Depth and versatility were the traits that helped the Liverpool girls track and field team control last Wednesday’s meet against Baldwinsville at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium.
Even without winning any of the three relay contests, the Warriors still beat the Bees by a comfortable 92-49 margin.
And it did so with just one multiple winner — Janeeka Benson, who roared through the 100-meter high hurdles in 15.2 seconds and added a title in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:08.4.
Wanetta Rodney added a 100-meter dash title in 12.4 seconds, while Trina Bills got a victory in the 400-meter dash in a clocking of 1:02.4.
As part of a sweep of three distance running events, Miranda McConnell claimed first in the 800-meter run in 2:30.7, while Brigid Heenan needed 5:08.2 to prevail at 1,500 meters and Brigid Heenan got a win in the 3,000-meter run in 11:28.9.
In field events, Harmony Cross cleared 4 feet 10 inches in the high jump, as Emily Chen won the pole vault by surpassing 7 feet 6 inches. Tyler Ash threw the shot put 31 feet 4 inches as Savannah Forrell gained a victory in the discus, tossing it 83 feet 8 inches.
Liverpool kept it up a day later, when the boys Warriors took its turn at Baldwinsville and knocked off the Bees 90-51, a number nearly identical to the girls meet.
T.J. Davis had a big day. He ran the 100-meter dash in 11.1 seconds, then went 21 feet 5 1/2 inches in the long jump and took the 200-meter dash in 22.8 seconds.
Ethan Hickey, for his part, needed 4:34.4 to tear through the mile, then held off B’ville’s Seth Jackson for a winning time of 10:00.2 in the 3,200-meter run. Pat Single swept through the shot put (47 3 3/4 inches) and discus (112 feet 6 inches) throwing events.
Corey Bundrage needed just 15.04 seconds to prevail in the 110-meter high hurdles, as Colin Savage took the 400-meter dash (52.6 seconds) and Eddie Reynolds claimed the 400 hurdles in 1:03.4.
Hickey joined Bryan Picciotto, Kevin Harper and Savage in the 4×800 relay (8:15.3), which beat B’ville by 3.1 seconds. Davis and Bundrage teamed with Justin Albro and Pedro Torres to run the 4×100 relay in 43.08 seconds.
Liverpool’s boys team came back to B’ville on Saturday for the John Arcaro Memorial Relays, where it tied Corcoran for second place, with 82 points, as Cicero-North Syracuse won with 122 points.
Twice, the Warriors came out on top, including the long jump, where Davis (21 feet 3 inches) helped build a combined total of 38 feet 11 inches. Picciotto and Dan Szilagyi combined to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 21:02.1.
Liverpool also had second-place finishes in the 110 high hurdles (34.1 seconds), with Reynolds involved, and the high jump, where Davis led to a combined height of 11 feet 6 inches. The Warriors were third in the distance medley, 4×200, 4×1,600 and shot put, plus tied for second in the pole vault.
As this was going on, Liverpool’s girls, as co-hosts of the Warriors/ Hawks Invitational at Central Square, had plenty of winning efforts.
Bills dominated the 800-meter run, winning in 2:20.1, more than eight seconds clear of the field, as Heenan took the title in the 2,000-meter steeplechase in 7:44.5 and Melissa Riehl finished second.
Riehl, Bills McConnell and Ashley Warren combined to win the sprint medley relay in 4:37.7, and Warren returned to help the 4×400 relay team prevail in 4:29.3, and the Warriors got third in the 4×800 in 10:37.8.
Benson roared through the 400 hurdles in 1:07.3, the only competitor to break the 1:10 mark, as Hannah Anthes stepped up to win the 200-meter dash in 26.4 seconds while also placing third (1:02.5) at 400 meters. Rodney got beat at the wire by Utica Proctor’s Geonitta McClain though both finished in 12 seconds.
Chen won the pole vault with a clearance of 9 feet 6 inches, just as Jen Culp was gaining third in the shot put with a toss of 31 feet 5 1/2 inches. Tyler Ash tried the pentathlon and finished fourth with 2,457 points. CNS’s Monique Roberts (3,452 points) had the third-best pentathlon total in state history.
