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5-22-2021 6:39pm
DYNASTY: Saline Wins 10th Straight Boys Regional Track & Field Title
The Saline boys track and field team has done it again. The Hornets won the regional trophy - the 10th in a row for this team.
Saline piled up 130.5 points. Dexter was second with 79. It wasn't close.
Coach Al Leslie said it was a sweet victory - made sweeter because members of the class of 2020, prohibited from competing in their senior year due to COVID-19, were there to join in the celebration.
"My mind went back to last year's team that didn't get a chance to compete. To have what happened in this world and have that taken away from them is disappointing," Leslie said. "We had a great team coming back in 2020 that we thought had a great chance to win a state championship. So with the 2021 team, I reminded them, you never know when you're not going to have a chance to do something in your life that you've planned for."
The Hornets were led by some of their senior captains.
"Our captains were great. We've basically got two freshman groups this year," Leslie said.
Senior captain Andrew Victoria was regional champion in the 400, running the oval in 50.57 seconds to win by more than .75 seconds.
Senior captain Ian Hanby qualified in the shot put and discus, and was regional champion in the discus, throwing 146-05 - best by more than 16 feet.
Another senior captain, Brayden Stavros was supposed to be an all-state hopeful in the pole vault, but he broke his hand early in the season. He decided to try long jump and leaped 20-02 to take second place and qualify for the state meet.
"Brayden is one of those kids who exemplifies what we are about," Leslie said. "He didn't get down on himself. The next day he was back with a cast on trying to hope into events," Leslie said. "The long jump and pole vault are kind of similar. He just started going after it. It didn't surprise me, honestly, the type of kid and athlete Brayden is.
Coach Leslie, however, says that the key to Saline's success is depth. Other schools might have a few more stars and state-champion caliber athletes. But Saline fills its trophy cases because the coaches develop depth.
"What I've liked about this team all year is that it's a team," Leslie said. "A lot of schools are more individually-based. But we build around our relays."
Saline won the 400 relay in 43.03 seconds. Josh Rush, Nicholas Walper, Kendall Cherry and Larry Robinson raced for Saline, defeating a fast Huron team by .33 seconds.
The team Hornets settled for fourth in the 800 relay after dropping a baton. This time it was Cherry, Victoria, Rush and Walper. The 1600 relay team of James Harrison, Walper, Benjamin Faulkner and Andrew Victoria placed second in 3:28.08.
And the 3200 relay team of Harrison, Jason Whitton, Joseph Fedoronko and Nathan Luther finished third and qualified for the state meet with a time of 7.55.32.
The 100 sprint was fast. Huron's Trey Gardette crossed the finish line in 10.5 seconds - the second fastest time in MHSAA history. Six runners bested the state qualifying time of 11.15. Nicholas Walper, the Saline senior, was fourth in 11 seconds.
Saline senior Kendall Cherry set a personal best time of 22.47 in the 200 sprint and qualified for the state meet. Cherry placed fifth.
In the 1600, the Hornets qualified two more runners. Fedoronko finished third in 4:23.93 and Harrison was fourth n 4:24.67.
Pole vaulter Dolan Gonzales cleared 13-03 to take fourth and qualify for the meet.
In the high jump, Jaden Pickett qualified by clearing 5'11 and taking second place. Pickett's teammates recruited him to come out for track this year.
"We always say, recruit your school. We're glad to share athletes with other programs. Here's Jaden, who didn't come out until three weeks ago, and now he's all region and going to the state meet," Leslie said.
Many other Hornets earned medals, including all of the aforementioned relayers and state-qualifiers.
Here are the other regional medalists.
In the 400, Bobby Huckabone finished in 52.51 seconds to take seventh.
Emmet Berryhill was sixth in 4:29.96 in the 1600. Fedoronko (3rd, 9:53.83) and Max Pfeiffer (4th, 10:07.31) took home medals in the 3200. Medalists in the 110 hurdles were Christopher Capello (6th, 16:52) and Ian Gifford (8th, 16.98). Benjamin Faulker was fifth in the 300 hurdles in 42.92 to earn a regional medal.
Garrett Beazley threw 125-01 in the discus to place fourth and earn a medal.
In the long jump, Nicholas Borneo jumped 19-07.75 to take fifth.
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