C-NS, Liverpool athletes win at state qualifier

By PhIl BlACkwEll

Having competed in chilly conditions for previous post-season events this spring, track and field athletes from Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool got the exact opposite in last Thursday’s Section III state qualifying meet.

When events began at Bragman Stadium, it was well past 90 degrees, yet both the Northstars and Warriors would win events on the girls side, assuring a large contingent would go to Middletown for this weekend’s state championships.

Again running away from the field, CNS’s Kate Putman took the 1,500-meter run in four minutes, 39.56 seconds and also helped Marissa Navarra, Cameron Sisk and Hannah Boyle take the 4x800 relay in 9:23.66, with Liverpool fourth in 10:05.03.

Grace Murray, in winning the 400-meter hurdles, put up a time of 1:05.64, more than two seconds ahead of the field as Jay- din Mackey (1:10.29) was fourth. Then Murray took third in the 200-meter dash in 26.26 seconds behind Mackey (26.18) in second place.

Boyle was second (2:18.72) and Putman third (2:18.82) in the 800-meter run, where Liverpool’s Taylor Page was victorious in a time of 2:17.19. Navarra got fourth place in the Division I 1,500 in 5:02.55.

Morgan Hayes was second (15.15 seconds) and Kalli Congden third (15.20) in the 100 hurdles behind Jamesville-DeWitt’s Victoria Payne (15.06), with Mackey third in the 100 sprint in 12.60.

In the long jump, Congden’s 17’5 1/4” was less than an inch behind Utica Proctor’s Raiyah Patterson (17’6”) as Jasmine Ayre was fifth, Morgan Hayes sixth and Anna Eells seventh. But it was Eells nearly winning the triple jump, her 36’4” ahead of Hayes (35’9 1/2”) and Congden (35’8”) but behidn the 36’7 1/2” of East Syracuse Minoa’s Margaret Mading.

Individually, Liverpool had Allie Cary win the discus with a heave of 139 feet, more than 32 feet ahead of anyone else, after she threw the shot put 38’10” for second place ahead of Janea Hamilton-Brown (31’11 3/4”) in fourth.

Maddie Devendforf, Mikayla Greene, Sophia Jarosz and Mia Wright impressed in the 4x100 relay, going 49.18 seconds to East Syracuse Minoa’s 50.18 as Layla Pearl Collins, clearing 9 feet, was second in the pole vault.

C-NS got a win on the boys side when Xander Provost, with 2,904 points, took the Division I (large school) portion of the pentathlon, beating out the 2,694 from teammate Andrew Potter.

Sean Graves then went 56.51 seconds to beat the field in the 400 hurdles Jordan Ballard went a close second (15.13 seconds) to Corcoran’s Tawakl Omar (15.10) in the 110 high hurdles, with Kavon Brunson (15.89) fifth. Jayceon McGrew took third in the 200 in 22.84.

Joe Main’s shot put throw of 46’ 3/4” put him second to Auburn’s Dustin Swartwood (49’3 ¾’), with Main sixth in the discus heaving it 123’6”. The Northstars were third in the 4x400 in 3:32.72 as Dante Melfi took fifth and Tyler Graham sixth in the 800-meter run, Dan Henry adding a sixth in the pole vault.

Liverpool’s 4x800 team of Jacob Makhlouf, Michael Purvis, Josh Vang and Roman Murray was second in 8:20.71, beating out the Northstars (8:43.62) in third place.

Ny’Quez Madison got third in the long jump with a top leap of 21’8”. The Warriors were fifth in the 4x100 in 44.66 seconds as Murray took fourth in the Division I 1,600 in 4:43.05 and Jason Swanson was seventh in the 400-meter dash, with Purvis sixth in the 3,200-meter run.