So far this winter, the Liverpool girls indoor track and field team has prevailed twice in team relay events, but it can handle the more traditional format, too.
During Thursday’s John Arcaro Memorial Invitational at SRC Arena, the Warriors picked up 63 points, a strong total that left them in second place. Only Fayetteville-Manlius, with 98 points, fared better.
Morgan Mahoney provided a big highlight in the 3,000-meter run. Staring down F-M stars Jenna Farrell and Michelle Duffy, Mahoney won in a time of 10 minutes, 51.15 seconds, leaving Farrell (10:55.96) and Duffy (10:58.68) in the next two spots as Jillian Stagnitta finished sixth. Mahoney also was fifth in the 1,500-meter run in 4:58.64.
It turned into a local clash in the 4×200 relay. Liverpool’s quartet of Ore Akinpelu, Yasmeen Griffin, Danielle Sims and Jazmine Herbert finished in 1:52.45, winning that event as Cicero-North Syracuse’s team of Javielle Fanizzi, Jade Jenkins, Miriam Ghabarou and Hannah Szumloz was second in 1:55.87.
Tammy Brodie nearly won the long jump, going 16 feet 5 ¾ inches as Jamesville-DeWitt’s Sierra Vasiliou (16’11”) prevailed and Jenkins took sixth. Catherine Rowell, in the triple jump, went 34’4”, claiming the runner-up spot behind F-M’s Chrisatbel Ezidiegwu (34’7 ¼”) as Fanizzi got to fifth place for the Northstars.
Akinpelu, who won twice in the Oscar B. Jensen Holiday Relays on Dec. 28, could only manage a third-place finish in the 600-meter run this time around, as her time of 1:42.40 trailed F-M teammates Katie Brislin (1:40.89) and Olivia Ryan (1:41.86).
Angela Kulpa gave Liverpool a second-place pole vault of 9 feet, something only West Genesee’s Abby Uczen (9’6”) could top. Herbert got to third place in the 55-meter dash in 7.72 seconds.
For C-NS, who had 20 points overall, its best running effort came in the 1,000-meter event, where Jacqlynn Halstead finished in 3:11.53, putting her in third place.
C-NS also had the team of Andrea Stout, Rachel Wisely, Frankie Gleason and Marie LeRoy get fifth place in the 4×800 relay (4:37.81) as the Northstars added a sixth in the 4×800 relay in 10:56.91.
The Liverpool and C-NS indoor track teams went to Cornell University’s Barton Hall, site of the state meet in March, for last Saturday’s Southern Tier Invitational.
And the Warriors were victorious in the 4×200 relay, where Akinpelu, Herbert, Rowell and Brodie posted a time of 1:48.40, beating the runner-up, St. Anthony’s (1:50.04), by 1.64 seconds.
Mahoney again contended in the girls 3,000, finishing second as her time improved to 10:40.96, bettered only by Elmira’s Abbey Wheeler (10:39.21) as teammate Juliana Basla finished ninth.
Akinpelu, running in the 600, finished in 1:43.09, which was second to Shaker’s Kayleigh Lavender (1:42.25). Geoffrey Bell rose to fourth in the boys shot put with a top toss of 44’6 ½”.
Travis Chewning-Kulick cleared 11’6” to claim seventh place in the boys pole vault, while Kulpa, clearing 9’, was seventh in the girls pole vault. Connor Buck was ninth in the 3,200. Herbert was 10th in the 55 sprint and Zach Harris tied for 10th in the boys high jump as the Warriors got to ninth in the boys and girls 4×800 relays.
For C-NS, Fanizzi had a sixth-place triple jump of 34’ and also tied for 10th in the long jump. Halstead took eighth place in the 1,500 (5:04.17) as Jade Jenkins finished 11th in the 55 sprint.
