As it does each May, the Christian Brothers Academy track and field teams brought in top athletes from across the area for the Brother Basilian Invitational at Alibrandi Stadium, and the home sides had plenty of reason to smile by the time it was all done.
In the boys meet, CBA won five times, including the 4×400 relay, where Jack Brower, Zach Zajdel, Matt Stedman and Danny O’Connor posted a time of three minutes, 33.2 seconds to hold off Sauquoit Valley (3:35.5) and the rest of the field.
Jack Brower went on to claim the 800-meter run in 2:00.7, where East Syracuse-Minoa teammates Joe Coogan (2:02.3) and Jesse Perrone (2:03.2) were third and fourth, respectively.
Meanwhile, David Carey was victorious in the 3,200-meter run in 10:16.9, while Dametrius Brown needed 11.1 seconds to take the 100-meter dash. Will Brower, third in the 110 high hurdles (16.7 seconds), would claim the high jump by clearing 5 feet 11 inches as ESM’s Corey Vollmer dominated the pole vault with a top clearance of 12’7”.
In the girls Basilian meet, Megan Ann Pierce needed 10:35.4 to prevail in the 3,000-meter run after Maggie Fletcher, Allie Eber, Julia Germain and Maire Kate McGlynn combined to run the 4×800 relay in 10:32.1 and take first place.
Anna Schug won the 400 sprint in 1:01 flat, while Gabby Schug went 5:00.4 in the 1,500-meter run, edging out McGlynn (5:01.2) for second place behind Skaneateles’ Kaitlyn Neal, who won in 4:58.1.
Just 24 hours later, McGlynn was victorious in the 2,000-meter steeplechase during the Rome Invitational at Rome Free Academy Stadium, her time of 7:30 flat more than five seconds better than Watertown IHC’s Gabby Thompson as Gabby Schug (8:01.6) was fifth.
Meanwhile, Anna Schug nearly won the 200 sprint in Rome, her time of 26.60 seconds just behind Bethlehem’s Arnelle Thomas, who won in 25.50 seconds.
Jamesville-DeWitt and ESM were also at the Rome meet, the Red Rams picking up 37 points for sixth place as the Spartans had 18 points. Bethlehem, with 84.5 points, earned the top spot.
Taylor-Rae Danforth, who was seventh in the 100 hurdles, cleared 9 feet in the pole vault, second to West Genesee’s Abby Uczen (9’6”)., while Patrece Martin went 35’4 ¾” in the triple jump for a runner-up finish behind Bethlehem’s Vicky Buehler (37’5 ¼”).
Ally Fox needed 1:00.21 to get to third place in the 400-meter dash, while Rachel Fairbanks was third in the 800-meter run in 2:17.51. The Rams were fourth in the 1,600 sprint medley relay (4:34.26) as Allison Semmel took fifth in the 400 hurdles (1:12.14) and Salwa El-Hindi took sixth in the shot put with a top throw of 31’9 ¼”.
ESM was victorious in the 4×800, where Juilette Miller, Gabby Pallotta, Grace Maring and Natalie Marra broke the 10-minute mark, winning in 9:59.93, well clear of runner-up Remsen (10:14.43) and the field. Nina Zesky, meanwhile, finished seventh in the long jump and cleared 5’2” in the high jump, second to RFA’s Dana Husband, who beat Zesky by one inch.
A day earlier, J-D’s boys team picked up 20 points and a tie for 12th at the New Hartford Invitational, eight of them from Zach Liebmann clearing 12’6” in the pole vault for second place behind Camden’s Aaron Davis, whose 13’6” is the best in Section III this spring.
Taumeras Howard, Dylan Volk, Samuel Dye and Will Hohreiter were third in the 1,600 sprint medley in 3:56.52. Howard, Volk, Zach Liebmann and Nate Sturgeon were fourth in the 4×100 in 44.65 seconds, not far from Utica Proctor’s winning time of 44 seconds flat. Hohreiter was sixth in the mile in 4:42.81 and Volk took sixth (40’9 ¼”) in the triple jump.
