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2007-’08 Section 6 Indoor Track & Field Girls Preview

Sprints & Hurdles | Distance & Racewalk | Jumps & Polevault | Shot Put | Relays | Team

SPRINTS & HURDLES (55m Dash, 55m Hurdles, & 300m Dash)
The girls sprint races will have some clear favorites but the level of talent will remain deep. In the 55 meter dash and hurdles, for example, seven of the top ten sprinters and hurdlers from last season will return. The fastest short sprinter returning will be senior Jillian O’Brien (West Seneca West) and she will be challenged by fellow teammates junior Nicole Castilloux, and senior Morgan Billi. The two time defending Sectional Champion in the 300 meter dash is senior Anna Holmes (Pioneer) and her greatest challenge may come from either Castilloux or senior Jacqueline Burns (North Tonawanda). All of these student-athletes have “big meet” experience and will provide our Section with great competitions all season long here in western New York and beyond.

The hurdles will feature a tighter race this season between three tough athletes. Last season’s “upstart” and now senior Sarah Mikulski (Williamsville North) will battle with cross-town rival and sophomore sensation Allie Van Buren (Williamsville South) with senior Jessica Gniazdowski (Pioneer) also in the mix. These three hurdlers were only separated by 0.15 seconds FAT last season.

DISTANCE & 1500m RACEWALK (600m, 1000m, 1500m, & 3000m Runs)
The distance events feature a wide variety of runners who can challenge for titles all season long. The past year since our last indoor season has provided our League with an even deeper talent pool of distance runners. Experienced seniors will lead a strong pack of contenders. Seniors Amanda Solly (West Seneca East), Burns from North Tonawanda, and much improved Kelsey Fraser (Lockport) are favorites to run to titles this winter. Sophomore sensation Brenna Symoniak (Amherst) has plenty of State Championships experience and has shown she can come through in tough races as she is a defending indoor Champion herself. Seniors Keri Pretorius (Clarence) and Mary Rachel Robbins (Lockport) have also been to the State Championships and always run tough. Junior Erin Kling (Jamestown) and sophomore Mikelle Cala (Lake Shore) had outstanding cross country seasons and will surprise no one with their abilities this winter. West Seneca West’s junior Emily Sullivan and freshman Victoria Luongo are also veterans of the State Championships and will factor into these distance races.

Senior Krystal Walsh (Clarence) and sophomore Jennifer Mooney (Williamsville South) return as last season’s State Qualifiers in the Racewalk after senior (then junior) Melissa Szymanowski (West Seneca West) was disqualified along with her teammate. This event will be hotly contested between these three talented racewalkers all season long.

Castilloux (current Section 6 Most Valuable Athlete) and Billi from West Seneca West have been dominant in the horizontal jumps the last few seasons. Both jumpers have surpassed the 18 foot mark. Two jumpers from Williamsville North, seniors Emily Curry and Meredith Kirby, will improve to challenge the current Champions. Two other seniors, Kristen Angierski (Depew) and Katelyn Hergott (Maryvale) showed noticeable development this past spring and will compete for the jumping titles as well.

Jessica Gniazdowski from Pioneer has cleared the ten foot barrier and has been to the State Championships for the pole vault. She is the favorite to win a title in this event and should be followed closely by junior Melissa Yap (Hamburg) and senior Rebecca Fabbiano (Lockport) both of whom have vaulted into the nine foot range. There should be a fresh infusion of other talent as well in the girl’s pole vault this season.

SHOT PUT
Lancaster’s sophomore Melissa Kurzdorfer is the returning Section 6 Champion and has also added the title of Section 6 Girl’s Indoor Shot Put record holder to her list of impressive accomplishments. Contenders behind Kurzdorfer include seniors Melissa Schuster (Frontier) and Erin Miller (Lockport).

RELAYS (4x200m, 4x400m, & 4x800m)
The 4 by 200 meter relay event will return the two time defending Sectional Champions and Sectional record holders from West Seneca West. Seniors Billi, O’Brien and Kelsey Randall along with junior Castilloux will look to continue to lower their Section 6 record and to once again medal at the State Championships and beyond. Holland’s team returns juniors Alex Bender, Allison Connelly as well as senior Serena Slattery who have the ability and experience to help challenge West Seneca West’s relay. Williamsville North will be tough with seniors Curry and Kirby as will Frontier with seniors Nicolette Liberta and Meaghan LaFranca.

The 4 by 400 meter relay will once again be open to a variety of teams looking to claim the title of Champions. The dominant Section 6 record holding North Tonawanda team graduated three of its top long sprinters but will still have the services of junior Burnsand sophomore DiPalma. Williamsville South will also be formidable with sophomore Van Buren and junior Ferenczy leading their relay. Look for Williamsville North, West Seneca West, and Iroquois to also be competitive in this event.

The 4 by 800 meter relay team from West Seneca West returns all four of its members from last season’s Championship team. They are, once again, the only returning relay to break the ten minute mark indoors and are just a few seconds away from the Section 6 record in this relay event. Lockport, with the experience of seniors Fraser and Robbins, as well as Lake Shore, with sophomores Cala and Kimberly Vona, will close the gap on West Seneca West. Iroquois, coming off of a great spring season, will be in contention despite the graduation of a top senior. Clarence and Amherst will also field typically strong relays as well.

 TEAM COMPETITION
West Seneca West has dominated the team competitions the past two seasons as the reigning two time Section 6 Team Champions. Their core depth at the distance and sprinting events as well as in most of the field events elevates them as the heavy favorite to capture their third consecutive Championship. This accomplishment would equal Lancaster’s mark of three consecutive Championships from the 2002-’03 through 2004-’05 seasons. Look for Lancaster, North Tonawanda, and Williamsville North to round out the top girl’s teams in Section 6 based on the depth of their talent across the spectrum of events. Finally, the League has approved two new programs this season. Niagara Falls will be joining our League and Allegany-Limestone has temporarily merged with Olean to form the other new team in Section 6 Indoor Track and Field. These two new teams offset the loss of Newfane’s winter program and should provide our League with fresh talent across all of the events.

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Sprints & Hurdles | Distance & Racewalk | Jumps & Polevault | Shot Put | Relays | Team