STAC TRACK & FIELD: TRIPLE-WINNER JOHNSON BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD, LEADS WAVERLY TO FOURTH-PLACE FINISH AT SQUARE DEAL INVITATIONAL (24 PHOTOS) (2024-04-21)

Valley Sports Report
JOHNSON CITY — Senior Ralph Johnson set a new school record, and — along with senior teammate Micah Chandler — qualified for the New York State Championships in June, while helping the Waverly boys to a fourth-place finish here Saturday at the Square Deal Track & Field Invitational.

The Waverly girls, paced by its three relays, finished 10th in the 21-team field.

BOYS
Ithaca won the team title with 107 points, while Vestal was second with 85, U-E was third with 82, Waverly tallied 66.5 points, and Horseheads was fifth with 57 points.

Johnson, a triple-winner, won the 100-meter dash in a time of 10.81 seconds, and ran a 10.7 in the preliminaries to break Kayleb Bechy’s school record of 10.79 seconds, which he set last year. Chandler, who ran an 11.08 in the prelims, finished second at 11.21 seconds.

Johnson and Chandler both hit the state super standard of 11.08, and have qualified for the New York State Championships.

Johnson and Chandler teamed with juniors Xavier Watson and Kolsen Keathley to win the 400-meter relay in a time of 44.21 seconds. The foursome ran a 43.77 in the preliminaries.

Johnson, Chandler, and Keathley teamed with freshman Rylen Larson to win the 1,600-meter relay in a time of 3:39.73.

Keathley finished second in the 200-meter dash in 23.15 seconds.

Senior Jacob Benjamin placed second in the discus with a toss of 119-feet, and sophomore Troy Beeman was 10th at 96-feet, 5-inches.  Benjamin finished fifth in the shot put with a heave of 40-feet, 2 1/2 inches, and Beeman was 10th at 35-feet, 8-inches.

Watson finished in a four-way tie for fourth in the high jump at 5-feet, 6-inches.

Senior Liam Wright, juniors Nick Mattison and Riley Pipher, and sophomore Hayden Howe placed sixth in the 3,200-meter relay in a time of 9:21.89.

Wright finished seventh in the 3,200-meter run in a time of 11:04.81.

Freshman Rhylee Stotler finished in a tie for 10th in the pole vault at 8-feet.

Senior Nehemiah Anthony finished 12th in the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 19.43 seconds, and senior Braylen DeKay was 12th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 12:30.26.

Senior Thomas Morley finished 14th in the triple jump at 33-feet, 10-inches, and junior Seth Noto was 16th at 33-feet, 9-inches.

GIRLS
Waverly finished 10th in the 21-team field with 33.5 points. Dryden won the team title with 71.5 points, while Chenango Valley was second with 64, Ithaca was third with 61.5 points, Owego was fourth with 61 points, and U-E was fifth with 59.

Senior Haylie Davenport, 8th-grader Kaylin Twedt, and junior Haley Larrabee teamed with senior Caprice Haney to finish second in the 1,600-meter relay in a time of 4:35.58.

Davenport, sophomore Mira Kittle, Larrabee, and  Twedt teamed to finish third in the 400-meter relay in a time of 53.85 seconds.

Freshman Makenzie Olmsted, sophomore Mackenzie Chamberlain, junior Maddy Olmsted, and senior Elizabeth Vaughn teamed to finish third in the 3,200-meter relay in a time of 11:09.75.

Haney finished  fifth in the high jump at 4-feet, 8-inches.

Senior Mackenzie LaForest finished fifth in the shot put with a heave of 29-feet, 3 1/2-inches.  She was also fifth in the discus with a toss of 81-feet, 8-inches.

Chamberlain finished seventh in the 3,000-meter run in a time of 12:37.31, and freshman Taylor Sinsabaugh was 12th in 14:18.05.

Kittle finished ninth in the 100-meter hurdles in 18.93 seconds.

Makenzie Olmsted finished 10th in the 1,500-meter run in a time of 5:28.49, and senior Elizabeth Vaughn was 16th in 5:45.65.

Twedt was 12th in the 100-meter dash in 13.93 seconds.

Waverly returns to action Friday in the Lasagna Invite at Wyalusing.

——————

IN PHOTO: Waverly’s Ralph Johnson (right) and Micah Chandler (center). … PHOTOS COURTESY OF JAMIE BOOTHBY.