CHATHAM STAR TO COMPETE FOR TWO STATE TRACK TITLES
Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports Editor
06-12-09 - Chatham senior Leah Wightman is headed to Cicero-North Syracuse this weekend to compete for New York State titles in the 800-meter race and the pole vault. In order to compete for a state title, Wightman first had to compete at the Section II State Qualifiers in Johnstown last week.
VIEW ccSCOOP'S INTERVIEW WITH LEAH
Wightman ran in the 800-meter small-school race and was completely dominant. Wightman ran the race in 2:13.8--was more than 6 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Wightman’s time was also an impressive 3 seconds faster than the winner of the large-school division race.
On the second day of state qualifiers, Wightman competed in the pole vault. She started the event by clearing her opening height of 10 feet but struggled at the next bar. Her 10-foot clearance was good enough to win the Section II small division crown and reserve her spot in the state title event.
On Friday, June 11, public school section athletes will compete for large and small school division titles. On Saturday, the top eight times from the large and small school divisions will compete along with the private school athletes for the federated crowns. Essentially if Wightman were to capture a title in either event on Friday, she would be crowned the New York State Champion. If she were to advance to the following day and win a title, she would be the Federated New York State Champion.
With results from state qualifiers, including all sections and private schools, Wightman has the third overall seed in her 800-meter race and is the top-seeded small, public school runner in the heat.
In the pole vault Wightman’s clearance of 10 feet puts her in sixth among other qualifying small school heights from this past weekend. Despite the "average" clearance at the state qualifiers, Wightman has shown in practice that she can do more. After the meet in Johnstown, Wightman cleared 10' 9" on her first attempt at practice, then 11' 3”, and finished with 11'9". If she were able to clear 11' 9", based on qualifying results, Wightman would finish in second place.
