ALBANY — Bethlehem placed third in the boys team standings at the Section 2 Division 1 Indoor Track and Field Championships Friday, Feb. 19, at the University at Albany.
The Eagles finished with 86 points on the strength of two winning relay teams. Shenendehowa claimed the team title with 134 points, and Saratoga Springs placed second with 89 points.
Bethlehem won the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 3:37.51, .13 seconds ahead of runner-up Colonie. The Eagles also won the 3,200-meter relay with a time of 8:30.18.
Dawson Homer contributed a pair of second-place finishes for Bethlehem. Homer was the runner-up in the 1,600-meter race with a time of 4:34.43, and he placed second in the 3,200-meter event with a time of 10:04.37.
Nate Brands was second in the 300-meter dash with a time of 37.49 seconds, and teammate Malick Diamonde took third place with a time of 37.77 seconds for the Eagles. Diamonde was also second in the high jump with a cleared height of 6 feet, 2 inches.
Shaker had a pair of individual champions at the Division 1 meet. Paul Nichols won the 3,200-meter race with a time of 9:54.48, and Ronel Forde took first place in the triple jump with a distance of 47 feet, 5 inches.
Guilderland also produced a pair of individual champions. Zaviir Berry won the high jump by clearing the bar at 6 feet, 4 inches, and Clarence Skipper finished first in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 11.75 inches.
Shaker was fourth in the team standings with 66 points, followed by Guilderland in fifth place with 43 points.
On the girls’ side, Shen finished first in the team standings with 159 points, and Saratoga was second with 130 points. Bethlehem claimed third place with 72 points.
Tedi DeMaria led Bethlehem with a victory in the pole vault and a third-place finish in the triple jump. DeMaria cleared the bar at a conservative 11 feet to win the pole vault, and she posted a distance of 34 feet, 6.5 inches to tie teammate Samantha Gifford, who earned second place in a jump-off. Gifford was also the runner-up in the long jump with her leap of 16 feet, 1.25 inches.
Guilderland’s Bella Bruno also turned in a pair of strong performances at the Division 1 meet. Bruno won the long jump with a leap of 16 feet, 9.25 inches, and she was third in the high jump after clearing the bar at 5 feet. Bethlehem’s Sophie Lane was second to Albany’s Eileen Bequette in the high jump after she cleared the bar at 5 feet, 2 inches.
Shaker’s Nia Joyner and Colonie’s Lydia Frick won individual events. Joyner finished first in the triple jump with a distance of 35 feet, 3.75 inches, and Frick claimed the 1,500-meter race walk title with a time of 8:15.25.