VESTAL – While the Corning boys and Vestal girls teams may have claimed the team titles at the Southern Tier Athletic Conference (STAC) Championships last week, the Norwich girls and boys track and field athletes performed above their standards, shocking some of the other teams at the large meet in Vestal.

Zack Race, Norwich’s speedster in the short distance races, was the only competitor of the entire meet to win two individual events on the track.

Watching Race start – in any of his races – many think they may have a chance against him in an event because of the way he gets off the starting blocks. However, once Race finds his stride, he is past the other competitors and racing against only the stopwatch.

Breaking his own record in the 100 meter event for the school record he set earlier this season, Race dashed to a time of 10.7 seconds. At the Quinney Invite at Sidney, Race clocked in a time of 10.75 to beat the school record he set last season at the New York State Championships with a 10.9.

Shortly after running the 100 meter final, Race took the track for the 200 meter dash.

Chatting with him before the meet started, Race said he wanted to wanted to run a time that would qualify him for the national meet in Greensboro, NC later this year. The time to qualify for the 200 meter event is 21.8 seconds.

Race won the event at STAC Championships with a 21.93, just .13 of a second over the qualifying time.

What makes everything Race does this season remarkable – more than just the times and speeds that he shows – is he is running with a knee that is not 100-percent healthy.

During football season, Race took a hard hit in the regular season game against Maine-Endwell. The blow delivered resulted in a senior year-ending knee injury. Many wondered if he was going to be ready for track season.

Doctors and physical therapists spoke alike, saying that he wouldn’t ever run the same way again, possibly not at all.

Well Race is proving all wrong, running the best he has ran throughout his career.

And so is the rest of the Norwich Purple Tornado track and field team.

The 4x400 meter relay team of Scott Tomanocy, Noah Bufalini, Eric Conant and Gabe Gawronski broke the Norwich school record at the STAC Championship. With a time of 3:28.87, the group ran to a second place finish at the meet but will now hold the best time for the school’s record books – until they break it again.

Also racing to a new school record, as well as a personal best, was the Lady Tornado’s Katie Gawronski in the 400 meter hurdles.

Focused on the event all day, Gawronski wanted to perform well in the event. Already setting her personal best in 100 meter hurdles at the REK Invitational, Gawronski was looking for the same in the 400.