Emma Ford and Kaitlyn Neal were among the standouts for the Skaneateles girls indoor track and field team during Friday’s appearance at the Oscar B. Jensen Holiday Relays at SRC Arena.
As a whole, the Lakers only had 14 points, tying for ninth place in a tough field where Liverpool (54 points) held off Fayetteville-Manlius (50 points) to finish in front.
Usually strong in relay events, Skaneateles was not helped by the lineup of events, which excluded relays like the 4×200, 4×400 and 4×800 and instead had events where two athletes combined their best efforts, like the season-opening Jack Morse Relays.
Among individuals, Ford nearly earned a victory in the 300-meter dash, as she sped to the line in 43.47 seconds, beating everyone in the 46-runner field except Liverpool’s Ore Akinpelu, who took the top spot in 42.25 seconds. Team-wise, Ford and Julia Willcox were fifth in 1:32.82.
Skaneateles had a better team finish in the 3,000-meter event. Kaitlyn Neal, fourth among individuals, and Liz Dwyer (12th) had a total time of 22:20.85, putting them in second place behind F-M, who won in 21:03.07.
By herself, Megan Molnar, clearing 7 feet 6 inches in the pole vault, earned fourth-place points. Ford also combined with Corrine LaFrance for sixth place in the 55-meter dash in a combined 16.91 seconds. Jenn DeRosa and Morel Malcolm were eighth in the 1,000-meter run in 6:58.54.
The lone Skaneateles boys points came in the pole vault, where Carson Schwab, clearing 11’ 6”, finished third among individuals and fifth in the team event, too.
Patrick Biver and Cooper Watt got to seventh place in the 1,000-meter run in 5:50.41, just missing the points, while Max Dwyer and Nick Smolenski took eighth place in the 400-meter sprint.
