Plenty of challenges await the Skaneateles track and field teams this spring, right down to the home facility that sustained some damage due to the winter weather.
But the Lakers still got started Thursday at the Westhill-Bishop Ludden Spring Invitational, where it made some inroads with some high finishes against large-school opposition.
For example, Kaitlyn Neal made a big push in the girls 1,500-meter run, where her time of four minutes, 50.31 seconds beat everyone except West Genesee’s Carly Benson, who won in 4:48.14. Tully’s Ashleigh Crawford set a school record, finishing third in 4:51.67, right behind Neal.
Also, Amanda Wetmore took second in the 100-meter dash in 13.62 seconds, with Olivia Gage (13.79 seconds) beating out Mia Grasso (13.80 seconds) and Cecilia Marrinan (13.90 seconds) for fourth place. Gage was fourth (28.49 seconds) and Grasso fifth (28.62 seconds) in the 200-meter dash.
Grasso and Marrinan, paired with Gage and Julia Willcox, were third in the 4×400 relay in 4:25.94, with Willcox getting fifth place in the triple jump, going 28 feet 3 ½ inches. Katherine Carlile threw the discus 61’3” and landed in sixth place as Natalie Condon took 10th in the 800-meter run.
Moving to the boys side, Skaneateles gained 36 points to take fifth place, but had plenty of top finishes in various events, including a victory in the 200-meter dash, where Tommy Hagen, in 25.06 seconds, edged Jordan-Elbridge’s Austin Milton, 25.054 seconds to 25.059. Jake Peterson was fourth in 25.60 seconds, and Zach Blair (25.83 seconds) was fifth.
In the 4×400 relay, Hagen, Cooper Watt, Jake Peterson and Max Messie went 3:53.80 and took third place behind Jamesville-DeWitt (3:44.93) and J-E (3:45.83). Hagen also was fourth in the 100 sprint (12.14 seconds), with Blair seventh, and unleashed a fourth-place long jump of 18’1 ½”, with Watt seventh (16’10 ¼”) and Blair eighth (16’5 ¾”).
