CICERO – Top track and field athletes from four different area high schools earned impressive victories at various points during last Thursday’s Section III state qualifying meet at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium.’
This means that, when the New York State Public High School Athletic Association meet comes to C-NS next weekend, there will be major expectations to bring home medals.
East Syracuse Minoa ran away with the boys 4×100 relay in Division I (large schools). Jay-Neil McDuffie, Mikah Comba, Hashim Abdi and Anthony Bryant tore to a time of 42.94 seconds, more than a second quicker than West Genesee’s 44.09.
McDuffie also won the 110 hurdles, qualifying in 14.42 seconds and, in 14.43, edging Corcoran’s Tawakal Omar (14.48) for the title before winning the long jump with 22 feet 4 ½ inches
Ryan Sullivan was victorious for the Spartans in the triple jump, going 43’10” to beat out C-NS’s Anthony Johnson’s 43’5” as Sullivan added a third in the high jump clearing 6 feet. Combs was fourth in the 100-meter dash in 11.01.
ESM also had Tyler Quarry third in the Division I pentathlon with 2,528 points, ahead of CBA’s Donovan Collins, who had 2,320 points, and F-M’s Joe Sullivan, who got 2,241 points. Charlie English cleared 11’6” for sixth place in the pole vault.
On the girls side for ESM, Akuot Kuany won twice, clearing 5’4” to edge Henninger’s Camila Garcia Mason (5’3”) in the high jump and in the triple jump, gong 40’5” as no one else broke the 40-foot mark. Kuany was also second in the long jump with 17’11” right behind C-NS’s Anna Eells’ 17’11 3/4”
Fayetteville-Manlius senior Nolan McGinn won twice, his time of 4:16.71 at 1,600 meters more than six seconds ahead of any other Division I or II runner as, in the 3,200-meter run, he won in 9:17.11 to the 9:21.56 of Baldwinsville’s Adam Kozman. Will Ditre got fourth in the 800-meter run in 1:58.63.
Nick Domashenko contended in both sprints, going 10.97 seconds for third in the 100 just behind Corcoran’s Abdi Adan (10.91) at the top as Jackson Burton was eighth in 11.33. Domashenko then went 22.73 for third place in the 200.
On the girls side for F-M, Izzie Sullivan roared to victory in the 3,000 in 9:42.21, the only runner under the 10-minute mark. Sullivan, Jordan Giannetti, Maria Khalifeh and Claire McDonald were second in the 4×800 relay in 9:55.95 to Liverpool’s 9:34.66, with Khalifeh third at 800 meters in 2:23.74.
Jamesville-DeWitt had plenty of girls standouts. Victoria Payne made her way to victory in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.73 seconds to edge Utica Proctor’s Chennia Locke (14.74) by one-hundredth of a second to go with a third in the 200 in 26.76.
Nicki Militi added a title in the 400-meter dash in 58.84 seconds, the only time under a minute, while Kenna Ridzi threw the shot put 38’1 1/4” to win as ESM’s Aniyah Jones was fourth.
In the discus, Skylar Vaught won with 122’11” to edge Ridzi’s 117’2”, with F-M’s Michelle Ifeonu fifth going 97’10”. Ellyana Deng’s 17’10” in the long jump left her less than two inches behind Eells and Deng.
To lead the J-D boys, Kevin Vigneault threw the discus 138 feet and the shot put 50 1/2”, second in both events to C-NS’s Joe Main as ESM had K’Mari Jones seventh and Aaron Ali 10th in the discus and Andrew LeMarche eighth in the shot put.
In the 4×400, Brayden Rivera, Hudson Groat, Mahir Bechir and Javere Lopez were second in 3:31.12, while Terrell Willis tied Sullivan for third in the high jump (6 feet) and added a sixth in the long jump with 20’2 1/2”. Amar Lopez was fifth in the triple jump with 42’2 1/4” and Jaden Addai seventh in the high jump.
Move to Division II (small schools), and Christian Brothers Academy beat everyone in both divisions in the boys 4×100 as Quinten Lewis, Daunte Bacheyie, Zion Green and Darien Williams went 42.66 seconds, a full two seconds clear of Cazenovia’s 44.66.
James Cass, Daniel Abbe, Xavier Caesar and Jacob DuBrey took second in the 4×400 in 3:33.24, behind the winning 3:31.45 from Cazenovia, Cass adding a second in the 400 hurdles in 59.44 seconds just behind the 59.22 of New York Mills’ Sam Greene-Spradley.
Bacheyie was second in the 100 sprint, his 10.98 reaching the final where, in 11 seconds flat, he trailed only the 10.95 of Utica Notre Dame’s Campbell Poah. Williams posted 21.98 in the 200 for second place to Tully’s Ryan Rauber in 21.83, while Lewis took third in the long jump going 21’2 1/2’.
On the girls side, CBA had Meryl Murphy, Katherine Williamson, Liana Thomas and Julie Zdep fourth in the 4×400 in 4:18.57, with Williamson, on her own, taking seventh in the 800 in 2:30.46 and Ava LaValle seventh in the 2,000 steeplechase in 8:17.76.
Bishop Grimes had Tehlia Hosea finish fifth in the 100 sprint in 12.83 seconds and seventh in the 200. She also helped the Cobras finish fifth in the Division II 4×100 in 51.71 as Riley Abernethy was sixth in the 400 sprint and Ella Reilly eighth in the 400 hurdles.
Manlius Pebble Hill had Brody Cook, Oliver Hewett, Sun-Jin Shah and Jacob Temes sixth in the Division II 4×800 relay in 8:48.20, with Cook sixth in the 400 sprint in 55.13 seconds.
