornado will take on both the Blue Devils and the Seton Catholic Saints at 4:30 p.m.