With every finish by every competitor important, the Cicero-North Syracuse boys track and field team emerged with an exciting victory in last Friday’s Cook-Destefano Relays at Utica Proctor.
The Northstars finished with 108 points, edging out Rome Free Academy, who was second with 107 points. Utica Proctor, with 71.5 points, claimed the third spot.
In the 400-meter hurdles, Pete Girardi’s first-place time of 58.37 seconds, combined with a third-place effort from Morgan Austen (59.95 seconds), led to a title in a combined 1:58.32. Girardi and Austen also beat the field in the 110 high hurdles with a combined 32.02 seconds.
C-NS prevailed in the 3,200-meter run, where Neil Gill took the individual title in 10 minutes, 23.70 seconds and Anthony Lupia was third in 10:39.83, for a combined time of 21:03.53. In the mile relay, Lupia was second in 4:46.26 to RFA’s Erik Winberg (4:44.98), but he combined with Paul DeGenarro, Bryan Bausinger and Colin Greenseich to win that relay, too.
Bryan Sibble, in 2:06.20, claimed individual honors in the 800-meter run and, with Evan Russell, Andrew Bearkland and Jesse Lucchetti, was second on the team side.
Mark Broughton sprinted to second in the 100-meter dash in 11.57 seconds behind Proctor’s Chris Simmons (11.10), and with Avery Yarn was second (23.46 seconds) for team considerations.
In the 200-meter dash, Broughton again was runner-up (23.94 seconds), this time behind Simmons’ Raider teammate, Aung Khiang (23.68), and again with Yarn was second on the team side with 48.23 seconds. Broughton, Yarn, Steve Mirizio and Jalen Jenkins ran the 4×100 relay in 44.39 seconds, just behind RFA (44.17) in yet another second-place effort.
Nick Antonello and Dan Gulino were second in the high jump, clearing 10 feet 10 inches between them. Bryson Mayes and Austin McDowell were third (1:51.67) in the 400-meter dash as Connor Osborne tied for second (9’6”) in the pole vault, which meant third-place team points.
Joe Castaldo and Nick Golembieski got to second place in the shot put with total throws of 84’4 ½”, as Castaldo and Logan Lickfield got to third (237’7”) in the discus. Bryson Mayes and Steve Mirizio were fifth in the long jump.
Much closer to home, the C-NS girls track team picked up 22 points at the weather-shortened East Syracuse-Minoa Invitational, tying for eighth place as Holland Patent (43 points) claimed the top spot.
Jacqlynn Halstead ran through the rain and wind to take third place in the 800 in 2:32.04, with Cheyanna Colin third (17.22) in the 100 hurdles. Destiny Monica had a third-place shot put toss of 32’4 ¼”, while Shannon Hanmer (30’2 ¼”) was fifth. Candace Segars took fifth in the discus, throwing it 90’8”.
Jade Jenkins won the first event in the pentathlon, the 100 hurdles, in 17.36 seconds, but the bad weather forced a cancellation of the remaining events.
