The Cazenovia girls indoor track team posted another strong performance in their final regular season meet as they geared up for their championship contests which will begin next week. The Lakers scored 51.83 points to finish fourth in a 22-team field at the Kirschenheiter Memorial Invitational hosted by OCC on January 20. Only Class AA powers Baldwinsville, F-M and West Genesee finished ahead of Cazenovia.
Senior Captain Katie Robbins led the team, winning the pole vault with an 8-0 effort and also scoring in the triple jump with a season best leap. Paige Hunt backed up Robbins in the vault, tying for second place at 7-6. She also did well in her first competition in the shot put, reaching 25-10.75. Teammate Claire Edwards had a season best of 27-5 to score for the Lakers in that event. Eva Salzman led the team in the weight throw with a season best of 25-3.5.
Chloe Smith had another impressive day on the track and in the field, earning fourth in a competitive race in the 55-meter dash at 7.81 seconds and placing third in the long jump at 15-8.5. Lili Gavitt was also a scorer on the 55-meter straight, placing eighth in the hurdles in a season best 10.23 seconds. She added a 4-6 effort in the high jump to tie for seventh place along with sister Maddy Gavitt.
Senior Captain Meggie Hart led the Lakers distance runners once again, earning fifth in the 3,000 (10:54.51) and fourth in the 1,500 (5:10.27). Fellow Captain Zoe Smith (5:21.44) also scored and qualified for sectionals in the 1,500. She returned to anchor the 4×800 relay of Molly Dolan, Emily Reff and Meg Seeley to a fifth place finish.
All three of Cazenovia’s relays scored as Peyton Basic led the 4×400 to an eighth place finish and Captain Brenna Hughes (29.2) led off the 4×200 in their fifth place effort. Basic, Lauren Burbidge and Taylor Tilison (season best of 29.2) also added to the 4×200 meter performance.
The meet was also an opportunity for the Lakers to test out athletes in new events as Hannora Race ran the 3,000, Maddy McGreevy and Savannah Conway ran the 1,000 and Kaitlyn Puffer ran the 600. Lauren Burbidge competed in the 300 for the first time while Claire Edwards took on the 55-meter hurdles.
The team is seeking its best combination of talent as they strive to earn their eighth consecutive Onondaga High School League title on Jan 31.
