CICERO – High school athletes were put to the test over the course of the weekend as the competition was among the fastest at the New York Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Track and Field Championship meet in years at the Cicero-North Syracuse facility.

Norwich track and field head coach Shaun Horan said going into the meet that anything can happen in the championships. His word held true over the two-day meet as one little mishap costed some athletes everything, while playing into the hands of others.

Ending on a long note

The Purple Tornado’s Caroline Stewart started the first day of action as the first one to stand on the podium, placing fifth in the triple jump. Her medal came down to the last jump of her high school career.

With her distance of 36 feet-6.75 inches being the furthest listed before the final jump, Stewart needed to jump a foot longer in order to place in the top six.

Giving it everything she had, Stewart jumped into the sanded landing pit at a distance of 37 feet-8.5 inches, a personal best for her career.

Later in the afternoon, her and Unadilla Valley’s Julia Oglesby competed in the Division-II long jump finals.

Stewart, continuing with her mojo from the triple jump, out-jumped her longest distance of the season on the first attempt of the event with 17 feet-8.75 inches.

Oglesby needed her first jump to warm-up and find her groove. By her second, Oglesby landed at 17 feet-9 inches––a distance which earned her sixth-place on the podium.

Hearing the results of the Oglesby’s jump, Stewart used it as motivation to propel her further. Stewart’s next jump resulted in a distance of 18 feet-1.25 inches. Stewart finished fourth, taking home two medals for her final state championship appearance.

Dashing down the track

The long jump was the second event of the day for Oglesby, as she raced in the 100-meter dash preliminaries before.

Facing the toughest heat she has all season, Oglesby was the third sprinter to cross the finish line in 12.6 seconds. With the top two of the heat automatically qualifying for the finals, Oglesby had seen where everyone else in the event stood time-wise.

Once the times were finalized, the top eight for the finals were announce. Oglesby missed on the 100 meter dash finals by .09 of a second.

In the girls 200 meter dash, Sherburne-Earlville’s Amberlyn Robertson just missed her chance at a medal by .2 of a second. Robertson was in the heat that qualified four of eight fastest girls, a heat she finished at the fifth fastest.

On the boys side of the same events – the 100 and 200 meter dashes – Norwich’s Zack Race saw some of the fastest competition he has seen in his career.

Coming in second in his heat during prelims, Race dashed to a time of 10.79 seconds. His time seeded him fourth for the finals race, which was the first event of day two.

S-E’s Lincoln Owen raced against the fastest athlete in the preliminary heats of the 100 meter dash. Glenmour Osbourne of Ardsley came across the finish line first with a time of 10.61.

Owen, coming in just .5 seconds after as the third place runner of the heat, had to wait until all times were finalized.

Separated by .001 seconds, Owen just missed on his chance to run in the finals at the championship as Marcus Baisi edged the Marauder speedster out for the last spot.

Just a few races later, Race was part of the trials in the 200 meter dash. Of his heat, Race finished second with a time of 22.02 to automatically qualify once again.

Individually, Race was done for the afternoon and would have to wait for day two of the championships to see a medal in 100 and 200 events.

He turned his attention to the 4x100 meter relay with teammates David Berger, Scott Tomanocy, and Eric Conant.

Heartbreaking finale

Working on their hand-offs at Cicero-North Syracuse track a day prior to the event, the speedy foursome was ready. Seeded high in the event and with a good percentage to win, the four took to their spots on the track to set up their marks with good feelings.

Berger started off great as he fired out of the gate quickly to get to Race, the second runner of the group.

Throughout the season, Race had the event won midway through his split. However, at the state championships – even running his fastest speed – Race was a stride behind the leader as he headed toward Tomanocy.

Looking for a purple jersey to take the corner to head into the final stretch, one could not be found.

A miscue in the baton exchange between Race and Tomanocy caused the Norwich team to not finish the race and dashing the hopes of winning a medal for the final time the four would run together in the event.

With Race’s day done, he now focused on the final day. Tomanocy and Conant used the 4x400 meter relay to redeem themselves.

Fast recovery