VESTAL – Spring is in the air. Or at least that was what the varsity track and field athletes were hoping for this past weekend, when they kicked off the 2017 spring season with the opening NY/PA Invitational at Vestal on April 1.

Just like any other good April fool’s joke, the weather decided to wreak havoc on what everyone was hoping would be a sunny spring day, instead giving the athletes a dreary, wet and rainy day for all to enjoy.

That didn’t stop anyone from enjoying a solid day when it came to performances – as athletes from 27 different schools, five coming Chenango County – conquered the weather and kickstarted the season with some solid outings.

On the boys side of the invitational, Binghamton edged out Norwich by a mere two-point margin, at 52 team points for Binghamton. Norwich slid in at second – with 50 points as a team – defeating Montrose, who came in at third with 48 points.

On the girls side, Elmira stole the show dominating their competition with 86.5 team points. In a tight race for second, Oneonta edged out Susquehanna Valley as the Yellowjackets grabbed 51 team points to the Sabers 48.

Despite falling to Binghamton, Norwich saw some dominant performances to start the new season – specifically when talking about their sprinters.

“We had some awesome performances for such a cold day,” said Norwich head coach Shaun Horan.

It can officially be stated that Zack Race, a Junior at NHS, has tied the school record in the coveted 100 meter dash with his performance this past weekend. Impressively, Race won the 100m, 200m events on the day, grabbing times of 11.01 seconds and 22.51 seconds in the process, respectively.

“Zack Race’s 100m time of 11.01 FAT will be added as a tie to Jason Morris’ record in the 100m,” said coach Horan. “Jason ran 10.8 hand time, which is converted to 11.04 FAT. These times are way to close to say that only one should have the record.”

The Invitational was timed by the FAT computer system – the only official timing system in Track and Field – however, it should be pointed out that Race was unofficially clocked at 10.7 seconds by Coach Horan and Assistant Coach Phil Curley.

It is widely believed that due to human error in a hand timed races, that a sprint in the 100-200 meter range roughly would be .24 slower when using the Fully Automatic Time (FAT system) – which coach Horan has said justifies adding Race’s name to the school record board.

Following the commotion with Race winning the 100m, the Tornado speedster didn’t stop there, as he moved on to the 200m dash as well, where he promptly downed his longtime rival Sincere Williamson of Binghamton.

Race already holds the NHS school record in the event – when he ran a 22.36 last season – however, defeated Williamson in the finals of the event when he ran a solid 22.51 to Williamson’s 23.11.

“I’m just looking forward to keep it going,” said Race.

Norwich saw other standouts in the sprinting events as sophomore standout Eric Conant grabbed a personal best time in the 100m finals as well, placing third in the event with an 11.52 second race.

A Norwich newcomer to Track and Field, senior Ky’sawn Veale, moved his talents from the Basketball court to the track in 2017, as Veale sped to a solid third place finish in the 110m hurdles – running a 18.00 second time.

Norwich’s 4x100 meter relay team has welcomed Veale to the squad this season – as the relay now includes freshman David Berger, Eric Conant, Zack Race, and Ky’sawn Veale

Unfortunately, for the Tornado relay squad, they will be looking to improve on the time as the season progresses as Norwich was only able to grab a fourth place finish with their time of 46.76 seconds.

The middle distance events for the boys, saw sophomore Gabe Gawronski of Norwich snag a second place finish in the 400 meter event – when he ran a solid time of 2:08.06.

Moving to the middle distance hurdles, senior Than Garry of Unadilla Valley also enjoyed a fast start to his promising season, when he dashed his way to a third place finish in the finals of the event, running a 1:03.46.

The boys Steeplechase saw Harpursville-Afton find their way to the podium when junior Matt Johnson claimed a third place finish in the event with his time of 11:12.97.

Norwich’s distance relay – freshman Noah Bufalini, senior Michael Cardoza, Gabe Gawronski, and freshman Nick Loscavio – gave the fans a solid performance in the 3,200 meter relay when they rallied for a third place in the event.

Full team results: Binghamton 52; Norwich 50; Montrose 48; Horseheads 47; Owego Free Academy 47; Vestal 38; Trumansburg 37; Susquehanna Valley 32; Johnson City 30; Union-Endicott 29; Windsor 20; Solvay 18; Sidney 16; Elmira 15; Oneonta 11; Ithaca 8; Unatego 8; Chenango Forks 7; Harpursville-Afton 6; Unadilla Valley 6; Chenango Valley 2; Greene 0; Seton Catholic Central 0; Deposit-Hancock 0; Susquehanna 0; Bainbridge-Guilford 0; Susquehanna Community 0.

On the girls side, Norwich and UV once again dominated the top-spots for Chenango County teams.

Freshman 400m hurdler, Katie Gawronksi of Norwich truly put on a show for all who witnessed the young star run, as she kicked for a first place finish to start her season. Gawronski won the event with a time of 1:14.09, besting sophomore Kayla Knox of Elmira who ran a 1:14.60, and junior Molly Burdick of Johnson City, who ran a 1:16.43.

Norwich junior Emily Shattuck, sped her way down the track in the 100 meter dash, where she earned a second place finish in the event with her time of 13.67 seconds. Shattuck was edged out for the win by junior Genevieve Cortese of Susquehanna Valley (13.50 seconds), however, pushed for the win over junior Alisandra Torres of Ithaca (13.87).

Impressively, Norwich’s 4x100 relay on the girls side pulled out a first place finish at the Invitational when they defeated Elmira by a close margin in the finals. The Tornado girls flew to the win with a time of 52.28, beating Elmira for the top spot (53.70).

Unadilla Valley would enjoy some solid results in the field events when junior Julia Oglesby earned the win – despite the tie at height – over Samantha van der Sommen of Oneonta. Both high jumpers would effectively clear the height of 4’10”, while Oglesby was declared the winner.

Full team results: Elmira 86.5; Oneonta 51; Susquehanna Valley 48; Windsor 43; Ithaca 40; Horseheads 38; Norwich 37; Binghamton 30; Vestal 27; Johnson City 20; Unatego 18; Montrose 17.5; Owego 14; Unadilla Valley 12; Solvay 11; Seton Catholic Central 8; Susquehanna Valley 6; Chenango Valley 5; Sidney 5; Union-Endicott 4; Deposit Hancock 2; Harpursville-Afton 2; Susquehanna Community 0; Bainbridge-Guilford 0; Chenango Forks 0; Trumansburg 0; Greene 0.

Next up for Chenango County Track and Field, Norwich is scheduled for a home meet against Chenango Forks on Tuesday, April 4, at 4:15 p.m.; Bainbridge-Guilford is scheduled for a home meet against Harpursville-Afton and Oxford on Wednesday, April 5, at 4:15 p.m.; and Greene and Unadilla Valley are scheduled for an away meet at Delhi on Wednesday, April 5, at 4:15 p.m.

Boys top-eight standings:

• Steeplechase: 1) Luke DeHart (11) of Vestal 10:48.95; 2) Cameron Szabo (10) of Owego at 11:02.63; 3) Matt Johnson (11) of Harpursville-Afton at 11:12.97; 4) Ryan Worobey (10) of Vestal at 11:19.72; 5) Caleb Mallery (11) of Union Endicott at 11:24.06; 6) Jon Miller (12) of Oneonta at 11:36.39; 7) Andrew Stanton (12) of Oneonta at 11:48.39; 8) Noah Roefs (12) of Harpursville-Afton at 12:26.65.

• 400 meter relay: 1) Binghamton at 46.18; 2) Trumansburg at 46.46; 3) Windsor at 46.65; 4) Norwich at 46.76; 5) Horseheads at 47.83; 6) Chenango Valley at 48.77; 7) Owego at 49.24; 8) Ithaca at 49.39.