Wins by junior Emily Barriere and freshman Abby Uczen highlighted the West Genesee girls track and field team’s sixth-place finish in its sectional Class AA meet Tuesday at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium.
Barriere, in the five-event pentathlon, won both the 100 hurdles (17.73 seconds) and long jump (15 feet 1 ½ inches) portions and, with 2,329 points, held off C-NS’s Nicole Herringshaw (2,284 points) for top honors.
As that went on, Uczen belied her youth by outlasting the field in the pole vault. She cleared 9 feet 6 inches, the same total as C-NS’s Jessica Wheeler, but Uczen did so with fewer misses and earned the 10 points for first place.
Kelly Powell, in the 400-meter dash, claimed third place in 1:01.35, while Brianna Richardson got fourth in the triple jump with 34’9”. Powell, Amy Hannahan, Allison Iles and Paige Copeland were fifth in the 4×400 relay in 4:15.63.
Abby Kastick, Alyssa Zeman, Alycia Andolina and Elise Dunshee were sixth (10:39.85) in the 4×800 relay, with Copeland sixth in the 400 hurdles and Kastick seventh in the 2,000 steeplechase.
A day later, West Genesee’s boys went to C-NS and earned 35 points, which put them in seventh place, exactly in the middle of the 14-team sectional field as, again, F-M (99 points) finished on top.
Senior Luke Potash gave the Wildcats a victory in the 400 sprint, easily claiming his own heat and, in 50.78 seconds, beating out Liverpool’s Keewan Rondinello (51.15 seconds), who had run in the previous heat and got second place.
Junior Peter Richardson made a late charge and nearly won the 400 hurdles, hitting the line in 57.08 seconds as the runner-up to C-NS’s Frank Volino, who won in 56.67 seconds. Dave Martin put up a third-place shot put toss of 46’2” and Peter James cleared 11’6” for third in the pole vault.
Martin Leff worked his way to fifth place in the mile in 4:29.87, while Nate Conroy gained fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:31.12 and Jack Erhard was sixth (2:02.66) in the 800-meter run. WG’s best relay finish was a sixth (8:35.98) in the 4×800 put together by Leff, Erhard, Mike Lannon and Kal Strickland.
On the same day as the girls Class AA meet, Westhill/Bishop Ludden was sixth in the sectional Class A meet at Camden, earning 30 points. Much of them came from Betsy Black, who won the 3,000-meter run in 10:34.75, the only competitor to break the 11-minute mark. Molly Clark (12:00.49) was fifth.
Caroline Coates added a second in the 1,500-meter run in 5:13.83, just behind Chittenango’s Sarah Moon (5:11.16), while Kayla Wild got to fourth in the shot put (86’4”). Emily Washburn was fifth (2:30.69) in the 800. Westhill/Ludden got to fifth in the 4×800 and sixth in the 4×400.
