Davidson wins 3K, skips steeple
By Christopher Hunt
JOHNSTOWN – He didn’t even know what to do with himself. He took a step left then a step right. His eyes bounced from side to side.
Riker Wikoff of Albany Academy ran fast enough that he shocked himself. He couldn’t even explain it.
“I don’t even remember what happened,” he said.
Either he pull a clear memory from it or not, Wikoff put his best race on the track Thursday, on the first day of the Section 2 state qualifier. He won the Division I 400 hurdles in a Section 2 record 53.07 seconds at Knox Field in Johnstown, the fastest time in the state this season.
“All week I’ve been planning this race in my head,” Wikoff said.
He knew he wanted to be aggressive. Schuylerville’s Shane Wagner cultivated the same plan. By the final curve, Wikoff could hear Wagner breathing off his shoulder. At the eighth hurdle, Wagner clipped the hurdle with Wikoff sailed over. That made the difference. Wagner finished second 53.65.
“This definitely gives me some confidence going into states,” Wikoff said.
Shenendehowa’s Zac Suriano can make the same claim. Suriano won the Division I 800 meters in 1:55.97 in what many expected to be the most competitive race of the afternoon. Suriano took the lead from the gun and never allowed a challenge.
“Coming into it, I was a little nervous because I was in the same situation last year,” he said.
Last year, Suriano led the race headed into the straightaway. After holding the pace the entire way, he faded in the stretch and finished third and failed to qualify for states. This time though, Suriano didn’t falter and he invited the pace-making duties.
“I haven’t really lead a race from start to finish the entire season,” he said. “So this was kind of a test for me. Hopefully, it’ll be a lot quicker at states. I have to expect that no one will do the work for me out there.”
Kendra Adams of Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake also needed to decide the pace herself in the Division I girls 400 hurdles. Adams won in 64.07, three seconds faster than the closest finisher.
“I felt pretty good,” she said. “I wanted to be aggressive. I knew I wouldn’t (have much competition) but I didn’t want to come in with the mindset that I already had it. States is going to be a big push.”
Saratoga Springs senior Hannah Davidson did get some help in the girls Division I 3,000. Sam Roecker of Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake latched onto her shoulder, matching strides until the last lap, when Roecker took over. Davidson regained control on the backstretch but couldn’t shake Roecker until the last 100 meters.
The Providence-bound Davidson won in 9:42.97 and Roecker finished second in 9:44.56. Davidson will not compete in the 2,000 steeplechase, where she holds the fastest-time in the nation and instead she will chase a state championship in the 3,000.
“I wasn’t expecting to do the 3,000 this season,” she said. “My freshman and sophomore year all I really did was the steeple and I guess I kind of got sick of it.”
Davidson said she welcomed the change but will race in the steeplechase at nationals June 
20-21. She will be joined at the state meet by sophomore teammates Michelle Riley and Brianne Bellon, who finished 1-2 in the girls Division I 800. Riley won in 2:10.67, breaking a 20-year old school record Cherie Goddard-Kenah (2:10.74). Bellon followed in second in 2:12.25.
Queensbury’s Matt Flint won the Division I boys 3,200 in 9:28.60 after suffering through a dreadfully slow first lap. Flint burst free of the field on the ensuing circuit and never looked back.
“I just wasn’t feeling it today,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever run a lap that slow. … The number one priority was to qualify for states. Running a fast time would have been a bonus.”
Theresa Kennedy of Holy Names won the Division II triple jump in 37 feet, 1 1/4 inch. Teammate Claire Harwick won the Division II 3,000 in 10:03.28. Hayley Madsen of Chatham won the girls Division II 800 in 2:13.40. Her teammate Leah Wightman also won the Division II 400 in 57.54. Liz Schwennker of Guilderland edged Bethlehem’s Allysa Knaak in the Division I 400, winning in 58.87. Knaak was second in 58.95.
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.