Seniors Gerald Carris and Jenna Fisher both looked to go out on a high note and that’s exactly what they did and Carris plans to continue doing today.

Competing in the pentathlon, Carris currently sits at third place in Division 2 with 1,896 points through three events and is ranked sixth overall in the federation meet.

“We’re hoping he finishes in medal contention for Division 2 and I think he’ll be in the mix for a federation medal too,” stated Clymer/Sherman/Panama coach Ray Shrout. “That’s kind of what we’re eyeing up and so far he’s kind of kept things even. He’s just approaching things really well so far.”

What has gotten Carris to where he is, is just him performing at his very best. He first set a new personal record in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.77 and then he almost hit another personal best in the high jump when he reached the height of 5-10.75.

Southwestern’s Dontae Hoose competes in the shot put at the state meet at Cicero-North Syracuse High School on Friday. P-J photo by Tim Frank

“We’re really happy with the way Gerald got started off,” added Shrout. “He ran a 15.77 in the 110 hurdles which is a personal best for him by about 0.25 seconds. He’s been pushing all year to break that 16, so he’s really happy with that. First time in the state meet, he’s really handling it super well — I’m impressed with how he’s handling things.”

Carris and the other pentathlon competitors will wrap up today with the long jump and either the 800 meter or 1,500 meter.

While Fisher did not land on the podium at states, she had her sights set on school records.

In just her second season in track, the Wolfpack senior, Fisher has claimed school record in the 400, 200 and now the 100 meter. Fisher’s last crack at the 100 meter record came in the preliminaries at the state meet and she finally got it with a time of 12.53.

“She came in here seeded 17th and just said she was just going to make the best of the experience,” said Clymer/Sherman/Panama head coach Pam Warner. “She went into the 100 and ran 0.2 seconds faster PR, set a school record, moved up to 11th overall… you can’t ask for much more as a coach.”

Fisher’s time didn’t qualify for the Division 2 finals, but she finished six spots ahead of her seeding. In the 200 meter, Fisher battled the wind on the way to a 15th place finish at 26.79 seconds.

“It was tough, the wind on that particular race was really rough,” added Warner. “You could see the girls coming around and almost hitting a wall. She’s happy with how she performed today, going out on a high note.”

Another group looking to go out on a high note was the Fredonia Hillbillies 1,600 meter relay team that hasn’t had a crack at states for the last three seasons. This season the quartet of Alex Field, Jayden Yerico, Matt Linder and Ledreth Velez-Olmo had its chance and they didn’t let it slip, taking fifth place in Division 2 with a time of 3:30.03.

“They were disappointed they didn’t get the time they were hoping for,” said Fredonia head coach Bob Ball. “I told them it was the traffic they had to deal with, they’re so used to being far out in front that the traffic caused some issues. Overall, I’m extremely pleased with their season and the way they battled.”

Individually, Velez-Olmo finished his senior season with a sixth place in the 400 meter in Division 2 with a time of 51.16.

“I honestly didn’t think I was going to make that,” Velez-Olmo said about his performance. “Cross-country is not one of my best running types, I’m built more for mid-distance, but it honestly helped me in the end build my endurance for this. Without that, I don’t think I’d be able to do the 400.”

The Southwestern Trojans had six athletes qualify for states, increasing the odds for disappointment. However, the trio of Dontae Hoose, Michael Butterfield and Trenton Shutters made sure there was no disappointment on Friday.

Hoose took eighth in Division 2 shot put, throwing 46-0.25; Butterfield qualified for the 200 meter finals today with a time of 22.34; and Shutters made the podium with a fifth place finish in the 800 meter at a time of 1:56.70. Shutters is back in action with Nate Lewis, Donavin Brown and Ethan Luce in the 3,200 meter relay today and Butterfield competes in the 200 meter finals.

Shining for Randolph on Friday was Clayton Crouse in the pole vault, making the podium in Division 2. Among all vaulters, Crouse was 13th overall and jumped a height of 12-6.00 with two missed attempts. Randolph is represented by Roan Kelly today in the 1,600 meter.

Falconer/Cassadaga Valley’s Devin Austin narrowly missed out on his chance at the podium, taking 9th place in the triple jump at a distance of 43-3.25 and then taking 15th place in the long jump at 20-9.50. However, for Austin the meet didn’t end on Friday, the Golden Cougars’ jumper is back in action today in the high jump where he’s seeded 12th out of all Division 2 athletes. Also representing the Golden Cougars was Collin Riel in the 100 meter dash and Riel took 23rd in the Division 2 with a time of 11.23.

Other notable performances came from Franklinville/Ellicottville’s Tyyetta Herman taking eighth place overall in Division 2 in the girls 400 meter with a time of 1:01.15.

And to the surprise of no one, Allegany-Limestone’s Angelina Napoleon was the overall winner in the 800 meter. Napoleon won the state and federation title with a time of 2:08.58 and will attempt to improve her national record in the 2,000 meter steeplechase first thing this morning.