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Podium Performances

Local Athletes Wrap Up Weekend At State Meet

Randolph’s Roan Kelly leaves the starting line during the 1,600-meter run at Saturday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association and Federation track and field championships at Cicero-North Syracuse High School. P-J photo by Tim Frank

CICERO — Falconer/Cassadaga Valley’s Devin Austin had high expectations for himself at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association and New York State Federation track and field championships at Cicero-North Syracuse High School this weekend.

After just missing out on the finals in the triple jump and long jump, it was left to Austin’s best event — the high jump — to make the podium on Saturday. Just a few months ago at the indoor state meet, Austin won the Division 2 high jump by reaching a height of 6 feet, 5 inches and this weekend he expected to get back on the podium.

“They all were a welcome experience,” Austin said about the events he competed in this weekend. “While I didn’t do as well as I wanted, they were still a nice experience. I met a lot of familiar faces from indoor and it was just a great experience.”

Austin battled the outside elements and hit a height of 6 feet, 2 inches, which earned him a fourth-place medal in Division 2 and 10th overall among all of the high jumpers in New York.

“I want to thank my parents,” Austin said about those who helped get him to where he is. “Support is always welcomed and helpful. Even if it’s just the pat on the back, it goes a long way in the end.”

Nate Lewis runs the first leg of the 3,200-meter relay for the Southwestern quartet that claimed third place in Division 2 on Saturday. P-J photo by Tim Frank

Where Austin’s expectations were to make the podium, Randolph sophomore Roan Kelly exceeded his own expectations in the 1,600 meters. Kelly’s first taste of states resulted in him snatching a second-place medal in Division 2, running a time of 4:17.02 in his heat.

“It’s crazy,” Kelly said about finding a spot on the podium. “I was not expecting this, even close. I was thinking 4:40s or 4:30s at the beginning of the year, this has been a huge surprise. It feels great medaling in the first one.”

Like most distance runners, Kelly also competes in cross country in the fall and credits running those long distances with his success on the track.

“It’s helped a great ton,” Kelly stated. “Just running constantly, slowly, but surely every day working my time down.”

While Kelly ran one of the longer races at the meet, Clymer/Sherman/Panama’s Gerald Carris had the longest weekend competing in the pentathlon. Carris’ weekend began early Friday morning and wrapped up on Saturday afternoon with him on the podium.

Donavin Brown runs the second leg of the 3,200-meter relay for the Southwestern quartet that claimed third place in Division 2 on Saturday. P-J photo by Tim Frank

“It was definitely a great experience, I was looking for the experience more than anything,” Carris said about his expectations. “It’s my first time being at states for any sport, so I just had a lot of fun out here.”

Competing side-by-side with the best athletes from the private schools, Division 1 and Division 2, helped bring the very best out of Carris.

“I feel in track it pushes you harder when you’re here,” Carris said. “I was glad to be in the first group with everybody going for the federation places. It made me push myself even harder and it makes it feel better to receive this fourth.”

On Saturday, Carris wrapped up the pentathlon with a leap of 18 feet, 8.75 inches in the long jump and a 4:49.66 run in the 1,500 meters that landed him 3,042 points and 10th place overall. He finished fourth in Division 2. On Friday, he had personal records in the 110-meter hurdles and high jump, then finished his day in shot put.

“My best was a 16 flat and I hit 15.77, that just started everything,” Carris said about his performance. “Then high jump I hit a PR; I hit a couple PRs. Then today I hit a PR in the 1,500 meters. I had to run hard against those guys.”

Ethan Luce runs the third leg of the 3,200-meter relay for the Southwestern quartet that claimed third place in Division 2 on Saturday. P-J photo by Tim Frank

Carris was competing almost the entirety of the meet, while Southwestern’s top relay team had to sit and wait for its chance to compete late on Saturday. The quartet of Nate Lewis, Donavin Brown, Ethan Luce and Trenton Shutters made the wait well worth it, landing the Trojans on the podium with a time of 8:10.15 in the 3,200-meter relay to take third place in Division 2.

“I think we had a lot of potential this season,” Luce said. “I’m really glad that we rose up to the challenge. We finished higher than we were seeded and broke a personal best. At the beginning of the season we weren’t sure we’d make states, but we’re really glad that we made it happen.”

The relay came right down to the wire. With Shutters at the anchor, Southwestern was able to hold off Collegiate’s Nolan White who rounded out with a time of 8:10.52. Overall, the Southwestern foursome finished 14th among all competing teams.

“We were definitely nervous,” Luce said leading up to the race. “There was just a lot of anticipation in the week leading up to it, but in the end, we trusted each other and made it happen.”

Southwestern junior Michael Butterfield just missed the podium in Division 2 in the highly anticipated 200-meter dash finals. Butterfield ran 22.77 for eighth place. From first to eighth the margin was just .857 seconds.

Trenton Shutters runs the final leg of the 3,200-meter relay for the Southwestern quartet that claimed third place in Division 2 on Saturday. P-J photo by Tim Frank

Allegany-Limestone’s Angelina Napoleon did not run in the marquee events, but when she ran, the crowd gathered. The Gators junior started Saturday off with the event she set the national record for at the Section VI championships, the 2,000-meter steeplechase.

“I think I focused a lot on my strength,” Napoleon said about her great improvement from last year. “This year I’ve also been focusing on my hurdle form for the steeplechase. It’s just great being here with such great girls, there’s never ending good races.”

In no surprise, Napoleon showed why the steeplechase is her event as she set both the state and federation meet records with a time of 6:30.59. The victory was Napoleon’s second state and federation win and both her times in the 2,000-meter steeplechase and 800 meters were 2 seconds faster than her opponents.

“It’s really good being out here with great competition,” Napoleon stated. “I was being pushed through the whole thing. I had girls right on my heels. It was good coming out here to go out with a bang.”

After her stellar performance in the morning, Napoleon quickly transitioned her talents to the field. Just like on the track, Napoleon showed her dominance in the field with a third-place finish in Division 2 with a height of 5 feet, 5 inches.

The Southwestern Trojans 3,200 meter relay team, from left to right, are Ethan Luce, Nate Lewis, Donavin Brown and Trenton Shutters posing with their NYSPHSAA track and field Division 2 third place medals. The quartet hit a personal best time of 8:10.15 at Cicero-North Syracuse High School on Saturday. P-J photo by Christian Storms

Falconer/Cassadaga Valley's Devin Austin poses with his NYSPHSAA Division 2 fourth place medal. Austin earned fourth in the high jump, reaching a height of 6-2.00 at Cicero-North Syracuse High School on Saturday. P-J photo by Christian Storms

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