When Section III sends its top indoor track and field athletes to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship meet at Cornell University on March 7, Skaneateles will have a lot of representation.
Wins by senior Connor Hill on the individual side, and by the Lakers in the boys 4×400 and girls 4×200 relay, highlighted Wednesdaynight’s effort during the sectional state qualifier at Onondaga Community College’s SRC Arena.
On his own, Hill was victorious in the boys 300-meter dash. Pulling away as he tore down the stretch, Hill finished in 36.42 seconds, more than half a second ahead of Corcoran’s Alec Smith, who was second in 39.43 seconds.
This followed the Lakers’ victory in the first event of the meet, the 4×400. Hill, joining fellow seniors Griffin Lawson, Cooper Watt and Nick Palmer, helped the Lakers rout the field, the time of 3:30.38 more than three seconds ahead of runner-up Baldwinsville, who posted 3:34.12.
At the end of the track session, it was the girls Lakers turn to win big. Juniors Olivia Gage and Amanda Wetmore, joining sophomore Angela Krause and freshman Maddie Peterson, claimed a 4×200 classic at the wire over B’ville and Corcoran, winning with 1:51.73 to the Bees’ 1:51.74, the difference just one-hundredth of a second, with the Cougars (1:51.81) just 0.08 seconds behind.
In the boys 4×200, Skaneateles nearly won again. Tommy Hagen joined Hill, Palmer and Lawson as, in a time of 1:34.78, the Lakers finished second to Rome Free Academy, who won in 1:34.42.
Back in the girls 4×400, Peterson and Gage, teaming with freshman Mia Grasso and sophomore Shannan Roberts, made their way to third place in 4:10.52 as Liverpool (4:03.61) and B’ville (4:06.46) took the top two spots.
Julia Willcox made it to fifth place in the 600-meter run in a clocking of 1:42.72, not far from the winning time of 1:41.26 posted by B’ville’s Katie Wicks. Wetmore (7.78 seconds) and Laurel Parker (7.77 seconds) just missed reaching the finals of the 55-meter dash. Keely Gregg was 11th (7’6”) in the pole vault.
