There were enough twists and turns in Saturday’s Eddy Meet boys invitational mile race that it belonged on a cross country course instead of Union College’s track.
There were several lead changes before Shenendehowa’s Mike Danaher fended off Colonie’s Tyler Stewart and Niskayuna’s Louis Serafini for first place.
Coach (Don Paretta) told me that there’s a big trophy for the winner, so I focused on this since (Friday), said Danaher.
Voorheesville’s Macky Lloyd took the lead on the first lap before Niskayuna’s Louis Serafini and Guilderland’s Roland Graves caught him. Serafini had the lead midway through the race, but Graves caught him on the front stretch to grab a slim advantage.
`The race went out a little slower than I would have liked, so I took it out front,` said Serafini.
Danaher and Stewart moved up to the front of the pack on the third lap, but Serafini and Graves remained within striking distance. Stewart took the lead on the back stretch of the final lap, but Danaher and Serafini gathered themselves and moved past Stewart as they hit the final 100 yards.
`It was a shock because I know I have a strong final kick,` said Stewart. `For them to pass me was a surprise.`
`With 100 (yards) to go, I was thinking I was still in it because either (Danaher or Stewart) could have dropped back,` said Serafini.
As it turned out, Danaher wasn’t going to look back. He gained the lead over Serafini and held on for a half-second victory over Stewart and Serafini. Danaher finished with a time of 4:22.31, while Stewart took second in a time of 4:22.81. Serafini placed third in a time of 4:22.86, and Graves took fourth place in a time of 4:24.23.
`It’s a huge win,` said Danaher. `The season has been up and down for me, so I’m happy I’m in position for a title.`
`We didn’t expect him to kick like that, but we expected him to do well,` said Paretta.
The boys invitational mile race was one of several highlights for Shen, which won the Eddy Meet team title with 92.5 points. James Schwendtner placed in the top two of his throwing events to earn the boys MVP award, and Patrell Brown and Zac Suriano added respective victories in the 400- and 800-meter races.
`We put everybody in trying to win (individual) trophies, and it seemed to work out well for us,` said Paretta.
Schwendtner ` one of Section II’s most dominant throwers ` won the discus with a season-high distance of 165 feet, 3 inches and placed second in the shot put with a throw of 50 feet, 5.25 inches.
`He usually has trouble having consistent throws in both events on the same day, but he put it all together today,` Paretta said of Schwendtner.
Brown cruised to victory in the 400 with a time of 48.90 seconds. Brown’s Shen teammate, Charles Karam, was second in a time of 51.08 seconds while running in a slower heat.
Suriano and teammate Ryan Jones swept the top two places in the 800. Suriano finished first in a time of 1:52.06, and Jones placed second in a time of 1:54.49.
On the girls’ side, Saratoga’s Madalyne Smith set a meet record in the 100-meter high hurdles, while Latham’s Claire Hardwick ` an Academy of Holy Names student ` placed her name in the meet’s record books with her victory in the 3,000.
Smith defeated Uniondale’s Ashley Hendrix with a time of 14.10 seconds to take the 100 hurdles title and break Saratoga graduate Amer Stanley’s record of 14.41 seconds set in 1998. Hardwick won the 3,000 in a time of 10:05.79 to break Scotia-Glenville student Jillian King’s record time of 10:08.59, which King set as an eighth grader in 2004.
Holy Names finished a close second to Long Island power Bay Shore in the girls team standings. Bay Shore won with 77 points, while Holy Names finished with 76.5 points. “