Red Storm senior Jake Kollmer won the 1,600 meter, while fellow senior Liam Nobles won the long jump and the triple jump. Addi Ash, also a senior, and Gracen Foster, a junior, both had stand out days, setting a school record in the 600 meter and shot put, respectively.

“We had a very good day at sectionals from an individual standpoint,” Red Storm coach Cy Ellsworth said in a statement. “I am very appreciative in the amount of work our athletes have put into the season despite limited facilities and for my assistant coach Marla McGinnis. Bringing Marla into our track and field program has been a game changer. She is results driven but has helped PROMOTE a very positive track culture for 50 athletes.”

In the team scoring, the Red Storm boys placed fifth overall with 56 points as the Peru Nighthawks were the overall winners with 146.5. The Saranac Central Spartans were second with 115.5 points and the Beekmantown Eagles were third with 112.

On the girls side, Saranac Lake was sixth with 25 points and the Spartans were first with 211 points. The Eagles finished second with 99 points and the Nighthawks were third with 93.

Kollmer, who recently signed his letter of intent to the University of New Hampshire, kicked off the day by winning the 1,600 with a time of 4 minutes, 32.09 seconds, which set a Saranac Lake indoor school record held by Peter Fogarty (4:39.9) in 2020.

“As well as Jake ran on Saturday, this is just the beginning,” Ellsworth said. “His training model is set up so that he will be firing on all 8 cylinders at the end of our season. Jake has put an incredible amount of work into this and will always win a close race. I am excited to watch him over the next month.”

Nobles followed up by winning the long Jump with a jump of 21 feet, 2 inches and winning the triple jump with a jump of 45-1. His effort in the triple, broke his Section VII record and school record, which was previously set at 44-9.

“It is harder to hit big numbers each week when you are already an elite jumper and we lack facilities,” Ellsworth said. “Liam was nursing a minor injury earlier in the year that prevented him from jumping in a few elite meets and I don’t want my athletes to be peaking in mid-season. In the last few weeks, we have made some adjustments to his training and he is hungry to hit his goals. The expectation is for him to be at his best next week and even better at the state meet in March.”

On the girls side, Ash placed second overall in the 600 with a time of 1:46.53, which was good enough to set Saranac Lake’s indoor school record, originally set by Lydia Wamsganz (1:47.74) in 2022.

“It has been fun watching Addi’s gradual improvement throughout the year,” Ellsworth said. “She is a special athlete and it has taken her a few years from a confidence standpoint to get her to believe in herself. I believe Addi has found her confidence at a perfect time in the year.”

Saranac Lake’s Molly Butler (2:00.6) placed ninth in 600, while Raiana Baumann (2:04.2) was 12th. Saranac Central’s Sienna Boulds won the event in 1:43.22.

Ash also led the way for the Red Storm girls in the 300 meter dash, placing 11th in 48.4. Teammates Ally Bourgeois (49.06) was 12th and Maddy Stavenhagen (53.73) was 19th.

In the throws events, Foster finished second in the girls shot put with a throw of 31 feet, 9.5 inches setting our indoor school record held by Mia Sanford (31-8) in 2022.

“We have 23 throwers in our indoor program and Gracen started the year in our developmental group,” Ellsworth said. “She has incredible talent in the throws and as she has become more athletic throughout the season due to her commitment. Gracen is now on the map and has the potential to be the best thrower in the league in time.”

Saranac Lake’s Brook Burke also had a solid outing, placing fourth with a 28-9.5 toss. Teammate Trinity Martelle was seventh with a throw of 26-6. AuSable Valley’s Emma Pelkey won the girls shot put with a throw of 33-5.5.

Burke was the lone Red Storm thrower in the girls weight throw event. She took ninth place with a toss of 26 feet.

On the boys side, Miles Frazer led the Red Storm with a third place finish in the shot put, tossing the ball 43-10.5.

“We have really good competition within our throws group this year,” Ellsworth said. “Dustin (Burke) didn’t have the day he wanted and Miles has invested a lot of energy into his lifts and technique. We expect Miles to be even better at state qualifiers.”

Burke placed fourth overall with a 41-7 toss, and teammate Sam Duprey was seventh with a throw of 38-7.5. Peru’s Elliot Supley won the shot put event with a throw of 52-10.

In the boys weight throw, Dustin Burke led Saranac Lake with a toss of 44-10. Jonah Ducatt (36-04) was fifth and Brandon McGinnis-Theis (31-03) was 12th.

Up next, the Red Storm will return back to SUNY Plattsburgh at 10 a.m. on Saturday for the State Qualifiers meet. The winner of each event will automatically qualify for the NYSPHSAA Indoor Track and Field State Championships on Saturday, March 8 at the Ocean Breeze Athletics Complex on Staten Island.