After a two-week postponement forced by bad AQI and weather, our fourth Trackapalooza Invitational track meet was small but successful, with nice weather on the welcoming Ithaca High School track. Full results are below, and there are some great meet photos from Paul Houle. You’re welcome to download and share them. If you have any pictures of the meet, please upload them to our community photo album to share with others and document the day.
We hosted 58 athletes with 134 event participations, with about half from 6 teams, including Groton Project Track Club, SOAR Running Club, Moondog Track Club, Baldwinsville Harriers Track Club, Syracuse Track Club, and St. Francis St. Stephen.
Field events were once again made possible through partnerships. Brett Shelton of the SOAR Running Club officiated the long jump and the triple jump, with his fellow coach Steve Wagner managing the high jump. The Groton Project’s Janice Carter and David Shea coordinated the shot put and discus. Special thanks to Ithaca High School for allowing us to use their facilities and equipment!
On to the results! Among all the other great performances, Reilly Quinn took over the top spot for the women’s high jump on the FLRC Track leaderboard with an impressive jump of 5 feet, 4 inches, and Calvin Cragle took over second place in the men’s discus with a throw of 46 feet, 7½ inches.
100m
Aidan Tierney claimed victory in the 100m with a 12.21 showing, edging out the Moondog Track Club’s Kenzie Burke in 12.36 and Lamar-Shea Chang in 12.46 for the men’s podium. The women’s field included only kids, with 7-year-old Easton Kastenhuber leading the field in 19.75, followed closely by 9-year-old Isabelle Wang in 19.77 and St. Francis St. Stephen’s Pia Tripoli, 8, in 21.25. As always, the toddler heat stole the show, with the Groton Project’s Rebecca Gorges, 3, completing the course in 47.99, her 2-year-old sister Cordelia Gorges toddling through in 56.39, and 1-year-old Maia Dahl-Aaberg bringing up the rear in 1:39.78.
200m
The Moondog Track Club’s Kenzie Burke stormed to a 23.92-second victory in the 200m, with 14-year-old Arya Basu securing second in 24.85 and Ethan Buckley rounding out the men’s podium in 24.99. The Groton Project’s Reilly Quinn was the lone women’s finisher, crossing in 27.32. At the young end, 5-year-old Major Stewart-Brooks and his 4-year-old sister Melanin Stewart-Brooks finished in 51.10 and 1:12.18.
400m
Ethan Buckley won the 400m in 58.66, with Christopher Tyler taking second in 1:02.54 and the Syracuse Track Club’s David Cook, 42, claiming third in 1:03.21. For the women, the SOAR Running Club’s Emma Cote, just 13, led the way in 1:11.10, followed by Kaitlin Lilienthal, 42, in 1:26.09 and St. Francis St. Stephen’s Pia Tripoli, 8, in 1:53.90. The youngest competitor, 4-year-old Melanin Stewart-Brooks, completed her second race of the day in 2:44.31.
800m
With rabbiting help from Alexander Simpson, Patrick Milano dominated the 800m, cruising to victory in 2:06—a 2-second PR—with a comfortable margin over the Syracuse Track Club’s David Cook, who crossed in 2:22. The Groton Project’s Xander Debrigard, 15, rounded out the men’s podium in 2:28. The Syracuse Track Club’s Mary Cook, 54, was the sole women’s finisher in 3:41.
1600m
Kiran Gulati ran alone for much of the race to claim the 1600m victory in 4:38, with the Syracuse Track Club’s David Cook following in 4:56 for his third top-three finish of the day. Xinyi Wang secured third in 5:55. Among the women, the Groton Project’s Alison Belcher, just 13, took first in 6:02, while 16-year-old Allegra Lafalce of the Moondog Track Club and 52-year-old Heidi Appleby tied for second at 6:36. At 74 years old, Spider Rossiter turned in an impressive 7:01.
5000m
Although the heat slowed his pace in the last mile of the race, Alexander Simpson treated the 5000m as a time trial, winning in a 15:37 that’s good for seventh on the FLRC Track leaderboard. The Syracuse Track Club’s David Cook secured second in an impressive 16:38, adding a fourth top-three finish to his busy day. 14-year-old Leo Morse claimed third in 18:44. For the women, Meg Branine led the way in 23:43, with the Syracuse Track Club’s Mary Cook, 54, following in 26:46.
55m Hurdles
In the youth 55m hurdles, 11-year-old Arthur Lilienthal edged out 9-year-old Layne Johnson of the Moondog Track Club by just 0.07 seconds, finishing in 11.17 to Johnson’s 11.24. The SOAR Running Club’s Nolan Butler, 8, rounded out the field in 18.78.
110m Hurdles
In a head-to-head battle over the 110m hurdles, Brayden Taylor claimed victory in 15.61, with Aidan Tierney—doubling back from his 100m win—following in 18.03.
4x200m Relay
The Moondog Track Club, anchored by Kenzie Burke, took the relay crown with a time of 2:28. The SOAR Running Club, anchored by Emma Cote, claimed second in 2:48.
Long Jump
The SOAR Running Club’s Jarryd Witzel leaped to victory in the long jump with a mark of 16 feet, 9 inches, just edging out Christopher Tyler’s 16 feet, 8 inches. The Moondog Track Club’s Layne Johnson, only 9 years old, secured third with an impressive 12 feet, 4½ inches. Among the women, the SOAR Running Club’s Emma Cote led with 11 feet, 7 inches for her second win of the day, with 63-year-old Karen Ellsworth taking second at 8 feet, 11½ inches and 7-year-old Skylar Weiner claiming third at 7 feet, 6½ inches.
Triple Jump
The SOAR Running Club’s Jarryd Witzel bounded to another victory with a hop, skip, and jump of 37 feet, 1 inch, claiming his second field event win of the day after his long jump triumph and moving into seventh place on the FLRC Track leaderboard. Christopher Tyler followed with 33 feet, 7 inches for second. 63-year-old Karen Ellsworth was the sole women’s competitor, recording a mark of 19 feet, 4¼ inches, nearly 6 inches further than last year.
High Jump
We had only two competitors in the high jump—Brayden Taylor and the Groton Project’s Reilly Quinn—both of whom cleared 5 feet, 4 inches. Taylor took the men’s title, whereas Quinn claimed the women’s crown and first place on the FLRC Track leaderboard! Taylor added this to his 110m hurdles victory earlier in the day, while Quinn also notched a podium finish in the 200m.
Shot Put
Calvin Cragle dominated the shot put with a throw of 46 feet, 7½ inches—a mark that puts him in second place on the FLRC Track leaderboard. Adam Cuyler secured second with 42 feet, 9¾ inches, good for fourth on the leaderboard, and 15-year-old Lorenzo Claudio claimed third at 37 feet, 3 inches, putting him in tenth on the leaderboard. For the women, 17-year-old Kaylee Kastenhuber led with 25 feet, 11 inches, good for sixth on the leaderboard, with 63-year-old Karen Ellsworth taking second at 23 feet, ¾ inch.
Discus
15-year-old Lorenzo Claudio flipped the script in the discus, launching a throw of 132 feet, 11 inches for the win—a result that landed him in sixth place on the FLRC Track leaderboard. Calvin Cragle, the shot put winner, followed with 129 feet, 1 inch (good for seventh place overall), while Brody Williams rounded out the men’s podium at 115 feet even. Among the women, Kaylee Kastenhuber completed the throws double with a toss of 96 feet, 6¾ inches, putting her into third on the leaderboard, while 63-year-old Karen Ellsworth claimed second at 59 feet, 10½ inches, and the Baldwinsville Harriers’ Olivia Gunther, just 13, took third at 49 feet, 2¾ inches. Our youngest thrower, 7-year-old Easton Kastenhuber, recorded 39 feet, 1¾ inches.
Volunteers
As always, FLRC track meets are the result of the efforts of numerous volunteers. Thanks to Tonya Engst for helping prepare for the meet the day before and then managing bib pickup, ably assisted by Mary Catt. Shane Taylor and Scott Yaple coordinated everything with Ithaca High School. Dave Kania, Bob Talda, Kelly Miller, Kathleen Sullivan, and Dirk Swart helped with setup. Patrick Boyle did a bang-up job as starter, and Andrew Flyak recorded all the times as head timer while being trained by Bob Talda. Jesse Koennecke, Dave Kania, and Meng Wang reseeded heats and produced results, and Lizzy Rayle and Rich Bernstein coordinated the heats. Bob Talda counted laps, and Chris Mellor recorded bib numbers for the longer races. We had lane timing assistance from Brian Belcher, Chris Petroff, Truck Rossiter, Anne Shakespeare, and Joe Sullivan, with Ricky Stewart providing backup timing. On the field event side, John Hummel and Amalia Skilton assisted Brett Shelton with the long and triple jumps. Amy Dawson and Scott Dawson helped Steve Wagner with the high jump. Janice Carter and David Shea managed the throws. Kacey Strang sold FLRC clothing, and Lauren Milano brought muffins!