Several standouts to be on display in Section 4 girls track and field

Ithaca Journal

Corning freshman Jessica Lawson will take her considerable talents to the oval this spring.

New York’s premier cross country runner last fall bested all 3,000-meter competitors indoors last month — after toeing the starting line as the No. 10 seed.

She splashed on the running scene with NYSPHSAA Class B State Federation cross country championships, and was honored as Gatorade New York Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. She proceeded to a 27th-place finish in Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego.

Here is a look at how the girls’ track & field season shapes up:

Sprints

Abbey Yatsko of Dryden is a three-time state-meet participant, was IAC 100 and 200 champ last year and holds seven school records (three individual, four relay). Jasmine Howard of Binghamton is back to defend her STAC 100 title, and the Patriots’ 400 relay squad returns intact.

Emily Stiker of Corning was runner-up to Yatsko in the indoor sectionals’ 300. Natasha D'Oliveira will seek to improve on her Susquehanna Valley records in the 100 (12.6) and 200 (26.5).

Johnson City sophomore Emily Cluck will be heard from in the 100, 200 and 400. Nicole Blazicek of Seton CC was fourth-place 200 runner in STAC and Class D last spring, and she holds the school record in the 400 (1:00.52).

Middle distance

Top three in the indoor sectionals’ 600 were Samantha Goble of Waverly, Cathi Mewes of Elmira and Michelle Crook of Corning. Chenango Forks’ Emily Niman will be a force in the 400, 800 and 1,500, while Morgan Cluck of JC is sound in the 400 and 800.

Distance

Joining Lawson at Corning will be Michelle Crook and Morgan Gallagher, who along with Maddie Ustanik made up the state’s third-place indoor 3,200 relay team. Gallagher was indoor sectional champ at 1,000 meters. Elmira sophomore Abbey Wheeler was fifth-place finisher in indoor states’ 3,000, her 9:54.22 within five seconds of Lawson’s winning time.

Sophomore Emily MacKay of Union-Endicott ran ninth in the indoor states’ 1,500. Seton CC 1,500 runner Jamie Farrell was fourth in STAC and second in Class D last spring, and her 4:58.40 is three seconds off the school record. She was fifth in STAC and second in Class D in the 3,000.

Windsor’s Kaylee Stone was fifth in the sectional 3,000 last June as an 8th-grader. As a freshman last spring, Vestal’s Madeline Beaulieu ran 7:05.20 as ninth-place DI steeplechase finisher. M-E’s Martine Bosch will concentrate on the 1,500, but could be among top the section’s DII 3,000 runners as well. Natalie Hawkes of Chenango Valley established a school 3,000 record as a sophomore but missed last season with an injury.

Hurdles

Allison Coughlin of M-E was third-place 100 hurdler outdoors and sixth-place triple jumper last spring, and may have a go at the pentathlon. Megan Tinklepaugh of Vestal is coming off an indoor sectional title at 55 meters. Windsor freshman Julie Nemcek was third in indoor 55m hurdles, and also high jumped 4-10.

Throws

Norwich senior Brooke Bonney is best of the bunch — defending Section 4 champion in both throws, and went on to a fifth-place DII discus finish. Most recently she claimed top sectional honors with a 36-7¾ put of the shot that was 3½ feet clear of next-best.
Binghamton sophomore Alexis Daniels has tasted state meet competition twice, and has put the shot 38 feet. Teammate Grace Doherty, a junior, was runner-up in indoor sectionals.

Jumps

Amari Hadlock of Elmira was 10th in the indoor states long jump after topping the sectional field by nearly eight inches. Briana Stockdale of U-E figures prominently among long- and triple-jumpers, and in the former is Section 4’s top returning large-school athlete. Across the river, Vestal’s Kelsey Briggs was outdoor sectional triple jump runner-up and lone underclassmen among last spring’s top four.
Oneonta’s Brittney Herrick was co-runner-up in the Section 4 high jump last spring. Madeeah Oranchak of Binghamton has triple jumped 34-9¾, and qualified for indoor states. Mackenzie Todd of Dryden did 16-7 as No. 2 sectional long jumper last spring. Victoria Gooden of Forks high jumped five feet as a freshman, and this year has sights set on the state meet.

Pole vault

Kari Stromhaug is the class of the section. She captured the indoor state title last month with an 11-foot, 6-inch vault, and this spring will look to improve by one spot the state runner-up finish she grabbed in Middletown by clearing 11-9. She is also defending sectional high jump champion.