It was a hot, humid evening for our first outdoor track meet of 2026. We had to push the start of the meet at Ithaca High School back by 15 minutes as we worked to set everything up after weathering a brief downpour. After that, all the events went well, with numerous top-ten efforts on the FLRC Track leaderboard, plus new FLRC records in the 200m from Nico Christian and Marah Johnson!
The heat did keep some runners away, with 119 people completing 307 event participations. Five teams made the trip, with big groups from St. Francis St. Stephen, the SOAR Running Club, and the Groton Project, plus representatives of Montrose High School and the new Skan Run Club in Skaneateles. Full results are available on the FLRC website, and some community-contributed meet photos are available—please submit yours too!
100m
In the 100m dash, Daniel Mars, who warmed up by helping us set up the meet, claimed victory with an 11.21 showing, with Montrose High School’s Maximus Kuwaye close behind in 11.36 and his teammate Nico Christian rounding out the men’s podium in 11.43. For the women, 16-year-old Marah Johnson led the field in 12.73, with the SOAR Running Club’s Jenna Brink, just 12 years old, taking second in 15.26 and her teammate Allyson Galinski, also 12, securing third in 15.47.
As always, our youngest competitors stole the show in the first heat: 3-year-old Lily Pedersen-Jones from St. Francis St. Stephen zipped down the track in 33.74 seconds, while the Groton Project’s Cordelia Gorges, 2, completed her 100m toddle in 59.18 seconds. Her 3-year-old sister, Rebecca Gorges, and the 2-year-old twins, Annabel Goldberg and Graham Goldberg, followed with times just over a minute.
200m
Montrose High School’s Nico Christian blazed to a commanding 21.96-second victory in the 200m—a time that sets a new FLRC Track leaderboard best, eclipsing Logan Aman’s previous FLRC record of 22.26! Zayvion Davis followed in 23.40, with Carsen Hoag taking third in 24.33. Marah Johnson dominated the women’s competition with a 25.72 showing that tied for first place on the leaderboard with Mihaela Toader. The Groton Project’s Reilly Quinn claimed second in 26.74, and Samantha White secured third in 28.78. At 73, Ken Hodges turned in an impressive 39.07.
400m
Peter Cavanaugh pulled away early to claim the 400m victory in 52.29, with Daniel Mars notching his second podium finish of the meet in 54.54 and Montrose High School’s Liam Macnamee rounding out the top three in 55.37. The SOAR Running Club’s Emma Cote, just 13, led the women in 1:20.12, followed by 66-year-old Laura Helmerick in 1:22.85 and 14-year-old Raelynn Hyer, also from SOAR, in 1:30.83.
1600m
In a race that at first seemed like it might be close, the heat took its toll on everyone but Alexander Simpson, who ran alone after the first two laps to win the 1600m in 4:26, which would have been the second fastest time on the leaderboard but for his own 4:19 leaderboard record. Lucas Baker kicked hard in the final 200m to place second in 4:40 and Everett Cox edged out Gregory Homa and Riley White by less than a second to place third in 4:44. Sarah Woodyear won the women’s race in 5:39, with the Groton Project’s Alison Belcher, only 13 years old, claiming an impressive second in 5:53 and Meg Branine finishing third in 6:39. At the veteran end, 73-year-old Ken Hodges completed the distance in 7:13, notching his second strong performance of the evening.
4x200m Relay
Montrose High School, anchored by Nico Christian, dominated the relay with a 1:41 showing. The FLRC Regulars, anchored by Sarah Woodyear, took second in 1:54—the only other team to break 2:00—while the SOAR Running Club’s squad, anchored by Jenna Brink, claimed third in 2:18. Christian’s anchor leg capped off a dominant meet that included a leaderboard-topping 200m and a podium finish in the 100m.
Long Jump
Montrose High School’s Maximus Kuwaye soared to victory in the long jump with a mark of 21 feet even, less than an inch behind his previous second-place jump on the leaderboard. Dafydd Williams landed second at 20 feet, 11½ inches—a distance that improves his fourth-place standing on the leaderboard, up from 20 feet, 7 inches. Erich Metz rounded out the men’s podium at 20 feet, 2½ inches. For the women, the Groton Project’s Reilly Quinn led with a leap of 16 feet, 7 inches for her second top-three finish of the day, moving her from sixth to fifth on the leaderboard. The SOAR Running Club’s Alanah Elmore, 13, claimed second at 11 feet, 5½ inches, with her teammate Jenna Brink securing third at 11 feet even.
High Jump
Erich Metz and 15-year-old Kaisyn Martin both cleared 5 feet, 6 inches in the men’s high jump, but Metz took the win thanks to clearing on his first attempt, while Martin cleared on his second. Carsen Hoag took third at 5 feet, 4 inches. Among the women, Samantha White cleared 4 feet, 8 inches for the win—her second podium finish of the meet and sufficient to move her from seventh into a tie for fifth on the leaderboard. The SOAR Running Club’s Emma Karns and Emma Cote tied for second at 3 feet, 8 inches, with Cote also earning her second podium of the evening following her women’s 400m victory.
Discus
David Tugaw launched the discus 138 feet, 1¼ inches for the victory—a mark that lands him in fourth place on the leaderboard. Leander Boreland doubled back from his shot put runner-up finish to claim second again at 101 feet, 11¾ inches, while the SOAR Running Club’s Woodrow Elmore, just 15, secured third at 95 feet, 10¼ inches. The Groton Project’s Allyson Shea doubled in the throws, winning the women’s competition with a throw of 97 feet, 11¼ inches, good for second on the leaderboard. The SOAR Running Club’s Emma Karns followed at 50 feet, 10½ inches, placing her seventh on the leaderboard.
Shot Put
The Groton Project’s David Shea dominated the shot put with a throw of 34 feet, 8½ inches, good for tenth place on the leaderboard. 59-year-old Leander Boreland followed with an impressive 33 feet, 11¼ inches for second, and 15-year-old Lorenzo Claudio claimed third at 33 feet, 8¾ inches. For the women, the Groton Project’s Allyson Shea won with a throw of 27 feet, 9¼ inches, good for third on the leaderboard, followed by 9-year-old Beatrice Reid at 10 feet, 10¾ inches.
Thanks to Our Volunteers
Kudos to our volunteers for making the meet a success. Tonya Engst, Lucia Chen, Kris Haines-Sharp, Laura Taylor, and Scott Nissenson arrived early to help with setup, as did 100m winner Daniel Mars. Tonya continued to manage the registration desk and answer questions alongside Rebecca Lambert. Patrick Boyle did a bang-up job as our starter, Bob Talda served as head timer, and Lizzy Rayle and Jon Lewis coordinated the heats with aplomb—Lizzy even helped fill out a relay team by running herself. Jesse Koenecke and Dave Kania kept HyTek Meet Manager running smoothly for results, Chris Mellor recorded bib numbers for the 1600m and relay, and Crosby Woods ran my new backup timing app. Our sprint timing team consisted of Lucia Chen, Amy Dawson, Scott Dawson, Kim Jackson, and Jamie Loehr. Special thanks to Steve Wagner of the SOAR Running Club for overseeing the high jumps with help from Paula Klaben and Gary Bush, to Brett Shelton of SOAR for the long jump with support from Leo Chang and Ricky Stewart, and to Sean Shea of the Groton Project for putting on the discus and shot put with measuring assistance from Laura Taylor and Scott Nissenson. And Lauren Milano made sure those who stayed to the end got subs!
See you all at Trackapalooza on July 18!