STATEN ISLAND – Cazenovia girls indoor track and field star Susie Pittman once again cleared 10 feet in the pole vault during her run at Saturday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships at Staten Island’s Ocean Breeze Athletic Center.
This would help Pittman to place 14th among all vaulters in the state, and was just six inches from her career best of 10’6”, which she established at the Feb. 14 Section III state qualifier. Warwick Valley’s Lily Beatty won the state title by clearing 13 feet.
Pittman cleared her first two heights at 8 feet and 9 feet easily and was able to sail over the ten foot bar on her second attempt after making a slight adjustment to her mark. She was close to tying her personal best when the bar moved up another six inches, just grazing it on her final attempt.
This was the talented Junior’s second appearance on the “big stage” of the state championship competition, having also reached the event in the high jump during her ninth-grade season.
She was even stronger in that event this season, clearing 5’2” to win a sectional title compared to her best of 5’1” in 2022. Pittman was also a champion in the triple jump this winter, but chose to focus on her specialty of pole vault at states.
The meet capped an incredible season of competition in the event as she broke Cazenovia’s school record four times over the winter, topping the mark of 9’6” that had stood since 2004.
A clearance of 9’7” established the new school mark for Pittman. Then she got to 10 feet, 10’2” and 10’6”, all while winning the Onondaga High School League and Section III Class B-2 championships, plus first-team All-Central New York Honors with her win at the state qualifier.
Pittman also had an exceptional season on the track, breaking the Lakers’ indoor track record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.42 in the first leg of her team’s school record effort of 4:07.03 in the 4×400 meter relay that was good for number two in the section.
She also contributed a 26.3 second 200-meter leg during Cazenovia’s fastest 4×200 meter relay of the season of 1:49.76; the fastest of any small school in the section.
Pittman will now set her sights on spring track with the goal of setting a new school outdoor record in the pole vault. She is already tied for the best all-time at 9’6” during both her ninth and 10th grade seasons and hopes to quickly set a new standard based on her successes this winter.
During the state meet, Pittman was joined, on the boys side for Cazenovia, by Connor Frisbie, who took part in the triple jump. Frisbie’s best attempt of 44’2″ put him in the state field along with Liverpool’s NyQuez Madison among Section III representatives.
Here, Frisbie would start out with a leap of 40’7 1/4”, then go 39’9 1/2” on his second attempt. A third attempt brought the best jump yet, one of 41’6” that put Frisbie in 20th place overall.
Madison, going 42’9”, would finish 14th, and they would all chase the work of Midlakes’ Aiden Bryant, who with a best attempt of 49’ 1/2” in his final leap beat the field by more than two feet, with Beacon’s Damani DeLoatch second at 46’4”.
