SECTIONALS RECAP
It's been a few days since the Sectional meet, which is going down as the single most successful in Immaculata Track history. Out of the 23 boys and girls that competed, a whopping 17 of them have qualified for the Group meet through both individual events and relays. In addition, the Boys team recorded the highest point count and team finish in school history at 56 points for 3rd place -- at a State meet.
How did this happen?
Well, you could say it was luck, but at the end of the day each and every one of the athletes that competed turned out to be the hardest working of the bunch, and evidently all that hard work paid off. That being said, there were a few key, almost lucky performances that helped push the team a little further in the rankings. Just like the Sectionals preview, we'll run down the list of events and give a short description of the action.
Boys 100m, 200m
Avery Lawrence's legs feeling fresh enough for competition at Sectionals gave Gianni Riga some relief and a teammate to fall back on in case things went awry. Luckily, they didn't. As expected, Charles Fields was untouchable, but with Lawrence in the mix the race behind him was wide open. The prelims were close, but both Lawrence and Riga made it to the final taking up the 5th and 6th spots, respectively. In the final, Fields blew away the pack, easily running 11.05 for 1st place. Lawrence took the 4th spot in 11.59, while Riga took 6th in 11.62, just .01 seconds off of 5th.
Fields' margin of victory wasn't as great in the 200m, as Lawrence fought hard but finished right behind him in a school record 23.07. Riga placed 5th in 23.35, taking home some points and also qualifying for Groups. Christian Bryson, although not qualifying, had an incredibly strong race and just missed the cutoff by .05 seconds.
Boys 110m Hurdles
The hurdles were cruel to Danny Rogers, as he found difficulty in both the prelim and the final finding a rhythm. Nevertheless, he was able to execute the job and finished 8th in 20.21 to advance to Groups as the school's first ever state competitor in the event.
Boys 400m Hurdles, 800m
Surprise hurdler Mark Schwalm was popping Advils before his race due to pain in his heel that caused us some concern over how he would perform. However, we knew he was a fighter, and it showed in the way he raced -- Schwalm took it out aggressively but was swallowed by the top 3 over the last half of the race. He held on for 4th in 62.14, a strong performance given that it was his second time ever contesting the event.
Schwalm was ready to compete in the 800m, as he was in the front pack right from the gun. After a strong first lap, Schwalm took the lead with 300 to go, opening up a slight gap on his competitors. Unfortunately, he lost his lead with 100 to go as first and second place had more left to give, but Schwalm still managed to squeeze a school record 2:03 flat from his 3rd place finish.
Boys 1600m, 3200m
Just as expected, the race strung out quickly from the beginning, with Mater Dei's John Spinelli leading the charge at sub-4:30 pace. Not many could stick with him, as he ended up with a 6-second gap on the field. Mike Paustian was able to back off from the pace after the first 400 went out at a blistering pace, but the damage was done. At 1200, Paustian began to strain a bit, but he held on to that coveted 6th spot to finish in 4:45.19.
The 3200m race played out similarly to the 1600, although the pack strung out a lot faster, with gaps forming just within the first quarter of the race. By then, it was almost guaranteed that Paustian would take 3rd, as there were no other runners within his range. And he did, finishing in 10:28.01.
Boys High Jump
We knew coming into the meet that Christian Bryson was a jack-of-all-trades, as he had not only raw speed but talent in the jumping events as well. What we didn't know was that he also had a shot at placing in the high jump. In fact, Bryson himself had doubts about even trying the event. We're glad that he let his guard down and tried it.
The officials knew that this kid had no idea what he was doing, but all jokes were silenced when Bryson was one of the last contenders remaining in the final stages of the event. After easily clearing the first few heights, Bryson started to struggle around the 5-08 mark, where 2nd place Isaiah McClain of Mater Dei was able to get the upper hand on him, clearing the height earlier than Bryson. However, it came down to the 6 foot bar to decide the winner, where only one boy was able to clear it. But by then, Bryson's 3rd place spot was sealed -- as was the school record.
Boys 4x100m, 4x400m, 4x800m
The potential to win the 4x100m was there back in 2016, where a fledgling team of novice sprinters broke records and made it all the way to MOCs. This year, the team of Avery Lawrence, Gianni Riga, Ken Cebedo, and Christian Bryson had much more experience, and had the fastest seed time coming into the meet as well. On race day, they proved to be the best in the field, executing almost perfect handoffs to come home in 45.22, an easy victory for one of the strongest squads in Non-Public B.
There was no pressure in neither the 4x400 nor the 4x800, as any spot taken would have sealed the deal for Groups. Nevertheless, both teams had strong performances -- the 4x400 placed 5th, and the 4x800 snagged 3rd and managed a 9:16.82 school record time.
Girls 3200m
After a tough 800m race, Ali Wehrhahn wasn't sure if she had the legs to race the 3200m later on in the day, but she was brave enough to give it a try. In the end, it payed off. Although we knew that the race would be hard to win, a nice little pack formed behind 1st and 2nd place that Wehrhahn was able to stick with until the last 800. She ended up placing 5th in 12:27.47, destroying her previous PR in the process.
Girls 4x400m, 4x800m
Just like in the Boys relays, the 4x400m and 4x800m teams needed only to finish without a DQ to move on to groups. Both teams were able to get the job done: the 4x400m team of Caroline Onderko, Chinonso Morsindi, Haley Rogers, and Kelly Griffin placed 7th in the race with a 4:44.32 performance. The 4x800m team of Onderko, Rogers, Ali Wehrhahn and Carly Makowicz was able to get 5th in 11:02.36, a very solid finish.
The 3200m race played out similarly to the 1600, although the pack strung out a lot faster, with gaps forming just within the first quarter of the race. By then, it was almost guaranteed that Paustian would take 3rd, as there were no other runners within his range. And he did, finishing in 10:28.01.
Boys High Jump
We knew coming into the meet that Christian Bryson was a jack-of-all-trades, as he had not only raw speed but talent in the jumping events as well. What we didn't know was that he also had a shot at placing in the high jump. In fact, Bryson himself had doubts about even trying the event. We're glad that he let his guard down and tried it.
The officials knew that this kid had no idea what he was doing, but all jokes were silenced when Bryson was one of the last contenders remaining in the final stages of the event. After easily clearing the first few heights, Bryson started to struggle around the 5-08 mark, where 2nd place Isaiah McClain of Mater Dei was able to get the upper hand on him, clearing the height earlier than Bryson. However, it came down to the 6 foot bar to decide the winner, where only one boy was able to clear it. But by then, Bryson's 3rd place spot was sealed -- as was the school record.
Boys 4x100m, 4x400m, 4x800m
The potential to win the 4x100m was there back in 2016, where a fledgling team of novice sprinters broke records and made it all the way to MOCs. This year, the team of Avery Lawrence, Gianni Riga, Ken Cebedo, and Christian Bryson had much more experience, and had the fastest seed time coming into the meet as well. On race day, they proved to be the best in the field, executing almost perfect handoffs to come home in 45.22, an easy victory for one of the strongest squads in Non-Public B.
There was no pressure in neither the 4x400 nor the 4x800, as any spot taken would have sealed the deal for Groups. Nevertheless, both teams had strong performances -- the 4x400 placed 5th, and the 4x800 snagged 3rd and managed a 9:16.82 school record time.
Girls 3200m
After a tough 800m race, Ali Wehrhahn wasn't sure if she had the legs to race the 3200m later on in the day, but she was brave enough to give it a try. In the end, it payed off. Although we knew that the race would be hard to win, a nice little pack formed behind 1st and 2nd place that Wehrhahn was able to stick with until the last 800. She ended up placing 5th in 12:27.47, destroying her previous PR in the process.
Girls 4x400m, 4x800m
Just like in the Boys relays, the 4x400m and 4x800m teams needed only to finish without a DQ to move on to groups. Both teams were able to get the job done: the 4x400m team of Caroline Onderko, Chinonso Morsindi, Haley Rogers, and Kelly Griffin placed 7th in the race with a 4:44.32 performance. The 4x800m team of Onderko, Rogers, Ali Wehrhahn and Carly Makowicz was able to get 5th in 11:02.36, a very solid finish.
Raw Statistics
Boys Team - 3rd place in Non-Public B South with 56 points
Group Qualifiers
100m Dash: Avery Lawrence (4th) , Gianni Riga (6th)
110H: Danny Rogers (8th)
200: Avery Lawrence (2nd -- school record 23.07), Gianni Riga (5th)
400H: Mark Schwalm (4th)
800: Mark Schwalm (3rd -- school record 2:03.00)
1600: Mike Paustian (6th)
3200: Mike Paustian (3rd)
High Jump: Christian Bryson (3rd -- school record 5-10)
4 x 100: Avery Lawrence, Gianni Riga, Ken Cebedo, Christian Bryson (1st)
4 x 400: Mark Schwalm, Mike Paustian, Danny Rogers, Jack Boyda (5th)
4 x 800: Mike Paustian, TJ Harkins, Jack Hendrzak, Sam Jaskolski (3rd -- school record 9:16.82)
Girls Team
3200: Ali Wehrhahn (5th)
4 x 800: Ali Wehrhahn, Caroline Onderko, Haley Rogers, Carly Makowicz (5th)
4 x 400: Caroline Onderko, Chinonso Morsindi, Haley Rogers, Kelly Griffin (7th)
Let's Talk About Groups
Now that Sectionals is out of the way, it's all about Groups. Not only is Groups a deeper meet, -combining the best of both Non-Public B North and South, but it's the deciding meet in determining who moves on to MOC and who goes home devastated.
Now unfortunately, I'm not going to go as in-depth into the list of events because frankly there isn't enough time, and I also procrastinated hard on finishing this article. However, the same rules apply to this meet as did last week.
It's not going to be easy to advance to the Meet of Champions. This weekend, only the top 6 in each event get to go to back to Northern Burlington the following week -- not to mention the fact that it combines both NPB North and South. Having the taste of success in our memories from last week should spur us on a little bit. But what's more important is that how you perform at this meet is the difference between an MOC appearance and the end of your season.
It's your choice how you race this weekend. But when the Big Show is on the line, you have to ask yourself: is it worth relenting the pace for those few seconds of relief; is it worth letting up once you lose the lead; is it worth not trying if you fear you won't place well -- knowing that all it took was pushing a little more out of your comfort zone?
Make the decision, ladies and gentlemen. Choose how good you want to be. Choose how you'll look back on this weekend. Leave nothing left on the track.
Group Qualifiers
100m Dash: Avery Lawrence (4th) , Gianni Riga (6th)
110H: Danny Rogers (8th)
200: Avery Lawrence (2nd -- school record 23.07), Gianni Riga (5th)
400H: Mark Schwalm (4th)
800: Mark Schwalm (3rd -- school record 2:03.00)
1600: Mike Paustian (6th)
3200: Mike Paustian (3rd)
High Jump: Christian Bryson (3rd -- school record 5-10)
4 x 100: Avery Lawrence, Gianni Riga, Ken Cebedo, Christian Bryson (1st)
4 x 400: Mark Schwalm, Mike Paustian, Danny Rogers, Jack Boyda (5th)
4 x 800: Mike Paustian, TJ Harkins, Jack Hendrzak, Sam Jaskolski (3rd -- school record 9:16.82)
Girls Team
3200: Ali Wehrhahn (5th)
4 x 800: Ali Wehrhahn, Caroline Onderko, Haley Rogers, Carly Makowicz (5th)
4 x 400: Caroline Onderko, Chinonso Morsindi, Haley Rogers, Kelly Griffin (7th)
Let's Talk About Groups
Now that Sectionals is out of the way, it's all about Groups. Not only is Groups a deeper meet, -combining the best of both Non-Public B North and South, but it's the deciding meet in determining who moves on to MOC and who goes home devastated.
Now unfortunately, I'm not going to go as in-depth into the list of events because frankly there isn't enough time, and I also procrastinated hard on finishing this article. However, the same rules apply to this meet as did last week.
It's not going to be easy to advance to the Meet of Champions. This weekend, only the top 6 in each event get to go to back to Northern Burlington the following week -- not to mention the fact that it combines both NPB North and South. Having the taste of success in our memories from last week should spur us on a little bit. But what's more important is that how you perform at this meet is the difference between an MOC appearance and the end of your season.
It's your choice how you race this weekend. But when the Big Show is on the line, you have to ask yourself: is it worth relenting the pace for those few seconds of relief; is it worth letting up once you lose the lead; is it worth not trying if you fear you won't place well -- knowing that all it took was pushing a little more out of your comfort zone?
Make the decision, ladies and gentlemen. Choose how good you want to be. Choose how you'll look back on this weekend. Leave nothing left on the track.
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