Track

Breaking point

Lady Bulldogs’ one-point victory snaps Tri-Valley’s streak of 129 division wins; Bulldog boys complete Division IV sweep of Bears

By RICHARD A. ROSS

GRAHAMSVILLE, NY — With eyes riveted on the track, athletes and coaches from Division IV rivals Tri-Valley and Sullivan West watched as the day’s final event, the girls 1600 relay, unfolded on April 16.

Just moments before, Tri-Valley shot putters had ecstatically reported that they had swept the event to pick up nine critical points in a meet that had been too close to call all day. But the coaches knew that when it comes to close track meets, it’s not over until all the points are figured in. The results from the high jump were still not tallied and there was no doubt that the outcome of the 4x400 relay would be crucial to the final outcome.

Sullivan West runners Katie Manzi, Kendra Barker and Kasi Pilney had given the Lady Bulldogs a very narrow lead over Tri-Valley as the baton was handed to anchor Rianne Erlwein, just a yard ahead of Tri-Valley’s Caroline Bertholf, who took the pass from Agnes Pompeii.

The two girls, who had already paid their dues with a bevy of earlier fine runs, burst forth as their teams cheered them on. Bertholf passed Erlwein at the 100-meter mark and held the lead on the back stretch, but at the turn with about 100 meters to go, Erlwein reached down for that something extra, pulled even and finished just a 10th of a second ahead for the storied win.

Erlwein was mobbed by her teammates, who momentarily obliterated the diminutive heroine from view. When the high-jump results were tallied with Sullivan West getting first and third, the news broke that Sullivan West had won the meet by the narrowest of margins.

That 71-70 win not only put Sullivan West at the top of the division heap, it ended more than two decades of dominance by Tri-Valley in division meets dating back to 1985. The Lady Bears had won 129 consecutive division meets since losing to Eldred at a meet in Ellenville, ironically in the same event. That day, Eldred’s Tammi Reiss had out kicked Tri-Valley’s Kate Gallagher in the anchor leg to afford Eldred a win over the Lady Bears.

Since that day, Tri-Valley’s outdoor dynasty has been unblemished. Tri-Valley’s running program, under coaches Joe and Missy Iatuaro, has been nothing short of legendary as it has produced athletes of national stature and set the standard of excellence that other schools could only aspire to mirror.

But on this bright April day, Sullivan West, competing without star hurdler/sprinter/jumper Sara Alsdorf recently injured in a long jumping mishap, marshaled its forces to garner the win.

The two schools have developed a great rivalry, characterized by impeccable sportsmanship and unbridled respect. Bertholf and Erlwein hugged each other after the race. Their moms had stood side by side as the final leg unfolded, beaming at the valiant efforts put forth by their daughters.

“I knew that if we lost this race, we’d lose the meet,” said Erlwein, who had just watched her brother Austin exact a startling come-from-behind win in the final leg of the boys 1600 relay over Tri-Valley captain Nick Denman.

While the end of the meet seemed to revolve around the Duke and Dutchess of Erl, (Erlwein, that is), the day had numerous heroes and heroines.

Tri-Valley’s distance runners held sway as the Lady Bears took the 3200 relay with Rachel Sanborn, Courtney Roosa, Bertholf and Shannon Hornbeck. Roosa won the 1500, the 800 and the 3000 to do her part. The dominant senior just signed a letter of intent to attend Division I Siena College on a two-thirds scholarship.

The Lady Bears also piled up points in the discus with a first-place masterful heave of 92-10½ by Tehnyet Khan. Laura Elberth finished second in the event but Sullivan West’s Brittany Reddish got that one crucial point with a third-place finish.

Khan, Elberth and Danielle Darby gave Tri-Valley the sweep in the shot put. Tri-Valley registered strongly in the long jump won by Mareend DiMilla (13-11). Sullivan West’s Liz Peters got second and Tri-Valley’s Kelly MacNamara took third.

But quietly and resolutely, Sullivan West countered with strengths of its own. Diligently orchestrated by coach Joe Seidl, Sullivan West concentrated its athletes in places where they knew they could maximize their impact.

Peters won the 100 (13.7), the 200 (55.0) and teamed up with Lindsey Murphy, Barker and Morgan Hawkins to take the 4x100 relay. With Alsdorf sidelined, Murphy took first in the 100 hurdles (17.6), edging out Tri-Valley’s Casey Offringa. Hawkins got third in the event and won the pole vault and the 400 intermediate hurdles too.

Manzi was victorious in the 400, took second in the 100, second in the 200 and ran a leg in the winning 1600 relay.

Barker won the triple jump (27-6) and the high jump (4-10) but the Lady Bears refused to yield. MacNamara and Kaityln Torres got second and third in the triple jump. MacNamara took third in the long jump and Pompeii took second in the high jump. Heather Knox and Emma Tingley took second and third in the pole vault but Sullivan West just kept on coming.

Katrina Graby managed a valuable third place in the high jump. Pilney added a third in the 400 and point by point, the meet approached its iconic finish.

Sullivan West (3-0, 3-0 OCIAA) and Tri-Valley (2-1, 2-1 OCIAA) are far from finished with each other. The final encounter will be the sectional meet where the Lady Bears will look to defend their title, just like they did this past winter when Sullivan West shocked them by winning the division crown.

Sullivan West boys hold sway over Bears in a hard-fought Division IV battle

While it lacked the same historical drama of the girls meet, the war between the Sullivan West and Tri-Valley boys teams was highly competitive. Sullivan West coach Ron Bauer was reckoning with the loss of 2007 standout Donald Cooper, who transferred to Newburgh Free Academy, and Daniel Figueroa, who had rendered himself ineligible.

Reckoning with the Bears’ dominance in the throwing realm, the Dawgs hoped to get some points in the discus or shot put to minimize the Bears’ greatest force field.

As expected, Tri-Valley’s Garret Grey took first in the shot put (50-2½) and the discus, heaving his lifetime best in the latter with a remarkable 151-2. Tanzeel Khan and Bob Fiedler gave the Bears the expected sweep in the shot put. But Sullivan West’s Eric DeLaurencio threw a stunning 140-3— to break up the Bears’ triple play in the discus. Khan took third in the event. DeLaurencio won the long jump (17-2) as well, besting Grey and Tri-Valley’s Jesse Horos.

Counteracting Tri-Valley’s power in those events, Sullivan West answered with a sweep of the triple jump as Will Schlott (36-7), Kyle Flynn and Brandon Wagner combined for nine points.

Schlott won the 100 (11.8) and the 200 (24.2) as the Dawgs’ advantage in the sprints carried over into the 400 relay as Schlott Rich Feeney, Flynn and T.J. Telesky sped to victory.

Sullivan West won the 3200 relay with Colin Seidl, Matt Layman, Russell Bryan and Dallas Ripley and the day’s last event, the 1600 relay with Layman, Erlwein, Ripley and Telessky. Erlwein’s come-from-behind win in the final 25 meters over Nick Denman was one of the most memorable moments of the day. Erlwein took second in the pole vault behind Tri-Valley’s Greg Knox (10-0). Denman took second in the 800 and the 1600, running with a cast on his arm from a recent mishap.

Seidl proved his dominance in the 800 (2:07.9), the 1600 (4:52) and the 3200 (11:13), while Tri-Valley got a strong day from Jake Gray, who won the 400 intermediate hurdles (65.7) and the 110 hurdles (18.5).

In the end, the Bulldogs (3-0, 3-0 OCIAA) showed fine depth and prevailed over their three-season rivals.

Look for the two teams to go at it again when sectionals roll around as Sullivan West looks to unseat the defending Class C champs with the same moxie it used to rise to the top of the division. For Tri-Valley’s part, holding on to that title will be priority number one.

Can’t wait!

Visit riverreportersports.com for complete results and pictures.