Frank Speziale Photo

NORWICH – The REK Invitational seemed to go off without a hitch on Friday, May 5, save the occasional heavy session of rain – Norwich’s boys and girls earned first place team finishes, topping the Sidney Warriors and Unadilla Valley Storm.

This rain failed to slow down any of the top Chenango County Track and Field athletes, as multiple top-end records fell to the wayside during the 12th annual running of the REK.

The REK began the same way it has for the past 12 years, with a 100m memorial walk to remember the lives of Rachel Nargiso, Emily Collins, and Katie Almeter – all NHS graduates in 2000. The trio tragically lost their lives in a car accident on the campus of Colgate University in Hamilton, in November of 2000.

To note how precious life can be and to remember the three Norwich athletes who lost their lives too soon, the REK acts as a way to bring all together – 12 seasons later and one can find some of the top area Track and Field athletes competing all in one spot, in a friendly, yet competitive manor.

The Norwich boys and girls sought to dominate the home invitational, doing just that with first-place finishes on both sides. The Norwich boys earned themselves a 183 point day, besting Sidney in second-place with 67 and Unadilla Valley in third at 65. Norwich’s Zack Race took home a second consecutive year of being named the Male MVP award for the boys track, breaking four meet records on the day. Dale Lake of Morrisville-Eaton was named the Male MVP for the field events.

The Tornado girls followed suite of the boys, taking home a first-place team win with 181 points. This 181 points bested Unadilla Valley at 71 points and Greene at 61 points. Norwich’s Caroline Stewart was named Female MVP for the field events, breaking two meet records. Morgan Westerman of Cherry Valley-Springfield was named the Female MVP for the track events.

The 4x100m relay was claimed by the Norwich quartet of David Berger, Zack Race, Ky’sawn Veale and Eric Conant. The Tornado sprinters raced to a new school and subsequently the meet record when they ran a time of 44.39 for a first-place finish. Notably, the record was previously held by Josh Favaloro, Morgan Crawford, David Layman, and Patrick Taylor at 44.43 – a record set in 2011.

Claiming a second-place finish behind Norwich was Unadilla Valley – Ben Avolio, Jordan Mirabito, Alex Taylor, and Goeff Keach – who ran a time of 46.35; followed by Sherburne-Earlville in third-place at 48.98 – Hunter Zbydniewski, Michael Doeberl, Michael Giglio, and Lincoln Owen.

The ‘big men’ stepped onto the track for a shot at glory in the throwers 4x100m relay – Norwich’s top squad of Jacob Franklin, Wesley Mills, Carter Hubbard, and Zack Clipston snagged the win at 49.87 – besting Cherry Valley-Springfield at 52.03, and Unadilla Valley – Dawson Carson, James Peterson, Kyler Butts, and Hunter Butler – in third-place at 55.78.

The 110m hurdles garnered a Morrisville-Eaton champion, when Dale Lake won the event at 16.46. Sherburne-Earlville’s Owen Rodriguez climbed on the podium at sixth-place with a time of 18.30.

Norwich returned to the forefront in the 3200m relay, when Noah Bufalini, Gabe Gawronski, Connor. Nial, and Ben Ericksen took the top spot in the event with a time of 8:40.99. Coming in second-place was Unadilla Valley, as Brady George, Josh Nogaret, Alex Taylor, and Than Garry attempted to push Norwich for the win with a time of 8:54.90.

Norwich’s claim to fame in the past few months – the sprinters stepped to the starting blocks in their first individual event at the REK. The Tornado trio of Race, Conant and Berger saw solid performances in the 100m dash, with Race taking home the first-place spot. Race’s time of 11.03 not only earned him the top-spot, but smashed a meet record for the REK itself.

Coming in second through fifth – sixth-place was scratched due to injury – were all Chenango County sprinters. Second-place from Norwich was Eric Conant at 11.65, third-place from Greene was Coy Austin at 11.91, fourth-place from Norwich was David Berger at 11.94, and fifth-place from UV was Geoff Keach at 12.24. S-E’s Lincoln Owen ran an 11.7 in the preliminary round of the event but was an injury scratch for the finals.

Unadilla Valley saw their first top-finish come on the day, when Ben Avolio bested his competition in the 400m dash for the win. UV’s Avolio snagged the win in the 400m with a time of 53.23, besting Scott Tomanocy of Norwich for second-place at 53.76. Sherburne-Earlville’s Jonah Robertson found the podium at sixth-place with a time of 55.31.

The Tornado distance runners looked for the complete sweep of the 1600m run, however, would manage a first, second, and fourth-place in their efforts. Taking the first-place win in the 1600m was Norwich senior Ben Ericksen with a time of 4:56.28. Coming in second-place for Norwich, was Noah Bufalini, who pushed Erickson the entire race – running a time of 4:59.13.

Taking fourth-place was Chris Barton of Norwich at 5:08.32, followed by Josh Nogaret of Unadilla Valley at 5:09.77, and Oxford’s Adam Brady at 5:11.78 for sixth-place. Norwich’s Stanton Baker would notably finish the 1600m with a personal best time, but failed to land in the top-six finishers. Bainbridge-Guilford’s Dan Locke managed an eighth-place finish with a time of 5:24.75.

Edmeston took home their first first-place spot of the night when Bryce Graham earned the win in the 400m hurdles with a time of 59.91. Unadilla Valley’s Than Garry was attempted to crack the one-minute mark in the event with his second-place finish and time of 1:0.52. The Tornado’s Connor Nial finished in fourth-place with a time of 1:03.82.

Norwich saw another champion on the night when Gabe Gawronski ran his pace to a first-place finish in the 800m run. Gawronski ran a time of 2:06.60, besting fellow teammate Noah Bufalini for second-place at 2:12.24. Sherburne-Earlville stacked the event for a solid third, fourth, and fifth-place finish – when Harrison DuBois ran a 2:12.87; Tristan Rainford ran a 2:18.49 and Ryan Asma ran a 2:19.39, respectively. Greene junior, Nolan Scofield finished in sixth-place with a personal best time of 2:20.23. B-G saw a solid run from Dan Locke, who squeezed out a ninth-place finish with a time of 2:21.44.

The 200m dash saw a multitude of personal best times – with Male MVP for the track events, Zack Race speeding his way to a first-place finish, tackling yet another meet record with a time of 22.42.

Norwich’s Eric Conant and David Berger would finish in second and third-place, with times of 23.75, and 24.37, respectively. UV’s Ben Avolio snagged a fourth-place spot in the event with a time of 24.51; followed by Hunter Zbydniewski of S-E with a sixth-place finish at 25.04. Notably, David Berger, Garret Thorton, and James Heath and Luka Kamps– all of Norwich – each earned personal best times in the event.

The Tornado’s top-distance runner, Ericksen, returned to form in the 3200m run. A goal Norwich head coach Shaun Horan stated would be for Ericksen to break the 10 minute mark the event. Despite falling short of the lofty goal, Ericksen came away with a first-place finish and a time of 10:31.09. Adam Brady of Oxford would finish in fourth-place at 11:30.01; followed Norwich’s Nick Loscavio and Chris Barton in fifth and sixth-place, with times of 11:33.12 and 11:52.01. Loscavio would claim a personal best time in the event.

Another record falls, Norwich’s sprint medley relay team – Conant, Berger, Race, and Gawronski – downed yet another meet record, when they took home a first-place finish in the event running a time of 1:38.64. Taking second-place was the Norwich ‘B’ team – James Heath, Connor Nial, Ben Ericksen, and Scott Tomanocy at 1:44.40. Unadilla Valley put together the team of Avolio, Jordan Mirabito, Alex Taylor and Josh Nogaret to pull out a third-place with a time of 1:44.40.

S-E nailed a first-place spot in the long jump with Lincoln Owen jumping a 19’3”. In doing so, Owen aggravated an injury, causing a scratch from the 100m finals. Taking second-place in the long jump was Greene’s Coy Austin at 19’1.5” – defeating Norwich’s top jumper Ky’sawn Veale at 19’1” and UV’s Alex Taylor at 19’. S-E rounded out the event, with a sixth-place as well, as Hunter Zbydniewski landed at 18’9.5” for the podium appearance. B-G’s Aidan Nolan found himself in ninth-place with his best jump of the evening coming at 17’1.75”.

Despite losing the long jump, and subsequently being edged in the triple jump – Norwich’s Veale would hit a massive landmark personal best jump for second-place at 39’1.5”. Dale Lake of M-E would win the event, jumping a 40’3” mark. Following Veale were his teammates Zack Clipston in fourth-place at 35’6.5” and Jacob Russel in fifth-place at 35’2”. The Marauders sent Michael Doeberl to the podium for a sixth-place finish in the event, with a jump of 34’6.5”.

Norwich’s Zack Clipston followed up his performance in the triple jump with a solid outing in the high jump – earning a top-finish for the event when he cleared 5’6.1”. UV’s Geoff Keach snagged a third-place clearing 5’4” followed by a three-way tie for sixth-place between Mike Willard of Greene Kyle Timian of Waterville and Myrick Elrod of S-E at 5’0.1”.

The Bobcats claimed the lone Chenango County top-finish at the pole vault, when Aidan Nolan snagged a sixth-place spot when he cleared 9’6”.