Empire State Games: Will East ninth-grader highlights prolific day for Western track athletes
Allen has to think twice
Winner of 400 only slowed down by tricky question
VESTAL — Kala Allen stood tallest on the podium in the infield of Binghamton University’s track stadium, and the entire crowd heard the public address announcer pose the question: “So Kala, what is better, winning a state high school championship or an Empire State Games championship?”
The tiny Allen responded with a shy shrug, and the announcer let her off the hook: “That’s right, Kala, they’re both great.” After some polite laughter, it was time to draw some oohs and aahs: “And,” he informed the estimated crowd of 1,000, “she is only entering the ninth grade.”
Allen continued a phenomenal couple of months Saturday afternoon, adding Empire State Games gold in the 400 meters to the state championship she won in the same event at the University at Buffalo in June.
Allen, who will attend Williamsville East in the fall, gained a big lead by roaring around the final turn as she cruised to the victory in 57.07, exactly a half-second faster than Woodbury’s Christina Dibernardo (Long Island).
“It’s been exciting,” said Allen. “I’ve surprised myself more than I’ve surprised everyone else. . . . I felt really dizzy before the race, but once we started, I didn’t feel anything — I just kept running.”
Before becoming very busy in track, Allen’s first sport was soccer, which she played on the modified team for Transit Middle last year. “It’s hard to balance sometimes, especially with my grades — and going into high school, it should be really different.”
Allen later took silver in the 1,600 relay and bronze in the 400 relay on a day that included several standout performances by the Western women, particularly among local high school athletes.
Williamsville South’s Allie Van Buren smoothly won the 400 hurdles in 1:01.83. Her ease in leaping the hurdles during her 1.71-second victory earned this comment from one official to another in a tent near the finish line: “Look how easy she goes over the hurdles — it’s just like a step for her.”
“It’s my first year doing the hurdles, and my coach thought it would be good to train me every day,” said Van Buren, who will be a junior in the fall. “We’ve basically trained 24-7, and that’s the way you get better. I love the hurdles [she earned silver in the 100 on Friday]. It’s fun. Tough, but fun.”
Taylor Eldridge, who will be a junior at Cleveland Hill in the fall, won the women’s scholastic discus at 37.74 meters. Last year she won gold in the shot put and silver in the discus.
“It’s a nice way to keep yourself focused on technique in the summer,” Eldridge said of the Games. “The competition is great and it’s so much fun — going against other kids and hanging out with them.”
Lockport’s Erin Miller moved from fifth to second with a throw of 35.23. On Friday, Miller took silver in the shot put while Eldridge took bronze.
Nicole Castilloux, who will be a senior at West Seneca West in the fall, took fourth in both the 100 and long jump and also joined Allen on the 400 relay that won bronze.
Caitlin Godin, a native of Rochester who will be a senior on the University at Buffalo track team this fall, made her second heptathlon a good one: the heretofore jumps specialist took the gold with 4,099 points. Godin’s first try at the event? That was at the Western team’s tryouts.
“I get nervous for the first event and the last one [the 800, in which she came in second],” said Godin, who won her first ESG gold in five years of competition. “I just don’t know how to run an ‘eight’ — so I just kind of wing it.”
Taking second with 3,576 was Massapequa’s Caryl Senn-Griffiths (Long Island), a 46-year-old who won her 20th heptathlon medal in her 27th Games. Emily Curry, a recent Williamsville North grad headed to the University at Albany, was fourth at 3,139.
Boston native and Springville High grad Shannon O’Keeffe, who will be a senior at Brockport this fall, won the triple jump in 11.08 meters.
Taking the silver was Caitlin Wright, an Ithaca native who attends Binghamton University and competed for Central — but she now calls East Aurora home after her family moved there.
Tina Villa, a UB grad from Saratoga Springs who is competing for Adirondack, won gold in the shot put with a throw of 14.12 meters.
Brenda Spillman of Buffalo took silver in the 5,000 with her time of 19:19.34, about a minute back of winner Julie Lafrano of Loudonville (Adirondack).
Natalie Fildes of West Seneca was the lone local representative on the silver medal- winning women’s open 400 relay. Catherine Lusardi of East Aurora took bronze in the scholastic 5,000 (18:35.16).
One of seven Empire Games track records set in the 31st edition was by Melocia Clarke of the Bronx, who won the women’s open 400 in 52.84 seconds one day after her heat of 53.41 broke a 27-year-old Games record of 53.71.
