The Cazenovia girls track and field team capped their undefeated regular season with a 96.5 to 44.5 victory over Phoenix on May 9 to win the OHSL Liberty Central title. The win highlighted a hectic week of action as the Lakers ran four meets in seven days to make up from their wintery early season.
Jamie Joseph led the team with three individual victories plus a leg on the winning 4×100 relay. The versatile Senior won the 100 (13.7), 800 (2:34.2) and shot put (32-3) and joined Julia Barrett, Paige Hunt and Peyton Basic for the relay win in 53.9 seconds. Fellow Senior Meggie Hart also chipped in two wins on the track (1,500 in 5:15.6 and 3,000 in 11:49.8) as the Lakers won seven of eleven running events, including all three relays.
Cavy Monahan led the way in the other two winning relays as she was joined by Kelly Frost, Mia Chesbrough and Molly Hart to win the 4×800 in 11:59.9 and Chesbrough, Barrett and Clara Rowles to capture the 4×400 (4:43.2). Monahan also added a personal best time in the 400 (1:06.5) to claim second in that event while Rowles contributed key points in the 1,500 and 400 hurdles and Frost scored in both the 3,000 and 400-meter hurdles. Lili Gavitt led the Lakers in the 100-meter hurdles event, finishing second in 18.2.
Maddy Gavitt led the Lakers in the field, winning the triple jump (32-11) and high jump (4-8) and also scoring in the long jump and 100 hurdles. Katie Robbins won the pole vault at 9-0 and took second in the long jump with a 15-2.5, both personal bests. Paige Hunt (8-6) and Christina Brown (6-6) also achieving personal bests to score in the vault.
Claire Edwards won the discus (86-3) and backed up Joseph in the shot put with Eva Salzman also scoring in the discus. Barrett added to her track totals with second place points in the triple jump.
The regular season championship was the Lakers’ seventh league title in the past nine seasons. The girls have achieved a dual meet record of 58-3 during that span.
The Lady Lakers also hosted DeRuyter on May 7 to provide a venue for the team’s Senior Meet and create another chance to compete in the weather-hampered season. Cazenovia honored its six graduating seniors before coasting to a 120-20 victory over their smaller neighbor.
The meet’s warm weather provided a venue for several season-best performances as Maddy Gavitt reached 34-8.25 in the triple jump and Claire Edward threw 86-9 in the discus and 28-5 in the shot. In total, 20 members of the team were able to get on the scoreboard during the meet.
Cazenovia capped the busy week with a series of peak performances at the huge CNS Invitational on May 11. The competition was highlighted by Meggie Hart’s first place finish in the 1,500-meter run in a career best 4:55.56, her third State Qualifier performance of the season, adding to earlier efforts in the 3,000 and 2,000 meter steeplechase.
Paige Hunt also had a career-best State Qualifier performance of 9-0 in the pole vault while Clara Rowles (8:19.40) and Kelly Frost (8:44.60) both had personal bests in the steeplechase and Eva Salzman had her best-ever discus throw at 78-8.
The Lady Lakers will travel to Marcellus for the overall OHLS Liberty League Championship Meet this Wednesday and compete at the 25th Annual Junkyard Relays at Clinton on May 19.
