CORTLAND – All local Chenango County indoor track teams were back in action at SUNY Cortland for the Section IV Classic.
While none of the hometown teams were fortunate enough to bring home a sectionals title, every team had a solid finish. The Unadilla Valley girls took seventh with Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton tied for 16th with Owego as Norwich and Oxford/Greene missed placement. Sidney won for the girls while Ithaca won the boys meet. Norwich boys finished 13th with UV in 14th and BGA in 26th. Full results can be found on ny.milesplit.com.
BGA:
Girls:
The BGA girls, who won the Section IV, Class ‘C’ title, were solid at the Section IV classic. Maddie Ingham led the Bears with a fourth place finish in the 1500 meter run with a time of 5:22.99 with teammate Vanessa Brazee in 15th place. Brazee also finished 15th in the 1000 meter run with her new best time of 3:42.68. Junior Olivia Hall also achieved a new personal best in the 1500 meter race walk with a time of 9:03.70 for fifth place.
Brenna George competed in both the 55 meter dash and in the long jump event. George finished 11th in the 55 meter dash with a time of 8.06 seconds as Emily Sprow came in 15th (8.19 seconds). George jumped 13 feet, one inch for 14th place behind teammate Annika Armstrong’s 13-1.25. Emily Sprow and Elanor Sprow jumped in the triple jump event, where Emily finished seventh with a jump of 31 feet, four inches. Elanor took 12th place (28-4.25).
Tori Suda rounded out the day in the shot put event with a throw of 24 feet, nine and 1/4 inches for seventh place.
Boys:
Collin Dicks paved the way for the BGA boys as he earned a top finish in the triple jump with a jump of 40-5.25 with Harpo Hardt in seventh (37-10.75). Dicks also finished third in the long jump (19-7.25).
Kevin Lang and Matthew Wombacker both finished fourth in their respective sprint events. Lang took fourth in the 300 meter dash with a new best time of 37.89 seconds. He also ran the 55 meter dash in a new best 7.11 for seventh place. Wombacker finished the 1500 meter race walk in a new best 9:02.48 for fourth place. Wombacker also set a new best of 8-0 in the pole vault, which was good for ninth place.
BGA’s Easton Porter finished fifth in the 1000 meter run, setting his new personal best of 2:53.03 as Brock Porter came in 10th place in the 600 meter run (1:34.71).
NHS:
Girls:
It was a rather challenging day for the Norwich Purple Tornado girls’ team. Emilia Pepe led the girls with a 17th place finish in the 1000 meter run, where she earned a new best time of 3:47.51 with Kyra Brunick-Davis in 22nd (3:55.48). Annie Boland ran the 1500 meters event in 6:12.64 for 18th place. Reagan Decker capped off the day in the triple jump with a jump of 27 feet, seven and a half inches for 14th place.
Boys:
Gabe Decker led the Norwich boys in two events, where he finished third in the 300 meter dash with a time of 37.36 seconds. He also competed in the 55 meter dash and earned a new personal best time of 7.09, where he tied for 15th place. Teammate Spencer Root also achieved a new best time of 7.12 in the same 55 meter dash for 18th place.
Caden Sutton came in fourth place in the 600 meter run, completing the event in a new best 1:30.31. Nic Sutton finished 12th in the 1000 meter run with a time of 3:05.43 as Connor Marshall had a ninth place finish in the 55 meter hurdles with a new best time of 9.29 seconds.
Gabe Blenis was the lone male fielder for Norwich and came in sixth place in the shot put with a throw of 35 feet, eight and 3/4 inches.
OX/GR:
Girls:
The Oxford/Greene girls competed against many tough teams. The team’s top female runner was Alexis Clark, who finished 28th in the 600 meter run with a new personal best time of 2:21.22. Rhea Malmquist and Shanna Krupp both competed in the shot put event. Malmquist finished 11th with a throw of 23 feet, 10 and 3/4 inches with Krupp behind her in 12th place (23-4).
Boys:
Bartalo Bourn, Isaac Utter, and Eddie Golden had the top finishes for the Oxford/Greene boys. Bourn’s best performance of the meet was in the pole vault, where he finished eighth and cleared eight feet exactly. He also finished 18th in the 55 meter hurdles with a time of 10.59 seconds.
Eddie Golden ran the 600 meters event, where he finished 27th with a time of 1:44.39 against many tough competitors. Isaac Utter set a new best in the shot put event with a throw of 31 feet, 10 inches for 14th place.
UV:
Girls:
The Unadilla Valley girls had a strong performance at the meet with several athletes earning top 10 finishes or better. Gracie Gorrell and Jaiden Schrag led the team with the top finishes of the day. Gorrell finished second in the 300 meter dash with a time of 43.59, which was one second from Sidney’s leader (42.58). Schrag also finished second, but in the 55 meter hurdles with a time of 9.03.
Senior Kalie Fernandez-Naughton came in fourth in the shot put event, achieving a new personal record throw of 31 feet, three and a half inches. She also finished sixth in the triple jump (31-4.75) with Noelle Fernandez-Naughton in 16th place (25-3).
The youth runners continue to prove themselves as Freshman Madison Dix and eighth grader Molly Gorrell did well in the 600 meter run. Dix came in fourth place with a new best time of 1:49.16 as Gorrell finished sixth with her new best of 1:54.38.
Sophomore Natalya Schrag rounded out the runners with a eighth place finish in the 1000 meter run with a time of 3:26.18.
Boys:
The Storm boys were led by Alex Kemnah and Jacob Prentice who strived in their individual events. Kemnah paved the way with a second place finish in the 3200 meter run, setting a new personal best time of 10:12.08. He also achieved a new best time in the 600 meter run, where he finished the event in 1:41.02 for 18th place. Prentice took fifth in the pole vault, clearing nine feet, six inches while he finished 19th in the 300 meter dash (40.04 seconds).
Great job to all local teams and good luck to those competing in the State qualifiers held at Cornell University on February 25 around 2 p.m.