Valley Sports ReportTIOGA COUNTY — Waverly boasted a group of talented sprinters this year and two of them were so evenly-matched they just had to share the "Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year" honor.
Senior Kayleb Bechy and junior Ralph Johnson both placed fifth, respectively, at the state championships. They also set new school records and were part of the Wolverines’ record-setting 4x100-meter relay which captured a silver medal at states. The duo also shares the "Track Athlete of the Year" distinction.
Bechy broke the school record in the 100, clocking 10.79 seconds, and Johnson set the school mark in the 200 with a time of 21.95 seconds. The 4x100 relay set a new record four times during the season with the final time of 42.3 seconds breaking the Section IV mark.
Owego’s Gabe Snyder was the only male athlete from Tioga County to qualify for states in a field event and was one of just four Section IV Division II competitors to reach the podium in a field event. His third-place finish in the pole vault has earned the senior the "Track Athlete of the Year" title.
Snyder cleared 14 feet even at states, missing his personal record set in April by one inch (at states, the next height after 14 feet is 14-3 so he didn't get another shot at tying his PR).
Tioga County didn’t produce any dominant newcomers this season, but had several who contributed to his respective team’s scoring. Waverly’s Josh Courtney stepped up to edge out one of his teammate’s and a pair of Newark Valley athletes to earn "Newcomer of the Year." He scored valuable team points at the IAC divisional meet, and the IAC and Section IV Class C championships.
The "Coach of the Year" is Waverly’s Dave Hogan. He led the Wolverines to runner-up showings at the IAC championships and in Division II at the state qualifier. The boys also placed third in Class C.
Waverly won five events at both the IAC and Class C meets, and made the podium in 11 other IAC events and six more in Class C. Hogan’s Wolverines qualified for states in two individual events and two relays and came away with a trio of medals.
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ALL-TIOGA COUNTY BOYS TRACK & FIELD 100: Kayleb Bechy, Waverly, :10.79
200: Ralph Johnson, Waverly, :21.95
400: Treyton Moore, Waverly, :52.67
800: Jace Stuart, Owego, 2:08.32
1600: Jace Stuart, Owego, 4:28.59
3200: Jace Stuart, Owego, 9:42.95
3000 Steeplechase: Sullivan O'Donnell, Owego, 10:39.02
110 Hurdles: Andrew Earley, Tioga, :16.3
400 Hurdles: Micah Chandler, Waverly, :56.7
Long Jump: Valentino Rossi, Tioga, 20-2
Triple Jump: Valentino Rossi, Tioga, 42-4
High Jump: John Sloughter, Newark Valley, 5-2
Pole Vault: Gabe Snyder, Owego, 14-1
Shot Put: Dan Truesdail, Newark Valley, 43-1
Discus: Caleb Hoover, Owego, 132-8
4x100 Relay: Waverly (Kayleb Bechy, Jerrell Sackett, Micah Chandler, Ralph Johnson), 42.3
4x400 Relay: Waverly (Treyton Moore, Micah Chandler, Charlie Larrabee, Jerrell Sackett), 3:26.2
4x800 Relay: Owego (Jaxson Belokur, Hunter Georgia, Ruben Lemmon, Jace Stuart), 8:53.53
Pentathlon: Evan Wasielewski, Owego, 2,292 points
