Local outdoor track & field athletes star at IACs, sectionals

The postseason is well underway for Section IV outdoor track and field, and there are a myriad of athletes and teams throughout Tompkins County who have thrived so far.

Lansing has racked the most accolades from both an individual and team level. The boys team won both the IAC and Section IV Class C titles, while the girls team was also crowned IAC champions and finished runner-up at sectionals. Not only is that a testament to the amount of talent and coaching they consistently cultivate, it also shows that their team chemistry is stronger than ever.

“I think our team bonding is definitely a big thing this year,” said senior Kristen Johnston. “We had a lot of freshmen and other people who haven’t done track before that joined our team that we helped build them up, and we take time to learn each other’s events so we can really understand each other and everything.”

Johnston is one of many athletes on the Bobcats who won multiple events this postseason. At IACs, she won the high jump and triple jump while placing second in the long jump and pentathlon. Then at sectionals, she took home the gold in the high jump and long jump and a runner-up finish in the triple jump. Johnston—who will be joining the Binghamton University track team next year—has put in plenty of work to become one of the premier jumpers in the area during her illustrious career.

“Throughout the years, I took time to learn my events and learn the technique so I can figure out if I take a jump in a meet and there’s no coaches watching, I can feel what I’m doing wrong,” Johnston said. “I’ve taken the time to learn my events, and I’ve spent a lot of time in them to try to understand and be relaxed when I get to meets.”

Also on the girls team, Kathleen Sullivan won the 2,000-meter steeplechase at both IACs and sectionals, Evelyn Jackson did the same in the pole vault, and the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relay team won IAC titles.

For the boys team, Trent Thibault continued his dominance in the long-distance runs with victories in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs at IACs and sectionals. Rowan Fox also achieved a double at both postseason championships in the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles, as did Colin Tarbert in the pole vault. Xavier Smith also took home an IAC title in the triple jump.

There’s been plenty to celebrate over at Trumansburg, too. The boys team won the Section IV Class D championship and placed second at IACs. Dafydd Williams was a significant reason for both stellar performances. At IACs, Williams won the 100-meter dash and the long jump while anchoring the winning 4×100-meter relay team. At sectionals, he came out on top in the long jump and triple jump and helped the 4×100 relay win again. The sophomore credits the coaching staff for helping maintain the program’s strong success.

“We have great coaches,” Williams said. “They work hard. They push us hard, push us to our limits. They take time out of their day—even on the days that we have holidays and balls and other things [when] we don’t have school—they’re still coming in and they’re still giving us the time to go to the track and work out with them and all these things. I give a lot of props to my coaches.”

Mason von Gordon has also excelled for the Blue Raiders, winning the 200-meter dash at IACs and the 100-meter dash at sectionals. Zolton Lampman won the IAC Large School title in the 400-meter dash, as did Nolan Scholes in the 800-meter run, Austin Millspaugh in the high jump, and Mena Schlossberg in the girls 400-meter hurdles. The boys 4×400-meter and 4×800-meter relay teams took home gold at IACs and sectionals. Scholes also was victorious in the 1,600-meter run at sectionals, as was Millspaugh in the high jump. On the girls team, the 4×800-meter relay team won at IACs and Sofia Shaff topped the pole vault charts at sectionals.

Dryden also had some standout performers. Reagan Burnham raced to victory at IACs and sectionals in the 1,500-meter and 3,000-meter runs, Jade Brockner was victorious at IACs in the 200-meter run, and Paul Busby is the Section IV Class C high jump champion.

The big success story at Groton is Ross Bush. The junior won the 400-meter and 800-meter runs at IACs and claimed victory in the 400 again at sectionals. David Shea also contributed by winning the IAC Small School title in the shot put.

Rounding things out in Newfield, Riley White did the double in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at IACs and sectionals, and Malcolm Jenkins won IAC Small School titles in the boys 100-meter dash and the triple jump, as did Cali Bennett in the girls 1,500-meter run and the girls 4×100-meter relay team.