When it was needed, Cazenovia track and field athletes Maddy Gavitt and Alec Boone both delivered with victories during Friday’s Section III state qualifying meet at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium.
As a result, both Gavitt and Boone will return to C-NS this weekend to compete in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Division II (small school) championships, free from the pressure the qualifier provided.
Gavitt prevailed in the girls triple jump. With a top leap of 34 feet 10 inches, Gavitt beat Christian Brothers Academy’s Elissa Kempisty, who went 34’5”, as Vernon-Verona-Sherrill’s Katja Meyer was third with 34’3 ½”. She also finished ninth in the long jump, going 16’1 ½”.
Boone would triumph in the boys 100-meter dash. In the final, the Lakers junior had to go 11.31 seconds to fend off Frankfort-Schuyler’s Joe Streeter, who was second in 11.38 seconds as Sauquoit Valley’s Justin Zimmer (11.49 seconds) was third.
Later, in the 200-meter dash, Boone got eighth place in 23.63 seconds, while Chittenango senior Akira Gatewood claimed fourth place in 23.32 seconds, each of them trailing CBA’s Tom SanGiacomo, who won in 22.38 seconds.
Elsewhere for the Cazenovia girls team, Meggie Hart finished third in the Division II portion of the 2,000-meter steeplechase, and fifth overall, in 7:26.52. Clara Rowles took fifth place in the 1,500-meter run in 5:00.81.
In the boys 3,000-meter steeplechase, James McPherson finished ninth overall, and third in Division II, with a clocking of 10:41.79.
Chittenango’s Dylan Davie needed 58.03 seconds to finish runner-up to Solvay’s Colton Francemone (57.84 seconds) in the 400 hurdles, just missing out on a berth in the state meet. Kaitlyn Swain got third place in the girls Division II 400-meter dash in 1:00.88 as Sauquoit Valley’s Marissa Jones won in 57.47 seconds.
Krissy Roberts was fourth in the long jump, going 16’8 ¾, and was sixth (32’7 ¾”) behind Gavitt in the triple jump. Gatewood, paired with Ward Beley, Jacobi Dwyer and Nick Stanton, finished fifth in the 4×400 relay in 3:35.73 as CBA (3:28.35) prevailed. Stanton took seventh place in the 400 sprint in 53.16 seconds.
