VESTAL - The Norwich Purple Tornado track and field teams traveled to Vestal on Tuesday to compete in the Section IV, Class B championship. The boys finished second behind Vestal (178) with 140 points while the Norwich girls came in fifth with Owego achieving the victory.

BOYS:

The Norwich boys team had several gentlemen achieve great performances on the day. Sophomore Gabe Decker earned the top achievement as he broke Norwich’s 400 meter hurdles record. He finished second with a time of 56.77 behind a speedy Vestal opponent’s 54.78. Gabe also took fourth in the 200 meter dash, which he ran a new best time of 23.46 seconds. Spencer Root earned a new best time of 24.56 for eighth place in the same event. Root, along with Holden Ryan and Jerell Stokes also competed in the 100 meter dash. Ryan led the trio with a fifth place finish (11.79 seconds) as Root finished sixth (11.98) and Stokes in ninth (12.32).

Decker also led the 4x400 relay team to a second place finish with teammates Richard Fuller, Zander Sutton, and Anthony Ragonese. Zander, Caden, Nic Sutton, and Gage Titsworth led the 4x800 team to a third place finish (9:07.75).

The Sutton brothers also excelled in their own individual events. Caden finished third in both the 1600 meter and the 3200 meter runs. Caden set a new personal best time of 10:44.81 in the 3200 meter run as Nic Sutton finished fifth with his own new time of 11:34.53. Nic also took sixth in the 1600 meter run, which he set a new time of 5:09.73. Zander ran the 800 meter run for seventh place with a time of 2:14.39.

Junior Richard Fuller had a notable day for Norwich as well. He achieved the top finish in the 400 meter dash with the fastest time of 50.78. Teammate Anthony Ragonese came in fifth with a new best time of 55.77. Fuller also competed in the 200 meter dash for third place (23.11).

Norwich’s youth also impressed at the championship with its freshmen picking up a few team points. Nico Derennis earned a new personal time of 13:20.31 for sixth place in the 3000 meter steeplechase as teammate Connor Marshall finished sixth in the 110 meter hurdles (24.31). Freshman Yanni Drapaniotis represented Norwich in the pole vault, setting a new record of 9 feet for fifth place.

Lucas Craddock continues to shine in his junior year. He earned the victory in both the triple and long jumps while finishing second for the high jump. Craddock’s jump of 5-10 fell second in the high jump to Johnson City’s 6-0. His jump of 44 feet, 10 and 1/2 inches in the triple jump was his best of the day, which landed on NY’s top 25 list.

Jerell Stokes came in third (39-5) as Anthony Ragonese finished fourth (39-2) in the same triple event.Stokes took seventh in the long jump with a jump of 18 feet, 11 and 1/4 inches as Ragonese came in ninth (18-1.25).

Harrison Matlack-Grey earned the top finish in the shot put event with a throw of 40 feet, three inches as Aleks Smietana took third (39-11.50). Smietana finished second in the discus with a throw of 131-10, falling behind Owego’s 132-8. Gabe Blenis and Jack Barnes also competed in the discus throw. Blenis achieved third (123-7) while Barnes set a new best throw of 106 feet, 10 inches to round out a successful day for the Norwich boys.

GIRLS:

The Norwich girls track team stood behind its three strong relay teams as well as solid individual performances. The Purple Tornado’s 4x100 picked up a first place finish as Josey Ryan, Emma Urgo, Brynley Ryan, and Layla Root ran the fastest time of 84.21. Brynley, Josey, Root, and Amanda Smietana ran the 4x400 in 4:50.92 for fourth place as Kyra Brunick-Davis, Annie Boland, Mya Barnes, and Emilia Pepe finished fourth in the 4x800 race (12:08.00).

Josey Ryan and Emma Urgo led Norwich in their respective events. Urgo earned the top finish in the high jump with a jump of four feet, 10 inches, which was a new personal best for her and tied with teammate Olivia Schiraldi. Emma also finished third in the triple jump (31-9) with teammate Hayley Slack setting a new personal best jump of 29 feet exactly for fifth place. Urgo finished ninth in the long jump (13-9) with Schiraldi in sixth with a best of 14 feet, three inches.

Schiraldi also competed in the 100 meter dash with teammate Josey Ryan. Ryan finished second with a time of 13.50 seconds behind a tough Owego opponent’s 13.32 as Schiraldi took seventh (14.29). Josey earned third place in the 200 meter dash (28.86) as her sister Brynley finished sixth. Brynley also set a new best time of 1:08.12 in the 400 meter dash with freshman Raegan Doliver finishing in 11th (1:26.57).

Norwich saw freshman Emilia Pepe stand out in her individual events, where she set new best times. She competed in the 2000 meter steeplechase, finishing fifth with a new time of 10:40.86. She also ran a best time of 6:27.93 in the 1500 meter run for ninth place with Kyra Brunick-Davis in fifth (6:00.29). Brunick-Davis finished eighth in the 800 meter run (2:56.39) as Sophomore Mya Barnes achieved a new best time of 2:56.98 in ninth.

Briley Beckwith and Layla Root competed in hurdles, where Beckwith picked up one point for sixth in the 110 meters with a time of 21.34. Root achieved a new best time of 1:18.84 in the 400 meter hurdles for third place with Beckwith in fifth (1:26.93).

Lara Tefft, Meghan Funk, and Eva Blennis stood out in the field events. Tefft earned a fifth place finish in the shot put (27-11) and took seventh in the discus with a throw of 72 feet, 11 inches. Funk finished 11th in the shot put (21-8) as Blenis achieved a third place finish in discus (85-7) to conclude the day for the Norwich girls.

For full results, please visit ny.milesplit.com. Norwich will compete at the State Qualifiers held at Union-Endicott on Wednesday, May 31 and Thursday, June 1. All activities will begin at 4 p.m. on both days.