Press release:
The Batavia Indoor Track team is in the final weeks of a very impressive winter season, with the New York State Championships on the horizon this coming weekend.
The meet is being held on Saturday, March 8, at the Ocean Breeze Athletic facility on Staten Island in New York City. Batavia has 18 athletes who have qualified for this event and we are very excited to compete this weekend at this competitive meet!
Batavia will again be well represented in the throws circle, with two seniors competing in states. Sheldon Siverling broke his own school record and became the first Blue Devil to throw over 60 feet in Shot Put with a winning throw of 60' - 2.25" at State Qualifiers. He also impressively won the Weight Throw with a distance of 63' - 6". He will enter the State meet ranked 3rd in the state for Shot Put with a great opportunity to come home with another State Championship. Ava Wierda also had a terrific meet, winning the Weight Throw with a distance of 49' - 1.5" and will compete for the 2nd year in a row at the State meet in this event.
Cooper Konieczny has shattered the record books for Batavia and will represent the Blue Devils at the State Meet in Pole Vault. He cleared 14' - 0" at the State Qualifier meet and will look to improve his school record this weekend.
Not to be outdone, the Blue Devil distance crew is in the midst of arguably their best season ever, with multiple school records broken and multiple athletes competing at states in individual events and both the men's and women's 4x800 Relays.
Cameron Garofalo has earned himself a spot amongst the best distance runners ever to compete for Batavia, having broken the school records in the 3200m, the 1600m, and finally the 1000m, all during this winter season. He ran a 2:32.64 in the 1000m last weekend, breaking a school record from 1998, and he will compete in this event at the State Championship. He will also anchor the Boys 4x800 Relay along with E'Nhazje Carter, Grant Gahagan, and Nate Kinsey. Their time of 8:26.50 won the State Qualifier meet ahead of 2nd place Marcus Whitman and is less than 7 seconds away from the existing school record (8:20.24).
For our Lady Devils, Campbell Riley will also compete at Indoor States for the 2nd year in a row in the 1000m, having won this event at the State qualifier meet with a time of 3:00.58. She is one of the most decorated Batavia female athletes of all time and will compete in three events at the State meet, anchoring the 4x400 relay, and the 4x800 relay as well. The 4x400 Relay also includes Ady O'Donnell, Ava Anderson, and Karizma Wescott, and they will be seeded to medal at states after finishing first last week with a time of 4:10.76.
The girl's 4x800 Relay was arguably the race of the night at State Qualifiers, with our four athletes breaking the school record, which was previously established in 2003. Mallory Boyce led off the relay with an incredible first leg, placing the Blue Devils in first. We never looked back through the rest of the event. Jenna Higgins ran 2nd, Amelia Tripp 3rd, with Campbell Riley anchoring the relay to its 1st place finish and new school record of 9:56.69.
It is with great pride that we are bringing 18 athletes with us this season to finish the Indoor Track and Field season at the New York State Championships. The Blue Devils have embraced our tough reputation across Section V and want to add their own chapter to our storied history and traditions. We are very excited to compete and represent Batavia at States this weekend!
