Bethlehem’s Brian Greenberg and Guilderland’s Harrison Bickmore warmed up for Tuesday’s Section II Division I track and field championships by winning their specialty events at the Eddy Meet Saturday, May 17, at Schenectady High School.
Greenberg took first place in the boys triple jump with a distance of 46 feet, 1 inch, while Bickmore needed a tiebreaker to edge two others for the high jump championship.
“It’s awesome. It’s my first major trophy,” said Bickmore, who cleared the bar at 6 feet in fewer attempts than Bethlehem’s Liam Martens and Bay Shore’s Cordell Nix.
“Been coming to this meet for three years, and this is my first win here,” said Greenberg. “Got pretty close to my PR (personal record), too.”
Greenberg said he chose to focus strictly on the triple jump because he knew he’d be busy at Tuesday’s Sectional meet, where he planned to compete in four events.
“I didn’t do the long jump or the 100 (dash) today,” said Greenberg.
The high jump has been Bickmore’s specialty all season. The junior has won nearly every invitational title in his breakthrough season.
“He’s got a great work ethic,” said Guilderland coach Jason Usher. “He put in a lot of time in the off-season in the weight room building up strength, which helps him as a high jumper.”
Though Bickmore hasn’t come close to Usher’s school record of 6 feet, 9.25 inches yet, Usher said it may not be long before Bickmore gets there. Bickmore’s personal best this season has been 6 feet, 2 inches.
“I definitely wasn’t surprised that he (cleared 6 feet, 2 inches), but it’s only the beginning of what he can do,” said Usher. “There’s no limit to what he can do.”
Bickmore and Greenberg weren’t the only ones to leave Schenectady with Eddy Meet trophies. Bethlehem’s Steve Booker edged Guilderland’s Jon Feil for the boys seeded 800-meter race title. Booker finished with a time of 1:57.97, while Feil placed second with a time of 1:58.03.
Guilderland’s Drew Burns was part of a record-setting pace in the unseeded 800-meter race. Burns finished first with a time of 2:00.23, which shattered Kim Certain’s record of 2:08.96 set in 1986. The first 22 finishers in the 32-runner field all had times lower than Certain’s record.
On the girls’ side, Bethlehem’s Grace Smith warmed up for Sectionals by winning the high jump with a cleared height of 5 feet, 5 inches. Victoria Godden of Chenango Forks was second after she cleared 5 feet, 4 inches in fewer attempts than Bay Shore’s Aviana Goode and Cooperstown’s Lucy Ford.
Academy of Holy Names senior Leah Triller – a Slingerlands resident – took first place in the girls seeded 800-meter race with a time of 2:12.65.
