CICERO – From start to finish, the Baldwinsville boys track and field season featured more victories, and more glory, than any one in the program’s long history.
So it only figured that the effort would culminate with medals during last weekend’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium.
Senior Owen Weaver went into the state meet as the favorite in the pentathlon, having scored 3,321 points in that event during the June 2 Section III state qualifier at that same venue.
Going 16.05 seconds in the 110 high hurdles to open, Weaver then topped 5 feet 10 inches in the high jump before a shot put of 32 feet to close the opening day of competition.
In Saturday’s long jump, Weaver had a top leap of 20’7”, leading to the closing 1,500-meter run, where with a time of 4:26.60 Weaver picked up 767 points, best among all competitors.
All told, Weaver had 3,205 points, which left him third overall behind East Rochester’s Ian Szemcsak (3,352) and Bath-Haverling’s Keefer Calkins (3,223), but tops among Division I (large school) competitors, just 13 points ahead of Arlington’s John Zelker.
Fellow senior Sam Mellenger, a medal favorite in both the 100 and 200-meter dash. Seeded sixth in the 100 at 10.72 seconds, Mellinger, went 10.87 on Friday to qualify for Saturday’s finals.
Having gone 21.78 in the 200 to qualify fourth in Division I, Mellinger was only sixth in the first round at 22.17 but again, was able to advance to the championship round.
The 100 final was first, and Mellenger’s 11.04 put him in fifth place on the medal podium as Shenedehowa’s Carter Cukerstein won in 10.76.
Mellinger managed 22.42 seconds in the 200-meter Division I final, again putting him in fifth place, the winning time of 21.22 posted by Connetquot’s Jermaine Thompson.
Solomon Holden-Betts was a top contender in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, having gone 9:25.76 to qualify fourth overall and second in Division I.
Early on Saturday morning, Holden-Betts got his chance at a medal – and finished third in Division I, and fifth overall, his time of 9:26.23 nearly matching his season best. Julian Franjieh (Niskayuna), in 9:01.19, was the state Division I champion.
Then there was the Bees’ 4×800 relay team, led by Holden-Betts but including Logan Hayes, Jack McAllister and Jeff Ragonese, with Kellan Vannatta and Noah Covert as alternates.
Having gone 7:58.87 to be the top NYSPHSAA qualifier and third overall, the Bees, in Saturday afternoon’s final, improved to 7:57.34 but was 10th overall, seventh in Division I. Corning won in 7:49.70.
