STILLWATER — In her final home track meet at Stillwater High School, senior Gianna Locci made the most of it, winning three individual events and anchoring the winning leg of the Stillwater girls’ 4×100-meter relay.
Locci opened the Section II Group IV championship meet at Stillwater with a win in the 100-meter dash in 12.23 seconds and followed that up with a blistering anchor leg in the 400 relay. She still found time to win the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 8 inches before earning a spot at the state qualifying meet in the 200 dash with a winning time of 25.29 seconds.
Stillwater captured the girls’ title with 142 points, in front of rival Greenwich with 114 followed by Coxsackie-Athens with 81.50, Voorheesville with 69 and Mayfield/Northville with 52.50.
Locci, a Duke University-bound sprinter and jumper, surprised herself in the final leg of the 4×100. Locci took the baton for the final 100 meters in third place, knowing she had to do something special.
“When Bella [Estill] handed it off to me, I knew it was my time to go. I knew I had to catch everyone else for my team,” Locci said. “That’s what I did.”
Quickly, she passed opposing runners from Rensselaer and Greenwich.
“I actually surprised myself on that, I’m not going to lie,” Locci said. “It was determination like I’ve almost never felt before. I knew I didn’t want to let my team down. I knew I was the anchor. I know how to do it.”
She also had a weight lifted off her shoulders with her finish in the 200, her final event of the day.
“That’s great for not training at the highest caliber that I could be,” Locci said immediately following her win.
Locci said she hasn’t been able to train at her fullest since suffering a bone bruise on her ankle during indoor nationals in March, the same time interest in her grew from colleges — especially from Duke.
“When I hit my PR [personal record] of 19-9.25 [in the long jump], I think that caught their eye,” Locci said. “I told them that I was looking for a place where I could have high expectations for myself, but also to be around people with the same mindset.”
Her first official college visit was to Duke and the Blue Devils’ delivered.
“The team camaraderie was amazing and that really set the bar high for every other school,” Locci said. “I compared every other school to that, and none of them compared to that. It has everything, academically, athletically, socially. That’s where I wanted to be.”
Greenwich senior Nina Sgambelluri was another multiple winner at Tuesday’s meet, capturing the 800, 1,500 and 3,000. Greenwich junior Keegan Collins won the girls’ shot put and discus field events.
MAYFIELD/NORTHVILLE WINS BOYS TITLE
The Mayfield/Northville boys track and field team captured the Section II Group IV title outdistancing Mechanicville, Chatham and Greenwich.
Mayfield/Northville senior Braydon Jourden captured the 3,200-meter steeplechase in 10 minutes, 57.16 seconds along with the 1.600 in 4:42.27. Senior Britain Goodemote won the triple jump with a leap of 41-feet, 9.50 inches.
Greenwich senior Deontae Bennett won the 100 in 10.05 seconds, the 200 at 22.63, the boys’ high jump with a mark of 5-10 and the long jump with a leap of 22-01.50..
Section II Group IV championships
Girls team scores
Stillwater 142, Greenwich 114, Coxsackie-Athens 81.50, Voorheesville 69, Mayfield-Northville 52.50, Mechanicville 37, Corinth 20, Rensselaer 18.50, Holy Trinity 17, Chatham 12.50, Cairo-Durham 11, Granville 9, Greenville 5.
Girls individual results
2000-meter steeplechase — Wright (GREEN), 8:13.20. 100-hurdles — Soto (COX), 16.95. 4×800 relay — Voorheesville (A. McCarthy, C. McCarthy, Farrell, Kirgan), 10:28.01. 100 — G. Locci (STILL), 12.23. 1,500 — Sgambelluri (GREEN), 5:04.38. 4×100 relay — Stillwater (Estill, Rich, G, Locci, Coffey), 51.59. 400 — Sgambelluri (GREEN), 1:00.55. 400 hurdles — Ke. Moran (STILL), 1:09.20. 800 — Sgambelluri (GREEN), 2:28.66. 200 — G. Locci (STILL), 25.29. 3000 — Sgambelluri (GREEN), 11:05.88. Pentathlon — Khadijah (CAIR), 2,216. 4×400 relay — Stillwater (J. Locci, Estill, Rich, Ke. Moran), 4:15.29. High jump — J. Locci (STILL), 5-0. Pole vault — Miller (MAY), 9-0. Long jump — G. Locci (STILL) 18-8. Triple jump — Ke. Moran (STILL), 37-2. Discus — Collins (GREEN), 109-10. Shot put — Collins (GREEN), 36-0.50.
Boys team results
Mayfield/Northville 126, Mechanicville 91, Chatham 81, Greenwich 63, Corinth 42, Voorheesville 42, Coxsackie-Athens 42, Watervliet 32, Greenville 27.50, Stillwater 23.50, Granville 13, Cairo-Durham 6.
Boys individual results
3000-steeplechase — Jourden (MAY), 10:57.16. 110-hurdles — Pratt (GRAN), 17.52. 4×800 — Chatham (Sitzer, Ti. Jeralds, Haner, To. Jeralds), 8:43.77. Bennett (GREEN), 10.95. 1,600 — Jourden (MAY), 4:42.17. 4×100 relay — Mechanicville (Crivelli, Bowie, Culbreth, Hickey), 45.18. 400 — Johnson (WAT), 54.44. 400 hurdles — Williams (COX), 1:02.16. 4×400 relay — Corinth (Tolarski, Granger, Wiseman, Robarge), 3:39.45. 800 — Jeralds (CHAT), 2:06.94. 200 — Bennett (GREEN), 22.63. 3,200 — Kosich (GVILLE), 10:45.09. Pentathlon — Ghorayeb (STILL), 2,239. High jump — Bennett (GREEN), 5-10. Pole vault — Vandoren (GREEN), 10-0. Long jump — Bennett (GREEN), 22-1.50. Triple jump — Goodemote (MAY), 41-9.50. Discus — Morrison (MECH), 126-7. Shot put — Guenette (MECH), 40-07.
Categories: -Sports-, High School Sports
