Alvin Porter had dutifully served on Shaker’s indoor track and field team for four years without a Suburban Council title.
Porter’s time finally came at Saturday’s league meet at the University at Albany. The senior edged Ballston Spa’s Mike Villano by .02 of a second to win the boys 55-meter dash title.
I knew this was going to be my year because I had no other chance, said Porter.
Porter took off quickly from lane four and fended off Villano’s charge to take first place in a time of 6.80 seconds.
`That was certainly his fastest race and his most important race,` said Shaker boys coach Dave Stadtlander.
Porter’s victory helped cement Shaker as the top boys team at the league meet. The Blue Bison finished with 116 points, 40 points ahead of runner-up Shenendehowa.
Other runners stepped up for Shaker at the meet. Chris Herman won the 600-meter race with a time of 1:27.78, and the 800-meter relay team of Porter, Bryan Latourneau, Reuben Feinman and Matt Dustin took first place in a time of 1:38.98.
Shaker’s Michael Ofosu had a good day in the field events. Ofosu won the triple jump with a distance of 44 feet, 9.5 inches, and he placed fifth in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 0.5 inches. Teammate Prince Abban was second in the long jump with a distance of 20 feet, 11 inches and third in the triple jump with a distance of 42 feet, 2.5 inches.
Several more Blue Bison finished in the top three of their individual events including Oluebebe Abara (second place, 300-meter dash), Brendan Dolan (second, 55 hurdles), Chris VanZetta (third, 1,000), Ryan Egan (third, 1,600) and Jesse Beche (third, shot put).
Colonie placed seventh in the boys team standings with 24 points. Griffin White had the top individual performance for the Garnet Raiders with a fourth-place finish in the pole vault.
Colonie fared better on the girls’ side, as the Lady Raiders took fifth place in the team standings with 41 points. Shaker was sixth with 30 points.
Colonie’s 800-meter relay team had the top performance. The team of Kyle Plante, Kristina Lenge, Corrine Serrano and Aimee Bacher won the race with a time of 1:49.94, nearly four seconds ahead of second-place Shaker.
Plante had a second-place performance in the 55-meter dash. The freshman finished with a time of 7.28 seconds, .19 of a second behind Saratoga Springs’ Madalayne Smith, who set a Section II record with her time of 7.09.
Molly Nephew led Shaker with a third-place finish in the high jump. The junior cleared the bar at 5 feet.
Colonie and Shaker return to the University at Albany Sunday to compete in the inaugural Great Dane Classic. The meet is the final tune-up for both teams as they prepare for the Section II, Division I championships, which take place Feb. 14.
`Now, we have to figure out how to come back stronger for Sectionals because there will be some strong teams coming in,` said Stadtlander.“
