Track stars shine bright at state meet

You've read numerous times the description "speed merchant" attached to the name Allison Phillips. That's because the Palmyra-Macedon junior is a merchant of speed. 

Allison Phillips, a Palmyra-Macedon junior, placed fourth

in her first-ever trip to the New York state championships.

In the process, she broke her own school record with a

time of 12.43 seconds.

In her first-ever appearance at the New York state track and field championships, Phillips sizzled the Cicero-North Syracuse track to a fourth-place finish in the Division II edition of the 100-meter dash, and in the process trimmed her electrifying school record down to 12.43 seconds. It's not only the fastest time in Pal-Mac history, but even at the collegiate level no other Red Raider female graduate has run faster. Emily Bush was the former school-record-holder with a 12.70-second effort. Bush went on to run at Slipper Rock University, and ran a career-best 12.44-second race. 


Phillips' fourth-place finish, by the way, matches the best place-finish for any female sprinter in her school's history. Bush placed fourth in her senior campaign as a Red Raider.


Phillips wasn't the only Pal-Mac athlete at the state meet, though. Phillips anchored the Red Raiders' 4x100-meter relay to a fifth-place finish, crossing the finish line in 51.35 seconds, just off their season-best of 51.07 logged at the State Qualifiers. Joining Phillips were seniors Valerie VanHoesen and Josie McMullin, and eighth-grader Shelby Hutton. It was the first-time the Red Raiders competed at the state championships in the 4x100-meter relay since being ranked No. 1 in the state during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. 


For the first time in five seasons, Pal-Mac also sent a male competitor to the states. Seth Bailey, a senior, placed fourth in Division II and eighth in the Federation high jump, matching his lifetime-best with a 6 foot, 4 inch clearance. Bailey finished with the same height as the second- and third-place finishers, but recorded more missed attempts throughout the competition. The state champion won with a height of 6-foot-5. Bailey also competed in the 100-meter dash, becoming the first athlete in his school's history to do so. Having participated in two individual events, it was also a first-ever for boys track at Pal-Mac. 


Having not competed in the event last year, a fourth-place finish at the state championships seems all the more gratifying. Such is the case for M.J. Erb, a Victor senior headed to Syracuse University. Erb placed fourth in the Division I edition of the 3,000-meter Steeple Chase in 9:32.10, coming just short of his lifetime-best.


Sam Harding, a Canandaigua Academy senior, placed 14th in the Division I pole vault. Newark senior Jeremy Hassett was eighth in the Division II 800-meter run, running a lifetime-best 1:57.67. Hassett also anchored Newark's 4x800-meter relay team that finished 14th in 8:44.33. Ian Gillens, a junior from Marion, placed fourth in the Division II shot put with a new school record and lifetime-best 153-foot toss. Cody Engelsen, a Marion senior, was sixth in the Division II 400-meter dash (50.86). Justin Shaver, a Honeoye senior, was ninth in the Division II shot put. Clyde-Savannah senior Nick Felice was ninth in the Division II long jump (21-1.50)


Isabel Hirtelen-Booker, the only No. 1-seeded athlete from Section 5, did not disappoint. In her fourth-straight appearance at the states, the Harley-Allendale Columbia junior won her third-straight state title in the 100-meter hurdles. En route, she broke her own school record with a new lifetime-best 14.50-second race. Hirtelen-Booker also placed second in the Federation finals.


Hirtelen-Booker's teammate, senior Aedin Brennan, placed seventh in the Division II triple jump (37-2.50). Also in the triple jump was Red Creek senior Eleonore Grant, who placed eighth (37-1). Grant also ran the Division II 100-meter hurdles with Hirtelen-Booker, placing second in the state with a time of 15.72. Jeanette Schramm, an H-AC senior in her first-ever season of running track, placed 14th in the Division II edition of the 1,500-meter run with a lifetime-best 4:52.38.


Joining Hirtelen-Booker as the only Wayne-Finger Lakes-area athletes to win New York state titles was Marion junior Mackenzie Sturtz in the Division II high jump, coming just one inch from matching her lifetime-best with a 5-foot-4 clearance. Sturtz was fourth in the Federation.


Canandaigua Academy senior Meghan McCormick, in her second-straight trip to the states, placed seventh in the 3,000-meter run among Division I competitors. Her teammate, junior Christine Lyttle, competed in the 100-meter hurdles, also in Division I.


Red Jacket senior Sarah Coon placed seventh in the 2,000-meter Steeple Chase in Division II, and teammate Shealyn Doody, a freshman, was 13th in the Division II version of the 3,000-meter run. Midlakes junior Kori Hughes was seventh in the Division II pentathlon. Justina Sanders-Schifano, a Sodus freshman, was eighth in the Division II 400-meter dash (58.84) and sixth in the long jump with a new lifetime-best 17-6 measurement.

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