The Shenendehowa boys indoor track and field team had little trouble defending its Suburban Council championship, even though it was missing one of its top runners.
With Steve Murdock running at the Boston Indoor Games, the Plainsmen used their depth to run away with top team honors at Saturday’s league meet at the University at Albany. Eighteen different athletes placed in the top six of their individual events to help Shen finish with 130 points, more than double what runner-up Colonie (64 points) had.
Tyler Fogarty, Cain Carr and Zac Suriano each won individual titles to lead the Plainsmen. Fogarty took first place in the 300-meter dash with a time of 38.16 seconds, while Carr won the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.79 seconds. Suriano took first place in the 1,000 with a time of 2:33.85.
Suriano was one of three Shen runners to earn points in the 1,000. Corey Clavet was third with a time of 2:42.15, and Mike Wilbur took sixth place with a time of 2:45.35. The Plainsmen duplicated that feat in the 1,600, with Zach Predmore leading the way with a second-place finish in a time of 4:26.94. Adam Quinn was third with a time of 4:29.16, and Tom Soeller finished sixth in a time of 4:38.64.
Shen’s other victory came in the boys 1,600 relay. The team of Fogarty, Seth Whitaker, Kyle Rome and Chris Campoli finished with a time of 3:41.22. The Plainsmen’s 800 and 3,200 relay teams added second-place performances.
Ballston Spa also had a strong Suburban Council meet. The Scotties placed fourth with 46 points, five points behind third-place Shaker.
Ballston Spa was led by its 800 relay team of Robert Carr, Eric Marciano, Matt Pastore and Brian Yingling. The Scotties nipped Shen at the finish line to take the league title with a time of 1:38.77.
Carr had the top individual performance for Ballston Spa. He placed second to Fogarty in the 300 dash with a time of 38.26 seconds. John Russo added a third-place finish in the 55 hurdles finals with a time of 8.80 seconds.
Saratoga struggled to a ninth-place finish in the boys team standings, but the Blue Streaks produced a league champion in Demetri Goutos. The sophomore won the 3,200 title with a time of 10:03.17, nearly two seconds ahead of runner-up Mike Danaher from Shen.
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake placed seventh in the team standings with 23 points. Cody Buell had the top performance for the Spartans with a second-place finish in the 600 in a time of 1:25.53.
On the girls side, Saratoga received big performances from Madalayne Smith and Hannah Davidson to fend off Colonie for the league title.
Smith showed the Blue Streaks have some sprinting talent to go along with its traditional strength, distance running. The freshman won the 55 dash in a time of 7.46 seconds and added a victory in the 55 hurdles with a time of 8.58 seconds. Sophomore Abby Ochse contributed a victory in the 600 with a time of 1:41.59, 1.5 seconds ahead of Ballston Spa’s Erika Brockman.
Davidson matched Smith with two individual titles. The junior won the 1,500 in a time of 4:49.66 .28 seconds ahead of teammate Brianne Bellon and took first place in the 3,000 with a time of 10:15.03.
The victories by Davidson, Smith and Ochse helped Saratoga finish with 84 points, 16 points ahead of Colonie. Shen was third with 67.5 points, Ballston Spa placed sixth with 47 points and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake finished seventh with 45 points.
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake produced two individual champions. Kendra Adams won the 300 dash with a time of 42.51 seconds, and Meaghan Gregory claimed the 1,000 title with a time of 3:00.53. Amy Cuomo earned points in two events, including a second-place finish in the triple jump with a distance of 33 feet, 7.5 inches.
Ballston Spa’s strength came in the shot put, where Scotties claimed the top two places. Kaitlyn Staulters earned the league title with a throw of 35 feet, 9 inches, while Nicole Laiacona placed second with a throw of 33 feet, 11.75 inches.
Shen had no individual champions, but two of its athletes placed second. Laura Morehouse finished second to Smith in the 55 dash with a time of 7.53 seconds, and Angela Villanova took second place in the pole vault by clearing 9 feet, 9 inches.
Shen, Ballston Spa and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake will compete in Sunday’s Engineer Games at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ` the last Capital District meet before Sectionals.“
