DELMAR — Fresh off its first Section II title in indoor track and field, the Guilderland girls’ track team entered the outdoor campaign with hopes of repeating its success at sectionals in late May.
Though the outdoor campaign is still early, the returns are good for the team so far this season.
Guilderland dominated on the track Saturday and backed it up with a big performance from sophomore Tatum Cramer in the long jump, coasting to the team championship at the 16th Annual Lady Eagles Invitational at Bethlehem.
Junior Kendall Barnhart took honors in the 300-meter hurdles along with the 200-meter dash to lead the way with senior Megan Swan adding a win in the 100 while freshman Addison Vellekoop won the 800.
Barnhart’s win in the 200 showed Guilderland’s depth with Swan running second and Cramer third.
“I ran the 300-hurdles earlier, didn’t have the best start,” Barnhart said. “I wanted to come out (in the 200) really strong. Once I started, I was making up the stagger quickly and knew I just had to keep going. Seeing them (Swan and Cramer) makes me get out even harder. They really push me. It is awesome to have amazing teammates that are that fast. That just pulls me straight along.”
Guilderland won its own invitational two weeks ago and is building toward sectionals in its bid for its first outdoor Section II title. Its hopes were buoyed by a tough five-point loss to Saratoga Springs at the 2022 Group I championships.
Competing against schools like Saratoga and Shenendehowa, programs that have long dominated Section II track and field, comes with its challenges.
“We found a really nice routine during indoor track and we’ve been sticking with that,” Guilderland coach Chris Scanlan said. “We’ve been slowly building the last six years. We always seem to have veteran kids, the…
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