By Rob Potter
ROCHESTER — June 11, 2002 – Monticello’s Katy Schlichtman and Tri-Valley’s Heather Iatauro won titles this past weekend at the New York State Track and Field Championships at Rush-Henrietta High School near Rochester.
Schlichtman, a junior, won the girls’ Class B 400 hurdles title on Friday with a time of 1:03.74. Then on Saturday, Schlichtman took first place in the 400 hurdles in the State Federation meet with a time of 1:01.74.
(The federation meet includes athletes from private schools, religious schools and New York City schools as well as public high school competitors.)
Iatauro captured her second straight Class C/D 2,000 steeplechase title and narrowly missed capturing the federation crown.
She was edged out at the finish line by Jamie Sweeney of Saratoga, which is a Class A school. Sweeney’s time was 6:55.9, while Iatauro crossed the line at 6:56.2.
It marked the first time that high school runners had gone under the seven minute mark. Iatuaro’s previous best was 7:05.2, which was a New York State freshman record.
Her 6:56.2 time set a state sophomore record.
Iatauro was also a member of the T-V team that finished sixth in the Class C/D 3,200 relay in the state meet. Iatuaro, Melynda O’Neill, Kristina Mootz and Tracy Taylor posted a time of 10:01.15 in the event.
For Schlichtman, her victories represent the payoff after months of hard work. At the 2001 state meet, she finished third in the Class B 400 hurdles and was determined to finish first this spring.
“I really wanted to win it,” Schlichtman said. “It all came down to this race. This is the race I thought about.”
Schlichtman noted that being in lane 4, which is traditionally the fastest on an 8-lane track, helped her cause.
She admitted to being “a little nervous” heading into both the state final on Friday and the federation final on Saturday.
“I also knew that I worked hard and had the opportunity to win it all,” Schlichtman said. “I had some doubts, but I said to myself that this was my race and no one was going to take it away.”
She set a goal of running the event in 1:01 and her winning federation time of 1:01.74 was a personal record.
“I’m glad it’s over,” she commented. “All of the hard work paid off and that’s a good feeling to have.”
Several other county athletes also competed in the state and/or federation meet over the weekend. They included:
• Matt Manzi of Liberty, who finished 25th in the 1,600 meter run at the federation meet. He posted a time of 4:34.66.
• Kevin Mullally of Sullivan West was fourth in the 100 at the federation meet, recording a time of 11.84.
• Eric Parkhurst of Liberty placed 33rd in the federation pentathlon. His score was 1,980.
• Stephanie Biddescombe of Liberty took seventh place in the girls’ Class C/D shot put at the federation meet. She put the shot a distance of 31 ft., 3 1/4 inches.
• Renauld Buck of Liberty finished fourth in the federation boys’ Class C/D shot put. He put the shot 48 ft., 5 inches.
In the state meet, Buck took 11th place in the Class C/D discus with a throw of 122 ft., 8 inches.
• Jenn Gorman of Tri-Valley was seventh in the Class C/D 400 hurdles in the state meet. Her time was 1:11.45.
• The T-V girls’ 400 relay team of Gorman, Danielle Ruhren, Candace Carroll and Colleen Carey finished 10th in that event at the state meet with a time of 53.64.
Gorman took 10th place in the Class C/D 100 hurdles (18.71) and seventh in the Class C/D 400 hurdles (1:11.45) in the state meet.
Carey finished 11th in the Class C/D 100 (13.54) and 10th in the Class C/D 200 (27.43) in the state meet.