On Thursday, February 16, the Indoor Track and Field Section X championship was held at the SLU indoor track. In this meet, the relay team that placed first in each event went to states, and the top two individuals in each event went to states.
The first states qualifier from Canton was senior Caleb Young, who placed second in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.36 seconds. Young would then go on to qualify for states in his other two events as well, the 300-meter dash, in which he placed first with a time of 38.00, and the boys 4×400 meter relay. In the girls 60-meter hurdles, Canton junior Stella Shipman placed second with a time of 10.42, which broke the Section X record. Unfortunately, the new record will go to Olivia Ellis from Tupper Lake, who broke the record in the same race. In the Boy’s 60-meter hurdles, senior Owen Hall placed first with a time of 9.95.
In an extremely exciting finish, sophomore Daniel Armendariz-Huang placed second in the boys 1600, beating the third-place finisher, Indian River’s Hector Ramos, by less than a hundredth of a second. Both Ramos and Armendariz-Huang finished with a time of 4:45.60. Freshman Bennett Schmitt placed second in the girls 3000-meter run, with a time of 11:34.33, which is almost 20 seconds faster than her seed time going into the race. In the boys 3200, Canton grabbed both of the top spots, with sophomore Aiden Rodriguez-Doyle placing first with a time of 10:43.21, and sophomore Lucas Watts placing second with a time of 10:48.00.
Finally, in the last event of the night, the Canton Boy’s 4×400-meter relay was battling Norwood-Norfolk for the state’s spot. The Canton relay team consisting of Caleb Young, Owen Hall, sophomore Rylan Lee-Powell, and Daniel Armendariz-Huang got an early lead, but in the final leg, Armendariz-Huang was starting to fall behind Norwood-Norfolk’s anchor, Anthony Fiacco. In the final few meters of the race, Armendariz-Huang was able to barely beat out Fiacco, placing first. Canton finished with a time of 3:48.21, and Norwood-Norfolk had a time of 3:48.89.
The State Championships will take place in New York City, on Staten Island on March 4, where these eight Canton athletes will compete against the top runners in the state. They will be running at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex, which is one of the nicest indoor tracks in the state.
Top Performers from Indoor Track & Field Sectionals
Girls 4×800 Meter Relay consisting of Bennett Schmitt, Rori McCarthy, Aurora Casserly, & Johanna Tupper placed 2nd with a time of 10:37.37
Girls 60 Meter Dash – Hailee Blair – 3rd place with a time of 8.48
Boys 60 Meter Dash – Caleb Young – 2nd place with a time of 7.36 qualifying him for the State Meet being held March 3-4 at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island.
Girls 60 Meter Hurdles – Stella Shipman – 2nd place with a time of 10:42, breaking the school record & qualifying for the State Meet being held March 3-4 at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island. Maddie Armstrong came in 3rd with a time of 10.6 & Madison Brandy placed 5th in 11.42.
Boys 60 Meter Hurdles – Owen Young – 1st place finish with a time of 9:95, breaking the school record & qualifying for the State Meet being held March 3-4 at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island.
Girls 1500 Meter Run – Aurora Casserly placed 4th with a time of 5:28.34 & Johanna Tupper placed 7th in 5:49.46.
Girls 4×200 Meter Relay consisting of Hailee Blair, Stella Shipman, Elaina Robert, & Madison Brandy placed 2nd with a time of 1:56.59
Boys 1600 Meter Run – Daniel Armendariz-Haung placed 2nd with a time of 4:45.6 qualifying him for the State Meet being held March 3-4 at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island.
Girls 600 Meter Run – Annika Zysik placed 7th with a time of 1:58.64
Boys 600 Meter Run – Rylan Lee-Powell placed 4th with a time of 1:35.59
Girls 3000 Meter Run – Bennett Schmitt placed 2nd with a time of 11:34.33 qualifying her for the State Meet being held March 3-4 at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island. Johanna Tupper placed 5th in 12:36.97
Girls 300 Meter Run – Rori McCarthy placed 5th with a time of 47.54
Boys 300 Meter Run – Caleb Young placed 1st with a time of 38.00 qualifying him for the State Meet being held March 3-4 at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island.
Girls 1000 Meter Run – Aurora Casserly placed 3rd with a time of 3:31.04 & Marilisa Salvimiguel placed 5th in 3:48.37
Boys 3200 Meter Run – Aiden Rodriguez-Doyle placed 1st with a time of 10:43.21 & Lucas Watts placed 2nd in 10:48. Both boys will advance to States being held March 3-4 at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island.
Kaden Worthley placed 5th in 11:18.88.
Girls 4×400 Meter Relay consisting of Rori McCarthy, Julia Seegar, Annika Zysik, & Lynzie Lawton placed 2nd with a time of 4:45.31
Boys 4×400 Meter Relay consisting of Caleb Young, Owen Hall, Daniel Armendariz-Haung, & Rylan Lee-Powell finished 1st with a time of 3:48.21 qualifying them for States being held March 3-4 at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island.
Girls High Jump – Maddie Armstrong placed 5th & Ella Kitzman placed 6th at 4’6″.
Girls Long Jump – Maddie Armstrong placed 4th with a 14′ 11.5″ jump & Hailee Blair jumped 14′ 3.75″ for a 6th place finish.
Girls Triple Jump – Stella Shipman jumped 31′ 4.25″ for a 3rd place finish.
Boys Triple Jump – Luca Watts jumped 34′ 8.25″ for a 3rd place finish.
Overall team rankings – Canton girls came in 2nd & boys came in 3rd out of a field of 10 teams.
Here is the link to the Indoor Track & Field Championships page if you need more information.
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