PLATTSBURGH — Dan Lennon is extra careful when he ties his shoes now. After one shoe came off during the 3,200 meters at last year’s state meet and he finished second, the Peru runner started making sure both shoes are secure before races. And as he heads back to the state meet for the last time, he feels he has some unfinished business.
"Yeah, definitely. Me and my coach always talk about that — this is a redemption meet,” Lennon said.
He’s one of several area athletes who have a good shot at winning a state title at the New York State Track and Field Championships held today and Saturday at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.
The top six finishers in each event make the podium.
Lennon, a senior, is the No. 1 overall seed in today’s 3,200 with a time of 9 minutes, 0.52 seconds. He hit that mark early in the season when no one else went out hard with him. He expects a faster pace today, so his goal is to break the nine-minute mark, and he thinks he can maybe even go under 8:50.
Lennon, who owns the Section VII record, is familiar with the other top runners in the event. He’s especially wary of Nick Ryan, who competes for Fayetteville-Manlius and has the second-fastest seed time (9:04:18). Lennon won a state title in cross country in the fall, and he already knows he’ll be running for Syracuse next year — he signed a National Letter of Intent in February. But he’s still motivated to finish his high school career strong.
“Even though I already have (a spot at Syracuse), you still always want to do your best,” he said. “It’s always nice to hold a record. And even better than a record is a championship, because nobody can take that from you.”
Lennon is seeded sixth overall and first among Division II (small schools) runners in Saturday’s 1,600. He’s not quite as strong in that event but thinks “maybe there’s a chance” he could win it.
Ticonderoga sophomore Jay Hebert is the runner to beat in the Division II 110 hurdles. As a freshman, he surprised himself by running a 14.98 and placing fourth at last year’s state meet. He broke the Section VII record this season and heads into today’s semifinals with a seed time of 14.07 — one-hundredth of a second faster than second-seeded Jahmahl Pardner of Aquinas.
The final for that event is Saturday.
Saranac senior Corey Duval is expected to be one of the top contenders in the boys’ shot put today — his top throw of 54 feet, 7 inches has him seeded second. Plattsburgh’s Shawn Hendrix is the sixth seed in the triple jump. Harvey Smith of Franklin Academy earned two medals at last year’s meet despite not being one of the top seeds, and this year he’s seeded 11th in the Division I 400 dash.
Beekmantown senior Jess Huber leads the local girls’ contingent. She shares this season’s top time in the 200 dash (25.48) with Hornell’s Jocelyn Acor. Huber will be making her third appearance at the state meet. She has spent plenty of time in the Beekmantown gym staring up at Alex Banach’s state championship banners for the boys’ outdoor 400 hurdles in 2006 and 2007, and she’s been working toward adding her name to the rafters.
“At our last practice (Wednesday), I looked up there and I thought, ‘I’m coming for you. I’m joining you up there,’” Huber said. “I think I have a very good chance of bringing home the state title and getting my banner in the gym, finally.” She placed third in the 200 last year and lowered her own Section VII record to 25.26. Huber said it’s nice to be the top seed this year, but it also adds to the pressure.
“When you’re the top seed, people might be intimidated. But you have everything to lose,” she said. “I just have to not be too confident or cocky. Just do what I normally do and hope I get the win.”
The 200 finals are set for Saturday.
Huber is a member of the Eagles’ 400 relay team, which is seeded second behind the squad from Alexander Hamilton. Lindsey Gonyea, Mikaela Frechette, Kallie Villemaire and Courtney Wilson are also part of the Beekmantown team, and Huber said they’re all strong runners and they have good chemistry together.
The same group will compete in the 1,600 relay as the eighth seed. Northeastern Clinton junior Molly Roush is the fourth seed in the 400 and will also run the 800. Teammate Mallory Honan, another junior, will be even busier this weekend. The sixth seed in the 100 hurdles will compete in the long jump and triple jump as well.
Emily Anderson of Beekmantown has the fifth-best throw this season in the discus. EKMW’s Halie Snyder is seeded seventh in the 100 dash, and Saranac Lake’s Nikkie Trudeau is the seventh seed in the 400 hurdles.
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Section VII qualifiers
Division II
Boys
100-
Jah-Kim Dargan (Plattsburgh High), Ethan Barge (Saranac Lake)
200-
Alex Beaudoin (Saranac Lake)
400-
Micah Patterson (Saranac)
110 hurdles-
Jay Hebert (Ticonderoga), Connor Christopherson (Saranac)
400 hurdles-
Shawn Silliman (Ticonderoga)
Long jump-
Jake Spear (Saranac)
Triple jump-
Shawn Hendrix (Plattsburgh High)
Shot put-
Corey Duval (Saranac)
Discus-
Jeremy Bullis (Saranac)
400 relay-
Saranac Lake (Ethan Barge, Alex Beaudoin, Ben Monty, Mike Tuthill, Craig Leahy, Tony Lascavio)
1,600 relay-
Saranac (Micah Patterson, Billy Badger, Ty Tedford, Sabaan Ayub, Joe Bernardi, Matt McCasland)
800-
Barrett Waling (Seton Catholic)
1,600-
Dan Lennon (Peru)
3,200-
Dan Lennon (Peru)
Steeplechase-
Mitchell Ryan (Seton Catholic)
Pentathlon-
Ryan Kerner (Saranac)
High jump-
Bryce Schnaars (Peru)
3,200 relay-
Saranac (Heath Andre, Nicky Dormann, Sean Tyrell, John Maye, KJ Houle, Ben Strack)
Girls
100-
Halie Snyder (EKMW)
200-
Jess Huber (Beekmantown), Halie Snyder (EKMW)
400-
Molly Roush (Northeastern Clinton)
100 hurdles- Mallory Honan (Northeastern Clinton)
400 hurdles-
Nikkie Trudeau (Saranac Lake)
Long jump-
Mallory Honan (Northeastern Clinton)
Triple jump-
Mallory Honan (Northeastern Clinton)
Shot put-
Victoria Phaneuf (Saranac)
Discus-
Emily Anderson (Beekmantown)
400 relay-
Beekmantown (Lindsey Gonyea, Mikaela Frechette, Kallie Villemaire, Courtney Wilson, Jess Huber)
1,600 relay-
Beekmantown (Lindsey Gonyea, Mikaela Frechette, Kallie Villemaire, Courtney Wilson, Jess Huber)
800-
Molly Roush (Northeastern Clinton)
1,500-
Emma Deshaies (Plattsburgh High)
3,000-
Margaret Champagne (Seton Catholic)
Steeplechase-
Maria Remillard (Peru)
Pentathlon-
Jamie Favreau (Saranac)
High jump-
Lea Perry (Peru)
3,200 relay-
Seton Catholic (Margaret Champagne, Phoebe Christopher, Melissa Whyman, Paige Spittler, Maddy Murnane, Maddy Munn)
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Franklin Academy qualifiers
Division I
Boys
400-
Harvey Smith
Long jump-
Aaron Sharlow
Triple jump-
Aaron Sharlow
Shot put-
Mike Sharrow
Discus-
Mike Sharrow
1,600-
Conor Gordon
3,200-
Conor Gordon
Steeplechase-
Corey Lamere
Pentathlon-
Aaron Decosse
Girls
100 hurdles-
Kylee Disotelle
400 hurdles-
Kylee Disotelle
Tupper Lake qualifiers
Division I
Girls
High jump-
Hannah Klossner
Email Courtney Lewis at:
clewis@pressrepublican.com
