Grace Smith and Tedi DeMaria each won individual events to lead the Bethlehem girls track and field team to a fourth-place finish at the Section 2 Group 1 Championships Sunday, May 31, at Shenendehowa High School.
Smith defended her high jump title by clearing the bar at 5 feet, 4 inches, while DeMaria won her first pole vault championship by clearing the bar at 11 feet, 6 inches. DeMaria was also fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 33 feet, 6.75 inches.
The Lady Eagles finished with 48 points in a meet dominated by Shenendehowa and Saratoga Springs. Shen claimed the Sectional team title with 181 points, while Saratoga finished second with 164 points.
Guilderland was fifth in the girls team standings with 41 points. Sarah Forman led the Lady Dutch with a victory in the 800-meter race in a time of 2:17.15.
On the boys’ side, Guilderland was third in the team standings with 82 points, while Bethlehem finished sixth with 41 points.
Noah Carey was Guilderland’s top performer at the Group 1 meet. The sophomore won the 1,600-meter race with a time of 4:16.42, and he finished second in the 3,200-meter race with a time of 9:36.29.
Guilderland’s Harrison Bickmore and Clarence Skipper swept the top two places in the long jump. Bickmore won the Sectional title with a leap of 21 feet, 1.75 inches, while Skipper finished second with a distance of 21 feet, 0.25 inches. Marquis Chisom claimed the discus title with a throw of 144 feet, 6 inches.
Zaviir Berry was second in the high jump after he cleared the bar at 6 feet, 2 inches, and David Lennard placed second in the pole vault after clearing the bar at 12 feet for the Dutchmen.
Bethlehem didn’t have any individual champions, but it had four top-three finishes at Sectionals. Conor Kimmey was second in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 56.19 seconds, and Simon Powhida placed second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:49.49. Malick Diamonde finished third in the high jump after clearing the bar at 6 feet, 1 inch, and the 1,600-meter relay team of Hani Ahmed, Kyle Fox, Chris Davitt and JJ Besse placed third with a time of 8:14.38.
