The vast success enjoyed by the Cazenovia boys indoor track and field team did not end with a Section III Class B-2 championship, for more glory would follow.
It came from the senior duo of Justin Gagnon and Angelo Annotto, whose efforts in Wednesday night’s sectional state qualifying meet at Utica College’s Hutton Dome earned them a trip to Staten Island’s Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex for the March 2 state championships.
Gagnon had to go through two rounds in the 55-meter hurdles, and was the fastest qualifier in 7.94 seconds, which guaranteed him his state meet berth based on time alone.
But in the final, Gagnon improved on that effort, going 7.92 seconds to beat out East Syracuse Minoa’s Myles Riggins (8.06) for the top spot. Fayetteville-Manlius’ Ryan Serp was third in 8.11 seconds.
Meanwhile, in the weight throw, Annotto unleashed four throws greater than 50 feet, none better than his final attempt of 53 feet 2 1/2 inches. That qualified Annotto for the state meet and put him second overall behind Liverpool’s Antwan Kelley, who won with 62’1″.
The Lakers were also the top small school in the 4×200 relay. Gagnon, paired with James Pavelchak, Josh Maxwell and Slater DeLeon, finished third in 1:36.09, trailing only Utica Proctor (1:32.54) and West Genesee (1:34.75).
Elsewhere in the state qualifier, Cazenovia’s Dalton Sevier cleared 5’10” in the high jump, finishing fourth as Henninger’s Kwamere White won in 6’6″.
Ray Satchwell rose to fifth place in the triple jump, going 41 feet as DeLeon got eighth place in the long jump with a top attempt of 19’10 1/2″. Cicero-North Syracuse’s Jeremiah Willis, a state champion in both these events in 2018, won here with 49′ 1/2″ in the triple jump and 23’1″ in the long jump.
Chittenango had its 4×400 relay team of Ersilio Cerminaro, Dave Gratien, Tristam LaFountaine and Kenny Mathews go 3:44.07 to finish fifth.
Then Cerminaro, Dylan Price, Nate Lampman and Caleb Prenoveau got fifth place in the 4×800 relay in 8:31.82, while the girls Bears had McKenzie Dombroski, McKayla Capeling, Piper Beckwith and Kiara Waite finished sixth in 10:19.37. Dombroski also finished ninth in the 1,500-meter run in 5:02.87.
