UTICA – All local indoor track teams were in action over the weekend with Norwich, Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton, and Unadilla Valley competing in the Utica Challenge at Utica University. BGA split the team up to also compete in the Quinney Invitational at SUNY Cortland, along with Oxford/Greene. Full results can be found on ny.milesplit.com.

BGA:

The BGA girls and boys track teams had a solid day at the Utica Challenge against over 30 other schools. The girls were led by Ethne Degan with a second place finish in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:48.39 behind the leader’s 4:38.80. Vanessa Brazee ran the 3000 meter run in 12:47.61 for 15th place. Emily Sprow earned eighth place in the triple jump with a jump of 32 feet, 10 inches as Laila Williams jumped 4-4 in the high jump for a four-way tie in 12th place.

Collin Dicks, Julian Pruskowski, Kevin Lang, and Harpo Hardt paved the way for the BGA boys. Dicks finished third in the long jump, setting a new personal best jump of 20 feet, 11 inches. He also competed in the triple jump, where he came in sixth place (41-1.50). Teammate Julian Pruskowski finished fourth in the same event with his new best jump of 41-9.25. Harpo Hardt also achieved a new best jump of 38 feet, four inches, which was good for 14th place.

Kevin Lang ran the 500 meter dash in a best time of 1:15.42 for 13th place to round out the event.

Norwich:

The Norwich Purple Tornado indoor track team had a lot to celebrate throughout the meet. Both Ava Cirigliano and Gabe Decker broke the school record in the 500 meter dash. Cirigliano ran a new best 1:25.77 for fourth place as Decker earned the top spot for the boys with a time of 1:10.36.

Reagan Decker and Hayley Slack capped off the top performances of the day for the Norwich girls in the triple jump. Decker finished 19th with a jump of 29 feet, eight and a quarter inches. Slack followed in 20th with her jump of 29-0.50.

The Norwich boys added on to the boards with more top finishes that helped them place third as a team overall. Richard Fuller and Lucas Craddock both earned first place finishes in their events. Fuller ran the 500 meter dash in 36 seconds for first as Craddock continued to succeed in the triple jump with a jump 44-5.50. Craddock earned third place in the high jump (6-2) and fourth in the long jump (20-8.50).

Fuller also finished 10th in the 55 meter dash, which he ran in 6.92 seconds. Fuller, along with Gabe Decker, Caden Sutton, and Cameron Carnachan, finished third as a team in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:41 behind both Albany and NY Mills.

Sutton ran in the 1000 meter run with a time of 2:52.61 to finish 14th. Connor Marshall achieved a new personal best time of 9.39 seconds in the 55 meter hurdles, where he finished 14th as well.

Unadilla Valley:

The Unadilla Valley Storm also did well in the Utica Challenge, where its athletes continue to drop individual times. The Storm girls were led by Gracie Gorrell, Natalya Schrag, Jaiden Schrag, and Kalie Fernandez-Naughton. Gorrell set the pace with a second place finish in the 500 meter dash with a new best time of 1:25.41. She was so close to first place behind the leader’s 1:24.05. Gorrell also finished eighth in the 300 meter dash (44.54 seconds).

Jaiden Schrag came in third place in the 55 meter hurdles, which she completed in 9.03 seconds and also finished seventh in the long jump (16-3.50). Natalya Schrag finished ninth in the 800 meter run with a new best time of 2:41.43.

Kalie Fernandez-Naughton set a new best in the triple jump, which was a new school record. She jumped 33 feet, one inch for sixth place. She replaced her former best of 32 '1.5 from last season and jumped ahead of Molly Avolio’s 32' 7.5’’ from 2018.

Jacob Prentice and Alex Kemnah continue to strive for the Storm boys. Prentice had two ninth place finishes in both the 500 meter dash and in the pole vault. He ran a new best of 1:13.99 in the 500 meter dash while vaulting a strong 10-0. His best vault is a 10-6. Kemnah also ran the 500 meter dash, accomplishing his own new best time of 1:18.32 for 18th place. The junior ran the 800 meter dash in 2:23, earning 12th place.