Saturday at Middletown High School was her final chance to reach the top of the podium.

Coming down to her final jump at 5 feet, 6 inches, Cole had the opportunity to separate herself from Pulaski’s Vanessa Trumble for the Class C title.

Then, on the final attempt, Cole cleared the bar, officially clinching a state championship in her senior season with the Eagles.

Following her 5-6 clearance, Cole missed three attempts at 5-7 as a trio of competitors managed to advance. Cole’s mark of 5-6 and efficiency reaching the height put her at fourth overall in the event, while Paige Fessler of Valley Stream North won the overall championship and Class B title at 5-9 ahead of Manhasset’s Kate Voelker. Anna Eells of Cicero-North Syracuse won Class A and took third overall at 5-8.

Frewsburg’s Grace Lennon competes in the Class C 200-meter dash at the NYSPHSAA track and field championships Saturday at Middletown High School. P-J photo by Tim Frank

Southwestern junior Mikayla Johnson nearly joined Cole with a championship of her own in Class C discus, but after leading heading into the final throw at 132-6, the title was snatched by the Section VI champion Nyla Wilson-Epps of Tapestry. While Johnson set the standard with her first throw, Wilson-Epps gradually worked her way up from 107-8 to an eventual winning throw of 144-3 on her sixth and final opportunity.

Johnson’s mark would have been good for first in Class A, which was won by Clarkstown South’s Maggie Hansen at 132-5. Johnson finished third overall in the state as Miller Place’s Jillian Scully posted a throw of 169-10 to claim the Class B and Federation titles. Scully’s throw bested a meet record which stood since 1992.

Falconer junior Mary Lundmark landed herself on the podium in the pole vault, grinding to fourth overall in Class C, reaching a height of 11 feet. Lundmark’s height earned her third among NYSPHSAA competitors in Class C.

Lundmark was down to her final vault at 10-6 before clearing the mark. Then, on just her second attempt at 11-0 she passed, matching Cazenovia’s Susie Pittman and Trinity School’s Madeline Magliaro.

Lundmark, Pittman and Magliaro all topped out at 11-0, but in order of efficiency at the meet they finished fourth, third and second as Oakfield-Alabama’s Paige Harding went on to win the Class C state championship. Harding won Class C at 11-6, Cornwall’s Anderson Farina claimed Class B at 12-3 and the overall and Class A winner was Shaker’s Ruby Miracle reaching 12-6.

Southwestern nearly claimed two championships on the track with both relay teams taking second by tenths and hundredths of a second.

Beginning the day with the 1,600-meter relay, Southwestern finished just behind Oneonta for the Class C title with Oneonta’s 4:05.00 just besting the Trojans’ 4:05.19. The effort earned M’Kenzie Zavala, Emma Lewis, Tryniti Card and Marlana Cresanti a second-place medal in the event.

The heartbreak was greater in the 3,200-meter relay, losing to East Aurora by .07 seconds. After claiming the sectional title, Southwestern ran 6 seconds slower at the state meet with a time of 9:26.15 to fall to East Aurora’s 9:26.08.

Collecting a Class C second-place medal for the Trojans were Cresanti, Avery Johnson, Card and Lewis.

Frewsburg’s Grace Lennon raced in two Class C finals, placing seventh in the 100 and eighth in the 200, overall. Among NYSPHSAA competitors, Lennon earned medals taking fifth in the 100 and sixth in the 200.

Lennon’s 100 time was 12.75, while the winner was Port Jefferson’s Alexa Jacobs at 12.03. In the 200, Lennon ran 26.33 as Rye Country Day School’s Payton Richardson won at 24.73.

Prior to helping Southwestern earn a pair of second-place relay medals, Lewis ran in the 2,000-meter steeplechase, however she did not finish the event. The Class C champion was Tri-Valley’s Anna Furman with a time of 7:00.30, while Frontier senior Lillie Bogdan won the overall event at 6:34.34.