Each of the area’s indoor track and field teams had athletes with top finishes and school marks set during Wednesday night’s Section III state qualifier at SRC Arena.
With berths in this Saturday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association meet at Cornell University on the line, West Genesee freshman Carly Benson and Westhill-Bishop Ludden senior Tatiana Monds each secured wins on the oval.
Benson was involved in a tough 1,000-meter run against Fayetteville-Manlius’ Olivia Ryan, the two sides on close terms most of the way. But in the final 200 meters, Benson steadily pulled away and, in two minutes, 55.09 seconds, she beat Ryan (2:57.99) by nearly three seconds.
In the 55-meter dash, Monds was the second qualifier in 7.49 seconds behind CBA’s Anna Schug. But then Schug false-started in the final, and without her to worry about, Monds, improving to 7.43 seconds, held off Auburn’s Shahnika Williams (7.48 seconds) and won the race.
The Warriors also saw Katherine Doherty finish second in the pole vault, clearing 9 feet 6 inches, beating out teammate Noelle Coolican, who topped 9 feet. Central Square’s Bethany Cripps won, topping 10 feet.
Solvay’s Isaiah Lee qualified for the state meet in the triple jump, his leap of 42’8 ¼” setting a school record and ending up a close second behind Central Valley Academy’s Zach Crim, who was half an inch better, winning with 42’8 ¾”. Westhill-Ludden’s Alex Kiley was third with a top leap of 41’2”.
In the girls 300-meter dash, WG’s Megan Delia, like Benson a ninth-grader, made her way to third place in exactly 42 seconds. Only CBA’s Anna Schug (40.94 seconds) and Altmar-Parish-Williamstown’s Skylar Pastor (41.72 seconds) fared better.
Elsewhere, in the girls shot put, the Wildcats’ J’Nazia Anderson was fourth, tossing it 31’8 ¾” as Solvay’s Samantha Waters (29’9 ¼”) finished seventh, while eighth-grader Kendall Dombroske was 10th in the 3,000-meter run in 11:03.21.
Competing in the 4×800 relay, Benson, paired with Lindsay Weaver, Maria Matkoski and Elise Dunshee, kept it close with F-M, and finished second in 9:44.87, less than two seconds behind the Hornets’ winning time of 9:42.93.
Westhill-Ludden had Tatiana Monds, Jayanna Monds, Isabella Haber and Annibel Coolican finish fifth in the 4×200 relay in 1:52.79. Coolican finished sixth in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:43.54, while Xavier Fleurinor was sixth in the boys 55-meter hurdles in 8.51 seconds.
In the boys shot put, Solvay’s Jacob Hook threw it 44’7 ¾”, taking third place behind Rome Free Academy’s Alex Cianfranno (46’3 ¼”) and Cicero-North Syracuse’s Tyler Mosher (45’3 ½”).
Jordan-Elbridge’s Abby Gugel tore to third place in the 1,500-meter run, her time of 4:54.86 only trailing East Syracuse Minoa’s Natalie Marra (4:49.15) and F-M’s Annika Avery (4:50.34).
West Genesee’s Logan McAnulty finished fourth in the boys 600-meter run in 1:27.92 as Auburn’s Leon Atkins won in 1:22.45. Marcellus’ Noah Townsend was fourth in the high jump, clearing 5’10”, while his Mustangs teammate, Mary Catherine Coon, topped 4’8” in the girls high jump. Solvay’s Katie Harrington tied for seventh, clearing 4’10”, and added an eighth-place finish in the triple jump.
