After the requisite heats for the littlest kids, we worked our way up to the speedsters. Ryan Serp won the race with a time of 11.43, but Carter Naginey of the Groton Project was second in 11.45—a distinction that’s too close to call with hand timing. Zayvion Davis and Nathan Fromme tied for second with 11.57, and Ross Bush of the Groton Project and Aidan Tierney tied for third with 11.68. Phew! On the women’s side, 14-year-old Reagan Burnham ran 14.58 for her first win of the day, besting 13-year-old Madelyn Weeks of the Groton Project, who came through in 15.32.

Zayvion Davis came roaring back from his second-place finish in the 100m to win the 200m convincingly in 24.07, with Derran Morris of the Groton Project second in 24.88. Abby Wagner of the SOAR Running Club took the crown for the women in 29.52, with her teammate Molly Doran second in 30.95.

The final individual event of the day was the highlight of the meet. The Groton Project’s Carter Naginey set out with a goal to break the Groton High School 400m record of 51.4 seconds. His heat was stacked with two other runners seeded at 51 seconds and one at 53 seconds, and they didn’t disappoint, with all four going under 52 in an exciting race. In the end, Alexander Simpson won in 50.73, with Carter Naginey breaking his school record with a 51.30. His teammate Ross Bush, who’s only 15 and has two more years at Groton High, ran 51.51 for third and will likely capture the record in the future. And Riki Sampson of the Cornell Track & Field Club ran 51.75 for a very close fourth.

 Reagan Burnham notched her second win of the day for the women, running 1:07.63 to best Abby Wagner of the SOAR Running Club, who crossed in 1:08.55.

With the early sprints out of the way, we settled into three heats of the 1600m, the final heat of which proved surprisingly quick given the heat. A four-man pack went through 800m together before breaking up in the third lap. Finally, Alexander Simpson threw down a blistering kick in the last 300m to win in 4:25, four seconds ahead of Lucas Baker’s valiant 4:29. Overall, we had nine finishers under 5:00. On the women’s side, Liz Hartman ran her fastest time of the year to win in 5:47, with Erin Eldermire second in 6:22.

The final event of the long day was the 4x200m relay, with 8 teams in a single heat. Two ad-hoc teams of some of the top sprinters combined to make it an exciting photo finish, with the Last-Minute Runners winning 1:38.23 and the second-place Unattached team crossing just a hair later in 1:38.37. Only one Elmira team ran faster in the 2024 indoor season, clocking 1:37 in January.

Throughout the meet, Brett Shelton of the SOAR Running Club managed the long jump, with 30 athletes completing a jump. The top spot for the men went to Ezra Schutt, thanks to a jump of 19 feet, 10½ inches. Ross Bush of the Groton Project took second with 18 feet, 9¼ inches. Kristen Johnston of the Groton Project jumped 17 feet, 3 inches for a dominating win, followed by Reagan Burnham at 11 feet, 10¼ inches.

In the high jump, managed by SOAR’s Steve Wagner, Ryan Serp claimed his second title of the day with a jump of 5 feet, 8 inches, with Matthew Funicelli second with 5 feet, 6 inches. Kristen Johnston of the Groton Project can jump both high and long, taking her second win with a 5-foot jump, well ahead of Alyssa Johnston, who cleared a height of 4 feet 2 inches.

On the hill above the track, Scott Weeks and his Groton Project volunteers coordinated the discus. Matt Funicelli threw 134 feet, 1 ¾ inches for the win, with Kevin Vigneault close behind with a throw of 133 feet, 2 inches. Ariana Hillery of the Groton Project claimed the win for the women with a 66-foot throw, and her teammate Reese Brockway was second with a throw of 50 feet, 2¼ inches.

After an hour of the discus, we moved on to the shot put, with some familiar names taking the top spots. Matt Funicelli and Kevin Vigneault went one-two again, with throws of 47 feet, 2½ inches and 40 feet, 7½ inches. Kristen Johnston of the Groton Project took her third win with a throw of 28 feet, 8 inches, with her teammate Ariana Hillery second with 24 feet, 6¾ inches.

Despite the heat, our volunteers did a great job. Tonya Engst, Carl Franck, Gerald McKinley, Kacey Strang, and her friend Raid arrived early to help set up. Tonya continued to run the registration desk and answer questions with Rebecca Lambert. Tom Rishel reprised his traditional role as our starter, Patrick Boyle served as head timer with aplomb, and Kelly Houk and Heather Cobb managed the heats. Dave Kania and Jesse Koenecke kept HyTek Meet Manager running smoothly for results, Crosby Woods recorded bibs for the 1600m and relay, Kathleen Sullivan counted laps, and Alan Lockett was our backup timer. Our sprint timing team was Elena Gaffney, Diana Hackett, Ronke Ilegbusi, Tristan Lambert, Kate McCormick, Crosby Woods, and Kathleen Sullivan. Gerald McKinley and Tammy Walsky took photos. Special thanks to Steve Wagner of the SOAR Running Club for managing the high jumps with assistance from Carl Franck, to Brett Shelton of SOAR for coordinating the long jump with help from Laura Taylor and Scott Nissenson, and to Scott Weeks and his Groton Project volunteers for managing the throws with help from Ricky Stewart.