Webb track & field athletes sparkle in Section III meet Our local high school athletes have certainly had their share of success over the years. The girls’ varsity soccer team, for example, made a deep run in the postseason a short while back.

Meanwhile, varsity golf has enjoyed a fine run over the last few seasons, culminating in their first Section III title ever this year.

And, of course, both the downhill and cross country ski teams, easily our most consistent winners, have dominated for decades.

That said, it would be hard to imagine a more remarkable achievement than that which the Boys’ varsity track squad had in their sights as they headed to Remsen on Wednesday, May 25, hoping to defend their Section III crown.

Before we share their fate, however, let’s have a look at how their female counterparts fared at that same location.

Girls Varsity Track & Field

Going in, the girls knew that they would be in the mix if they could duplicate their recent performances.

After all, several members have had an exceptional year. This meet would be no different.

While the team scoring has been well-balanced, there have been two athletes in particular who have left an indelible impression. They are Caitlin Bailey and Maddie Phaneuf.

Phaneuf wowed the crowd at Sectionals by breaking her own school record while winning the 1500, followed by a third place performance in the 800 that left her less than one second short of having her name entered in the Town of Webb record books.

Meanwhile, Bailey placed second in the high hurdles and third in the intermediates, adding some big points to the team total.

The remaining scoring came from Lauren Holt (2nd – pentathlon), Jessica Hannah (3rd – high jump: 5th – high hurdles), and Sarah Branch (5th – 100 meter dash). The 4 X 400 relay team of Hannah, Branch, Alicia Burnett, and Daria Orekhov also finished in fifth place.

In the end, the ladies finished in fourth place behind Hamilton, Living Word Academy, and the overall winner Remsen, who wrapped up yet another tremendous season in winning their third Section III title in a row.

It was a fine outing and an impressive finish for the girls from Old Forge, who have earned their accolades.

There was another team going for the Three-Peat, though, and local track fans couldn’t wait to see how they would fare. Well, the wait is over.

Boys Varsity Track & Field

We often talk about the difficulties smaller schools face when trying to fill out teams.

Based on sheer numbers, it has become an accepted practice for our student-athletes to participate in two sports during the same season.

That is something that would be almost unheard of at a school such as Proctor or Fayetteville-Manlius.

In those environments, a football player works on his game twelve months a year, and might not play any other sport at all, much less a second sport while the pigskin is being tossed about.

I’ve always said that playing multiple sports has the potential to stunt the growth of an athlete as it pertains to a particular skill set.

In all fairness, though, those that “specialize” in the bigger programs don’t have the opportunity to become as well-rounded.

There is no right or wrong when assessing these widely divergent realities, it just is what it is.

The reason I broach the subject, however, is that track and field is a great equalizer when it comes to competitiveness.

Sure, there are strategies and techniques that must be applied but, when it’s all said and done, the guy that runs the fastest or jumps the highest wins.

You could say, then, that when judging the overall quality of a school’s athletes, a track meet just might be the place to be. Forget the drills.

Set aside the two-a-days. Just line ’em up and let the chips fall where they may.

Bottom line… if the Section III Class D Championships were a poker game, Old Forge took every hand and walked away with all the chips.

Ryan Queen got the thing started in Canastota on Tuesday night with a third place finish in the Steeplechase.

He followed that up by winning the 1600 and placing fifth in the 3200 at the actual meet on Wednesday.

As has been the case for the last three years, team balance was exceptional but hardly necessary as the top four performers for Old Forge amassed enough points to win the day on their own.

The first of those was Ethan Kress, who won the triple jump and long jump while placing second in the high jump and discus.

Demonstrating the value of good genes, his brother Kevin Kress won the high hurdles and high jump, also finishing second in the pole vault and third in the 200 meter dash.

The third cog in that foursome, Trevor Godemann, crossed the finish line first in the 800, and took third in the 400 and triple jump.

Finally, Connor Rockhill made his mark in winning the 400 intermediates and pole vault followed by a third place performance in the high hurdles and a fourth in the high jump.

For those of you without a calculator handy, that’s 130 points for those four boys alone-exactly 45 more than second place Living Word Acadamy’s 85._

There were a lot of others in on the action, though, such as Lance Frymire, who placed second in the 100 meter dash and fifth in the pole vault.

Meanwhile, Dane Daiker gave the pentathlon a shot and wound up in second place.

By nightfall, each and every member of the team had a hand in the lopsided victory, including Pat Venetz (4th – shot put; 6th – discus), Rex Rimato (relays), Jason Landl (relays), Hanson Schmid (relays), Will Johnson (relays), and Ken Pastore (relays).

There were nineteen events that day and Old Forge pointed in every one of them, a testament to that tremendous team balance we keep referring to.

The final team placements looked like this: Old Forge (187 points); Living Word Academy (85); Faith Heritage (82); DeRuyter (78); and New York Mills (62).

The numbers hardly do this amazing team’s accomplishments justice.

These kids and their coach, Tim Leach, are the only group I know of that fields a track team without having a track to practice on.

And, with diminishing enrollment, they might never have one, although that would be a shame.

Suffice it to say, they make the very most of their situation while having the very least to work with.

Whatever the case, it was a highly charged squad that ran their victory lap at Remsen, chanting “Three-Peat… Three-Peat,” all the while.

Now that’s music to everyone’s ears!