Fast times for Voorheesvilee track teams

VOORHEESVILLE — Saturday was a good day for the Voorheesville track-and-field team.

The boys took first place at the Class CC meet held at Fonda-Fultonville High School. The girls’ team finished second and also had numerous individual winners.

The boys accumulated 129 points to easily outdistance Berne-Knox-Westerlo, the second-place finishers with 89 points.

The Lady Blackbirds finished with 118 points to Lake George’s 140.

“Lake George was strong in many events,” said Voorheesville Coach Steve Relyea. “We weren’t. They got us by 22 points. It was a really good meet.”

Birds fly high

The boys’ team showed its depth at the CC meet and was able to soar to the sectional title by 40 points.

“Coming in, we knew we were the team to beat,” Relyea said. “Everyone was looking out for us. Pretty much, the other teams gave us everything they had. We didn’t win a lot of individual events, but we were strong in all of the events. We covered all the bases and we dominated most events.”

The top performance was put in by senior Mackey Lloyd. Lloyd competed in three grueling individual races and won top relay race for the Blackbirds.

Lloyd won the 3,200-meter run with a time of 9:59.65. He also won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:43.61 and finished second in the 1,600.

Lloyd was also a member of the 4x800-meter relay team. He teamed up with Nathan Bub, Ian Powell, and Ryan Allison to win that race in 8:25.76.

“I wouldn’t have an athlete run those four events,” Relyea said. “But Mackey is one that has showed he can handle that. He came up great.”

Conor Cashin had a pair of third-place finishes for Voorheesville. He came in third in the 1,600 and the 3,200 races.

Jason Slingerland finished fifth in the 100-meter dash and Pat Jones finished sixth in the same event. Jones also finished sixth in the 200 meters.

Powell came in second in the 400-meter run. Allison had a second-place showing in the 800-meter run.

Bub finished sixth in the 400-meter hurdles.

The 4x100 meter relay team of Jones, Slingerland, Bub, and Josh Glover finished third. The 4x400-meter relay team of Bub, Allison, Powell, and Anthony Loccisano also had a third-place finish.

Loccisano finished second in the high jump and won the triple jump with a best jump of 40 feet, 5 inches. Colin Kelly finished fourth in the high jump for the Blackbirds.

Glover finished fourth in the pole vault and second in the long jump. He also finished second in the triple jump.

Sean Fitzmaurice was fifth in the discus.

Voorheesville speedsters

Caitlin Abelseth won the 200-meter sprint with a time of 27.68 seconds. She also finished second in the 100-meter dash.

Carrie Gorka won the 400-meter run in a time of 1:01.16 and teammate Chantel Little finished second.

Hilary Edmunds then came up with an impressive double. She won the 800 meters in a time of 2:34.54 and won the 1,500 meters in 5:15.24.

Michelyn Little finished sixth in the 3,000-meter run.

Seneca Gray won the 100-meter high hurdles in 16.51 seconds. She also placed third in the 400-meter hurdles.

The 4x100 relay team of Gorka, Gray, Grace Giampaglia, and Abelseth won in a time of 52.24 seconds. Gray, Giampaglia, Chantel Little, and Gorka also won in 4:13.42.

The 4x800 relay team of Zoe Edmunds, Jolie Siegel, Justina Miranda, and Michaela Conway finished in fifth place.

Laura Sowalskie finished second in the pole vault. Jane Pritchard was fourth in the long jump and second in the triple jump. Lizzie Dawson finished sixth in the triple jump.

Alex Fasulo was fifth in the pentathlon.

“We dominated the running events,” Relyea said. “It was a great showing in the field events by Lake George. They got third, fourth, and fifth places. They got first, third, and fourth in the shot put. That’s 20 points they scored in that event.”

Reylea said that was the difference between the boys winning the meet and the girls placing second.

“The girls blew everybody away on the track,” Relyea said. “The boys were strong and deep. That’s what won us the CC title. There was so much tough competition. We were unstoppable on this day. It was a great track meet.”

Many Voorheesville athletes will compete in the state qualifier meet in Johnstown on Thursday and Friday.

But right now, Relyea is savoring his teams’ finishes at the Class CC meet and is impressed with how far the track program has come since he took over several years ago.

“Voorheesville track has turned from being an also-ran,” Relyea said. “We’ve come from getting a couple of points in the big meets into one of the best teams in the league [Colonial Council]. The kids have done great. I couldn’t be happier.”

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