According to the website ny.milesplit.com, Norwich’s boys indoor track and field team is the sixth-ranked Class B team in the state this winter.
With standouts Matt Murray and Patrick Taylor leading the way for the Tornado, the ranking is well deserved.
Because their meets are all at least an hour’s drive away, it’s not surprising that the Tornado’s group of athletes have quietly went about their business under the direction of head coach Shaun Horan. After last week’s performances at the Section IV state qualifier, Murray, Taylor, and sophomore girls standout, Sydney Chaffee, are firmly affixed on the track and field radar.
Murray won the section title in the 600-meter dash with a school-record 1:22.79; Taylor earned a state-meet-qualifying jump in the long jump of 21 feet 6 1/2 inches to place second, and Chaffee not only set a new school record in the 300-meter dash, but her time of 42.84 seconds placed her second in the section as she earned a spot among the state’s best for the March 3 New York State Championships at Cornell University.
The trio of NHS state qualifiers – and record-breakers – have continued to raise the bar with their performances, and have earned our weekly distinction as Smith Ford Supercenter/Evening Sun Athletes of the Week.
Taylor, a senior, centered his focus this winter on track and field after playing basketball the past several years. Just three weeks ago, he executed the longest jump in school history – indoors or outdoors – at the Hurley-Quinney Meet hosted by Cornell University. In the long jump, Taylor soared 22 feet 3 3/4 inches. Taylor was nibbling around the 22-foot mark the past year, and he finally met his stated goal of reaching that barrier. Getting the school record was just a bonus.
“He’s just an absolutely super, explosive kid,” Horan said. “To watch him in practice, the kid can jump over anything. We built his training this year to focus on his explosiveness, and he has reacted well with the stuff we have set up for him.”
Taylor will occasionally run legs in relays, and he was part of the foursome that broke the 800-meter relay school record last weekend at the state qualifier. Taylor, though, is a jumper by trade. Unlike his teammates who can work on running drills indoors, Taylor does not have a pit or a runway on which to practice. Horan will sometimes set up mats for Taylor to leap into, but it isn’t the same.
