Track

The wearing of the green

Eldred’s boys and girls win Section Nine track championships, battling adversity beyond the pale

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MIDDLETOWN, NY — Stop the presses and let the news go forth loud and clear. Eldred, yes, tiny Eldred, has won not one, but two Section Nine track and field titles by dint of sheer grit and courage, despite a spate of injuries that should have left them on the outside looking in.

More often than not, over the course of the past seven years, while this writer has been annotating Eldred track meets, it’s been a story of great individual performances but few titles. In 2006, the boys prevailed and, last year, the girls won their first sectional crown since 2002. Eldred has won its fair share of division titles, just as the boys and girls did this year, but winning the sectionals has been far more elusive.

Coach Frank Schorling knows that, when it comes to sectionals, surprises are the order of the day. It’s nice, for once, that this year what jumped out of the cake was glorious green tidings.

This year’s wins, by both the boys and girls teams, are historic and, hopefully, the teams will get the kind of respect and accolades they deserve. Somehow, and for reasons this writer cannot explain, track and field titles don’t seem to bring on the same fervor as football or basketball crowns. Eldred’s glory in those sports is well documented with its gridiron trophies, won in clashes versus Chester, and its legendary girls basketball title, won in the senior year of University of Virginia and WNBA-bound Tammi Reiss.

To win a sectional title in any sport requires enormous commitment, perseverance and talent. Clearly, Eldred had all of those at the ready and not even the kind of injuries, incurred by distance runners Christine Donnelly and Annie Babula, as well as those by high jumper Alyssa Startup and relay runner Andrea Drollinger as well documented in Ken McMillan’s article in The Times Herald-Record, could stop the green tide from its appointed task. Despite the ongoing aches and pains from ailing rib cartilage, Christina Watts prevailed in the 200.

Kudos to Schorling and his warriors, who made it seem like St. Patrick’s Day in late May with their wearing of the green. Herein follows a list of Eldred’s gold medalists:

Boys: 110 hurdles: Joey Counts (17.43), 400 hurdles: Matt Campanella (1:02.31), Long jump: Gerald King (19-3 ½), Pole vault, Nick Stymacks (7-6), Pentathlon, Brandon Startup (1,923 points).

Girls: 100: Breanna Brucher (13.52), 200: Christina Watts (27.77), Pole vault: Diana Schombs (8-6), High jump: (4-10).

The rest of the results are as follows:

Boys

Team standings and key: 1. Eldred (Eld), 211 points; 2. Chapel Field (CF), 174; 3. John A. Coleman Catholic (JAC), 137; 4. Webutuck (Web), 128; 5. Livingston Manor (LM), 35.

100: 2nd, Gerald King (Eld), 11.8.; 200: 4th, King (Eld), 24.54. 400: 2nd, Matt Campanella (Eld), 54.76; 3rd, Chas Wolff (Eld), 11:89. 800: 3rd, Alex Campanella (Eld), 2:17.47. 1,600: 3rd Campanella (Eld), 5:11.36; 6th, Nick Stymacks (Eld), 5:39.43. 3,200: 3rd, Hunter Proscia (Eld), 10:32.25; 4th, Alex Campanella (Eld), 10:33.05. 110 hurdles: 1st, Joey Counts (Eld), 17.43; 4th, Kwame Agyapon (Eld), 21.09; 6th, Iwan Sus (Eld), 21.56. 400 hurdles: 1st, Matt Campanella (Eld), 1:02.31; 3rd, Kwame Agyapon (Eld), 1:04.97.

3,000 steeplechase: 2nd, Hunter Proscia (Eld), 11:06.66; 3rd, Brian Corcoran (Eld), 12:59.3. 400 relay: 4th, Livingston Manor 52.00; 5th, Eldred 54.71. 1,600 relay 4th, Livingston Manor 4:10.47; 5th, Eldred 4:10.70. 3,200 relay: 1st, Eldred (Mathew Watts, Matt Campanella, Hunter Proscia, Alex Campanella), 9:25.52. High jump: 2nd, Wolff (Eld), 5-6; 3rd, Counts (Eld), 5-4. Long jump: 1st, King (Eld), 19-3.5; 4th, Inderpret Khanagura (LM), 17-4.5; 6th, Joey Counts (Eld), 17-2.25. Triple jump: 1st, King (Eld), 40-8.25; 4th, Joey Counts (Eld), 38-0.5; 6th, Agyapon (Eld), 34-11.25. Shot put: 5th, Stephen Rogers (LM), 36-5.75. Discus: 1st, Rogers (LM), 125-7.

Pole vault: 1st, Stymacks (Eld), 7-6. Pentathlon: 1st, Brandon Startup (Eld), 1,923; 3rd, Dylan Saavreda (Eld), 1,502.

Girls results:

Team standings and key: 1. Eldred (Eld), 211 points; 2. John A. Coleman Catholic (JAC), 193; 3. Chapel Field (CF), 137; 4. Livingston Manor (LM), 131; 5. Webutuck (Web), 60.

100: 1st, Breanna Brucher (Eld), 13.52; 3rd, Christina Watts (Eld), 13.83; 6th, Susan Misner (LM), 15.02. 200: 1st, Watts (Eld), 27.77; 4th, Brucher (Eld), 29.43. 400: 2nd, Chantel Baker (LM), 1:05.28; 4th, Christina Watts (Eld), 1:06.39; 6th, Andrea Drollinger (Eld), 1:09.66.

800: 2nd, Baker (LM), 2:37.45; 3rd, Christine Donnelly (Eld), 2:38.85. 1,500; 2nd, Donnelly (Eld), 5:26.14; 6th, Andrea Drollinger (Eld), 6:13.23. 3,000: 2nd, Drollinger (Eld), 11:36.07. 4th, Donnelly (Eld), 11:41.16. 100 hurdles: 3rd, Diana Schombs (Eld), 18.68; 4th, Erika Vorstadt (Eld), 19.18. 400 hurdles: 4th, Danielle Fredenburg (LM), 1:18.75; 5. Erika Vorstadt (Eld), 1:21.81; 6th, Imani Miranda (LM), 1:22.84. 2,000 steeplechase: 4th, Kaley Donnelly (Eld), 9:42.83. 400 relay: 1st, Livingston Manor (Money Allen, Chantel Baker, Danielle Baker, Sabrina Hinkley), 56.23; 3rd, Eldred (Lauren Alves, Emily Campanella, Erika Vorstadt, Diana Schombs), 58.34. 1,600 relay: 2nd, Livingston Manor (Chantel Baker, Paige Severing, Danielle Fredenburg, Nicole Lair), 4:40.04; 3rd, Eldred (Andrea Drollinger, Christine Donnelly, Regina Davies, Christina Watts), 4:43.05. 3,200 relay: 3rd, Eldred (Carroll Vicari, Angela Sicina, Jen Hickey, Annie Babula), 13:13.30. High jump: 1. Diana Schombs (Eld), 4-10; 2nd, Danielle Baker (LM), 4-10; 4th, Alyssa Startup (Eld), 4-.2. Long jump: 1st, Allen (LM), 15-3.5; 3rd, Sabrina Hinkley (LM), 14-10.5; 4. Danielle Baker (LM), 14-4.5. Triple jump: 2nd, Sabrina Hinkley (LM), 33-2; 3rd, Allen (LM), 32-9.5; 5th, Lauren Alves (Eld), 29-2.5. Shot put: 1st, Chaz Reed (LM), 30-10; 3rd, Shannon Hanson (Eld), 27-0; 4th, Lauren Alves (Eld), 24-6.75; 6th, Danielle Fredenburg (LM), 23-5. Discus: 1st, Reed (LM), 98-3; 2nd, Hanson (Eld), 82-11; 3rd, Alves (Eld), 76-3. Pole vault: 1st, Schombs (Eld), 8-6; 2nd, Brucher (Eld), 7-0; 3rd, Nicole Lair (LM), 6-6; 4th, Susan Misner (LM), 6-6; 5th, Regina Davies (Eld), 6-0. Pentathlon: 2nd, Lucey Snyder (Eld), 1,303; 5th, Erika Poston (Eld), 1,112; 6. Liz Heck (Eld), 695.