Though each indoor track and field season for CNY Indoor Track Association sides starts with the Jack Morse Kickoff Meet, this one had a bit more meaning.
That’s because the event’s namesake, Jack Morse, a long-time radio and television sportscaster who spent a large part of his four-decade career highlighting area high school sports, passed away in November at age 84.
Baldwinsville’s indoor track team was part of the Thursday portion of this two-day event, and won both the boys and girls titles.
The boys Bees had 94 points, well clear of Cazenovia’s runner-up total of 71 points, while the girls Bees got a scare from Cazenovia and Fayetteville-Manlius, yet won with 87 points to the Lakers’ 85 and the Hornets’ 84.
Dominating field events, the B’ville boys had Ryan Dupra clear 6 feet 3 inches to win the high jump and gain team honors with Owen Weaver, who topped 5’6″. In the triple jump, Weaver and Aidan Priest prevailed with 75’5″, Weaver second among individuals with 39’11 1/4″.
Steven Miller, second in the individual shot put with 39’2 1/4″, paired with Adam Graham for the team victory with 75’8 1/2″, while in the weight throw Miller (second) and Alex Boak (fourth) finished on top, their throws adding up to 81’2″.
On the way to the 1,600-meter team title in 19:51.98, B’ville was 1-2 individually, Jack Michaels taking the top spot in 4:42.21 to edge teammate Colin Delaney, who posted 4:43.10. That predated a sprint medley relay where Weaver, Sam Mellinger, Kenneth Svitak and Connor Waldron got a Bees victory in 3:53.02, the only time under four minutes.
Quinn Peters, David Mahar, Logan Hayes and Robert Thompson went 1:42.24 in the 4×200 relay, just behind the winning 1:42.09 from Institute of Technology Central. Thompson and Aden Kostolecki were fourth in the long jump.
Matt Komuda cleared 9 feet in the pole vault for third-place points. The Bees also finished fourth in the 4×800 relay in 9:41.89 and fourth in the 4×400 (4:08.76) as Tom Hagopian and Tom Bernardin got fifth place in the 55-meter hurdles.
On the girls side at the Morse meet, the Bees also excelled at field events, including the pole vault, where Ella Smith’s clearance of 7’6″ meant an individual title and 10 first-place team points, too. In the weight throw, B’ville had three of the top four finishers, with Sarah Smiley heaving it 29’10” to beat Kathryn Mitts (27’2″) and Lauren Shaler (26’9″).
Lauren Addario, by herself, got fourth-place points in the triple jump thanks to her individual victory with 37’3 1/2″. Hannah Johnson and Allyson Surowick paired for 29’7 1/4″ in the long jump, second to F-M (31’3 1/2″), while Karen Ekure and Natalia Lewis were second in the high jump, combining to top 9’3″.
Vivian Holden-Betts, Sarah Fawwaz, Annabelle Horan and Sage Springsteen won the 1,500-meter four-runner event in 23:50.43, while in the sprint medley Addario, Ekure, Olivia Creelman and Anna Conklin were second in 4:53.19.
Mary Sabatino, Lily Horan, Emilee Salzman and Catherine Thompson were third in the 4×800 in 12:13.58. Johnson, Brianna Natoli, Katie Nice and Bailey Nicholson got third in the 4×400 in 4:40.71 as Courtney Bostic, Madison Kennedy, Brook Wirtheim and Olivia Muscolino took third place in the 4×200 in 2:01.43.
Elsewhere, Surowick and Nadia Kozman were fifth in the 55 hurdles, with Carlie Desimone and Alida Menickelli fifth in the 55 sprint. Shaler and Sarah Smiley were sixth in the shot put.
