'It's extremely thrilling': Section V indoor track & field stars bracing for a showdown

Corintia Griffith has jumped, sprinted or both at not one, not two, not three but four high school state track meets.

The Webster Schroeder senior knows what the vibe will be among the athletes on Feb. 23 during the Section V Indoor Track State Qualifiers at Nazareth University.

"I say it's one of the more important meets we have this season," Griffith said. "It’s extremely thrilling, kind of, because you don’t know what's going to happen.

"You are not guaranteed to go to states. You have to work hard to get it. You also have to play it safe, so you don’t get hurt before a big meet."

There are two ways for Griffith — who will triple jump, long jump and possibly run in the 800-meter relay — and other standouts in Section V to get into the state championships March 1-2 on Staten Island:

• The first- and second-place finishers in each individual event advance. Third-place athletes also go, if they have met a performance standard for the state meet during the season.

• The winners of the relay races advance. Runner-ups also qualify, if they have hit the performance standard for the state meet this winter.

"We should have a very nice contingent going down to states, there a number of talented athletes," Section V co-coordinator Dave Hennessey said. "We have some 86 schools competing in indoor track. Considering mergers, there are close to probably 100 involved. When you have a lot of schools, that tends to bring out a lot of good athletes.

"There is also the fact of the colleges where we have had our meets, they are nice facilities. It allows our kids to get the times, distance or whatever needed to get to the states.”

The Section V state qualifiers meet brings athletes from the Rochester Winter Track, Wayne-Finger Lakes and Monroe County leagues together in large numbers. This could lead to interesting showdowns.

"I love to watch that," Griffith said. "It's such a mental game, as well as a physical battle. It’s a really fun thing to watch, especially when it’s mostly a mind game.

"I was (triple) jumping against a girl at states, and she definitely got in my head. I was stressing out a lot. From what people told me, it was really fun watching us going back and forth."

Here are the top performances in each event if you compare results from the five Section V class championship meets last weekend:

Girls

Performances followed by a star are season-bests in Section V.

• 55-meter dash: Jayda Solomon (Spencerport junior) 7.30 seconds.

• 300-meter dash: Anais Martinez (Franklin/Northeast/School of the Arts/World of Inquiry junior) 40.99 seconds*

• 600-meter race: Rebecca Schroeder (Webster Schroeder freshman) 1 minute, 38.22 seconds (1:38.22)*

• 1,000-meter race: Elizabeth Tytler (Irondequoit junior) 2:58.67*

• 1,500-meter race: Haylie Smith (Rush-Henrietta junior) 4:54.56

• 3,000-meter race: Haylie Smith (Rush-Henrietta junior) 10:31.22

• 1,500-meter race walk: Desilets Dubois (Brockport senior) 7:26.47

• 55-meter hurdles race: Emma Goodell (Victor freshman) 8.74

• 800-meter (4 x 200) relay: Webster Schroeder 1:46.33*

• 1,600-meter (4 x 400) relay: Victor 4:09.65

• 3,200-meter (4 x 800) relay: Rush-Henrietta 10:00.61*

• High jump: Shanell Miller (Irondequoit junior), Kira Peacock (Gates Chili sophomore), Rosalie Stinehour (Penfield junior), Arlie Sears (Hilton freshman) 5 feet-2 inches.

• Long jump: Corintia Griffith (Webster Schroeder senior) 19-4 1/4

• Triple jump: Corintia Griffith (Webster Schroeder senior) 41-5 1/4

• Pole vault: Paige Harding (Oakfield-Alabama/Elba junior) 11-0

• Shot put: Kaylee Oswald (Wellsville junior) 37-6 1/2

• Weight throw: Ava Wierda (Batavia junior) 46-11 1/2

Boys

• 55-meter dash: Rhoan Kaulder (McQuaid sophomore) 6.51 seconds

• 300-meter dash: Perrion Williams (Franklin/Northeast/School of the Arts/World of Inquiry) 35.21

• 600-meter dash: Jake Palermo (Hilton senior) 1:23.37*

• 1,000-meter race: Christian Wescott (Rush-Henrietta senior) 2:36.84

• 1,600-meter race: Toby Dickerson (Spencerport senior) 4:25.46*

• 3,200-meter race: Nathaniel Fisher (Brockport senior) 9:30.10

• 55-meter hurdles race: Kevin Brown (Webster Schroeder senior) 7.78

• 800-meter (4 x 200) relay: Hilton 1:31.33

• 1,600-meter (4x400) relay: McQuaid 3:28.23*

• 3,200 relay: (4x800): Spencerport 8:16.36*

• High jump: Gavin White (University Prep freshman) 6 feet-6 inches.

• Long jump: Rhoan Kaulder (McQuaid sophomore) 23-7 1/2

• Triple jump: Manny Robinson (Hilton sophomore) 46-3 1/4

• Pole vault: Ethan Welch (Marion/Gananda senior), Oren Welch (Marion/Gananda senior), Nathan Sinclair (Rush-Henrietta senior) 13-6

• Shot put: Peter Northrup (Penfield senior) 52-9

• Weight throw: Peter Northrup (Penfield senior) 63-8 3/4

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V indoor track and field state qualifiers at Nazareth Friday