By Kurt Wheeler
The Cazenovia girls indoor track team came within three points of capturing their eighth consecutive Section 3 title on Feb. 14. Despite an upset victory in the 4×800 meter relay and earning a one-two finish in the meet’s final event, the Lakers fell just short, suffering a Valentine’s Day heart-break as they finished second to Clinton 110 to 107 in the 10-team field.
After winning seven Section 3, Class B titles in a row since 2011, the Lakers uncharacteristically entered the championship as underdogs as illness combined with injuries and gaps in key events placed them well behind the talented Clinton quad on paper. Despite the shortfalls, the girls refused to yield, fighting to within one place of the title.
Senior Captain Meggie Hart led the way for the Lakers, scoring in three events including a 10:39.54 school-record performance in the 3,000 for second place, a silver medal effort in the 1,500 (5:05.77) and a dramatic 2:30.2 anchor leg to pass Clinton in the final laps of the 4×800 meter relay for first place. Zoe Shephard, Emily Reff and Hannora Race also contributed to the championship relay team in the Lakers’ best time of the season (10:53.16).
The Lakers’ 4×200 meter relay also pulled some late-meet heroics, rising from their fourth-place seed to finish second in 1:57.38. Chloe Smith (28.2 seconds) anchored the team of Brenna Hughes, Taylor Tilison and Lauren Burbidge as they passed two higher-ranked teams, including Clinton, in the final laps.
Senior Captain Katie Robbins was also a key player in Cazenovia’s comeback effort, not only winning an individual sectional title in the pole vault (8-0) but triple jumping a season-best 31-3.5 to capture fourth place (.75 inches ahead of Clinton’s number one jumper). Paige Hunt captured second in the pole vault (7-6) to give the Lakers an 18-0 advantage in the final event of the meet.
Despite the best efforts of the entire team, the late surge was not enough to overcome the deficit in the middle-distance events where the Lakers have suffered from a lack of depth all season. Clinton’s 34-2 margin in the 300-, 600- and 1,000-meter runs proved insurmountable.
A bright spot for the Lakers was the horizontal jumps, with Cazenovia earning a 14-1 advantage in the long jump as Chloe Smith took second (15-9.5) and Maddie Gavitt took third (15-4) and a 12-2 margin in the triple jump as Gavitt earned second (33-6.75) and Robbins fourth. Gavitt also scored in the high jump (fifth, 4-8) as Hunt jumped a career best 4-10 to earn third. Hunt was a triple threat on the evening, throwing a personal best 26-0.5 to place third in the shot put as teammate Claire Edwards reached 27-10 to earn third place.
Lili Gavitt led the Lakers in the hurdles, earning third place in 10.11 seconds while Katrina Wilson and Peyton Basic teamed up with Reff and Burbidge to place fifth in the 4×400 meter relay. Five members of the Cazenovia squad earned bids to the elite State Championship Qualifier Meet, held on Feb 18.
