The Shenendehowa girls indoor track team dominated the distance races and the field events to defeat Saratoga Springs for the Division I title at last Saturday’s Section II meet at the University at Albany.
The Plainsmen finished with 167 points to take the girls team title. Saratoga settled for second place with 115 points.
Michelle Quimby led Shen by winning three field events. The senior took first place in the high jump by being the lone competitor to clear 5 feet, 4 inches. She also won the pole vault by clearing the bar at 10 feet, and she finished first in the triple jump with a distance of 34-7.5.
Danika Simonson contributed to Shen’s success with wins in the 1,000- and 1,500-meter races. The junior took first place in the 1,000 with a time of 2:58.0 and eased to the 1,500 title with a time of 4:44.5.
Freshman Lizzie Predmore finished first in the 3,000 with a time of 9:56.9, and she helped the Plainsmen’s 3,200 relay team grab a Sectional title. Predmore, Nicole Irving, Patty Massa and Alex Burtnick finished with a time of 9:40.0 to fend off Saratoga for the title.
Madalayne Smith was Saratoga’s top performer. The junior won the 55 dash in a time of 7.1 seconds, finished first in the 55 hurdles with a time of 7.8 seconds and claimed the long jump title with a leap of 17-9.75.
Brianne Bellon and Haley Franco added individual victories for the Blue Streaks. Bellon won the 600 with a time of 1:38.8, while Franco finished first in the shot put with a throw of 39-9.5.
On the boys’ side, Shen fell to Shaker by 2.5 points for the Division I team title. Shaker finished with 117.5 points, while Shen finished with 115 points. Saratoga placed fourth with 48 points.
Alex Leuchanka, Brian Trainor and Evan Palmer each won an individual event for Shen. Leuchanka was first in the 1,600 with a time of 4:24.3, Trainor finished first in the 3,200 with a time of 9:43.2 and Palmer claimed the shot put title with a throw of 48-4.25.
Saratoga’s Tim Mount won the 300 dash with a time of 36.6 seconds.
In Division II, Ballston Spa claimed the boys team title with 133 points, while Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake placed second with 112 points.
Ballston Spa’s sprinters led the way to the team title. Mike Villano won the 55 dash in a time of 6.6 seconds, Brian Yingling finished first in the 300 dash in a time of 38.2 seconds and Chris Russo edged BH-BL’s Ben Taylor and Troy’s Travon Jackson for first place in the 55 hurdles with a time of 8.5 seconds.
Yingling added a victory in the long jump with a leap of 20-2.5, and Tim Schmitt finished first in the pole vault by clearing 10-6 for the Scotties.
BH-BL’s strength was in the relays, where the Spartans won two of the three events. The team of Chris Fernandez, Eli Willig, David Taylor and Ben Taylor finished first in the 1,600 relay with a time of 3:41.9, while the quartet of Casey Ross, Brent Drapeau, Chance Wilk and Kent Harlow won the 3,200 relay in a time of 8:40.5.
Fernandez contributed a victory in the 1,000 with a time of 1:25.9 for the Spartans. Scott Maughan won the 3,200 in a time of 9:55.4, and Tanner Sellers claimed the high jump title by clearing the bar at 6 feet in fewer attempts than Schmitt or Ballston Spa teammate Mathieu Strait.
BH-BL also placed second in the girls team standings at last Saturday’s Division II meet. The Spartans finished with 111 points, 18 points behind Division II champion Holy Names.
Sam Roecker won two individual events for BH-BL. She grabbed the 1,500 title with a time of 4:51.7 three-tenths of a second ahead of teammate Molly Pezzulo and won the 3,000 in a time of 10:49.2. Kiersten Anderson was second in the 3,000 with a time of 10:49.4, and Riley Wilk finished third in a time of 10:52.7.
Pezzulo edged BH-BL teammate Meaghan Gregory for the 1,000 title. Pezzulo finished with a time of 3:00.7, while Gregory placed second with a time of 3:00.9.
Two Spartans relay teams also left UAlbany with championship patches. Roecker, Kendra Adams, Callen Gray and Larene Cameron won the 1,600 relay in a time of 4:15.1, and the team of Gregory, Anderson, Kayla DuBois and Carolyn Herkenham finished first in the 3,200 relay with a time of 10:13.3.
Ballston Spa finished sixth in the girls team standings with 26 points.“
