Sweet Home's Chris Nowak opened the indoor season with the best run of his high school career.
The senior won the 1,000 meter race in a time of 2:34.32 seconds at the Ithaca invite over the weekend, which was the fastest time in New York State, and third fastest in the entire country.
"It makes me feel good that I had a pretty decent start, but I think that's all it really is," Nowak said. "It's a strong start, but you have to finish just as strong, too."
"2:29 won the state title last year. 2:27 is the Section VI record. You kind of go through all those things, 2:34 is really a good point for us and put all those in our discussion," Head Coach Brian Lombardo said, who added the time was not a surprise to him.
"We've been telling him since his freshman year that that's where his talent lied," he said. "That when we put Chris on the line, that he can win that race. Sometimes, we believed it more than him and he's accepted that reality, that, that is a reality."
A personal best for Chris, he was roughly two seconds away from the school record set by former teammate Mitchell Daddario, who clocked a 2:32 in 2015.
"I don't want him on the board anymore," Nowak joked. "I have to take him off, so we'll see.
"I think it's a little bit of almost a sibling rivalry between those two," Lombardo added. "I'm sure there will be some text messages exchanged, whether he (breaks the record). I'm sure they're going to have fun with that."
"It would feel great to have my name up on that board. It would feel awesome," he said.
***SUPER 7 COUNTDOWN***
#1 – Chris Nowak, Sweet Home Indoor Track
Won the 1,000 meter race at the Ithaca invite in 2:34.23, which is the top time in Western New York and 3rd best nationally. He’s two seconds off of the Panthers’ indoor record which was set in 2015.
#2 – Kaitlin Drew-Mead, Monsignor Martin Hockey
Scored four goals in a 5-0 win over West Seneca/Hamburg/Eden on Friday.
“Having her as a part of this team for four years has been a complete blessing and she will be extremely difficult to replace.” – Linda Mroz, Head Coach
#3 – David Stroud, South Park Basketball
Scored 20 points, hauled in 20 rebounds and added five steals in the Sparks 81-57 win over Hutch-Tech.
“David put in a lot of hard work over the off-season. I’m very proud of him.” – Peter Hudecki, Head Coach
#4 – Estella Anderson, East High Basketball
Scored 39 of her team’s 51 points in 51-36 win over Oracle Charter School. The senior also hauled in 18 rebounds.
“Estella is a natural leader. She leads by example on and off the court. She is a work horse on the boards, never giving up, going after every loose ball, every rebound, until she gets the job done. Stella elevates the level of play of her teammates and her opponents. She is one of the most coachable kids I have ever met. East is proud to have her represents us and the community.” – Kelly Kane, Head Coach
#5 – Greg Dolan, Williamsville South Basketball
Scored 19 points to power the Billies past Amherst 62-59 in overtime, as Williamsville South improved to 3-0.
“Greg won the game for us with his toughness both physically and mentally. He had 3 offensive rebounds in fourth quarter and overtime and went 6-6 down the stretch from the free throw line.” – Gabe Michael, Head Coach
#6 – Danielle Milo, Orchard Park Bowling
Powered the Quakers with a 783 in a victory over Lancaster.
#7 – Emily & Mary Kromer, Orchard Park Hockey
“Emily and Mary Kromer have been key additions to the Orchard Park/Frontier/Lakeshore varsity hockey team. Emily, a junior, and Mary, a freshman, have helped to lead the team to a 4 and 1 record to start the season. They have a combined 5 goals and 4 assists so far. Their leadership and skill level have contributed to the 24 goals for and just 5 against for the team.”
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