Even at less than 100 percent health, Fayetteville-Manlius boys track and field star Nick Ryan is still a strong force, and difficult to beat.
The ailing Ryan had to deal with hot, steamy conditions in Thursday’s Section III state qualifier at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium, and still managed to win three times.
To start with, Ryan teamed with Connor Farrell, Bryce Millar and Charlie Beeler as F-M tore to first place in the 4×800 relay in seven minutes, 51.18 seconds.
No one else came close to breaking the eight-minute mark as East Syracuse-Minoa’s team of Jake Barker, Jesse Perrone, Joe Coogan and Nick Schug finished third among Division I (large school) sides in a time of 8:21.45.
In the individual 3,200-meter run, Ryan pulled away and, in 9:30.44, beat Liverpool’s Ben Petrella by nearly eight seconds. And though Ryan slowed down a bit in the mile, his time of 4:25.71 still was tops among Division I runners.
Ryan will have plenty of local company for this weekend’s state meet at Middletown High School, including several F-M distance runners.
Katie Brislin was victorious again in the 1,500-meter run in 4:43.93, with ESM’s Natalie Marra second in 4:51.53. Alana Pearl won the 3,000-meter run in 10:12.10, with the Spartans’ Gabby Pallota fourth in 11:02.22.
The girls Hornets’ 4×800 relay team of Katie Brislin, Olivia Ryan, Hannah Smith and Jessica Howe roared to victory in 9:16.69, with Jamesville-DeWitt’s quartet of Laura Wengert, Hannah Stefl, Emilee Carpenter and Rachel Fairbanks second in Division I in 9:52.68.
But Fairbanks scored her own victory in the Division I 800-meter run, prevailing in 2:15.54 as Carpenter finished fourth (2:23.10) and ESM’s Juliette Miller was fifth in 2:24.83.
Another J-D win came in the Division I triple jump, where Patrece Martin had a top leap of 36 feet 2 inches, the same as Liverpool’s Alexus Gersbacher, while F-M’s Christabel Ezidiegwu (35’7 ½”) claimed fourth place . Tangela Hightower was third in the discus, throwing it 99’6”, while Taylor-Rae Danforth earned third place in the pole vault, clearing 10 feet.
Meanwhile, in the boys 4×400, Farrell, teamed with Austin Perez, Ed Cheatham and Kyle Barber, helped the Hornets win again, edging Baldwinsville, 3:24.45 to 3:24.92. Individually, Barber was a close second (56.02 seconds) to West Genesee’s Pete Richardson (55.86 seconds) in the 400 hurdles.
J-D’s Zach Liebmann cleared 13 feet in the pole vault and was second, while ESM’s Corey Vollmer rose to third, clearing 12’6” as Liverpool’s Travis Chewning-Kulick (13’6”) prevailed. Also for the Spartans, Nina Zesky cleared 5’2” for fourth place in the girls high jump.
In the Division II 4×100 relay, CBA’s team of Anna Schug, Monica Perrone, Ryleigh Peterson and Kiana Ferguson contended right to the end and was second, in 51.31 seconds, to Skaneateles, who won in a school-record 50.91 seconds. F-M’s quartet of Natalie Zazzara, Jordan Noble, Anna Perrotti and Sarah Olick-Sutphen was fourth (50.77 seconds) in the Division I 4×100.
In the boys pentathlon, J-D’s Nate Sturgeon did best among the local entrants, with 2,754 points for third place among Division I athletes. CBA’s Will Brower (2,596 points) and F-M’s Kyle Harbour (2,058 points) trailed behind.
CBA’s Maire Kate McGlynn was second in the Division II 2,000-meter steeplechase in 7:27.93, while Megan Ann Pierce was second in the 3,000 in 10:29.58. Anna Schug was second (26.05 seconds) to Vernon-Verona-Sherrill’s Alexis Kavanaugh (25.67) in the 200-meter dash.
Jack Brower was third in the 800-meter run in 2:01.28. Manlius-Pebble Hill’s Elizabeth Dean finished fifth in the Division II 1,500 in 5:12.98, ahead of CBA’s Gabrielle Schug in seventh place. Matt Stedman was ninth in the boys 400-meter dash.
