Wildcat boys track team drops rare league match-up to Colon

by William Belson

For the Pittsford boys track squad their first meet was the infamous Warrior Invite at Grass Lake. For the first meet the Wildcat men took third, with 70points, behind first place Grass Lake with 87 points and Hanover Horton with 72 points. Though there were no first places for Pittsford that day, senior Ben Wines placed second in discus (133’), junior Jason Smith placed second in shot put (42’4”), the 3200m relay placed 5th (9:17.04), junior Garet Lee took 4th in the 110m hurdles (16.59s) and 4th in the high jump (5’9), junior Kurtis Brackman placed 5th in the 110m hurdles (16.70) and 5th in the pole vault (10’), the 800m relay took 4th (1:42.03s), the 400m relay placed 5th (50:43s), Brackman took 5th in the 300m hurdles (46:90s), in the 3200m run junior Brent Smith placed 5th (10:43.79).

The following Wednesday, Pittsford started off their dual meet season with a huge win over Camden-Frontier with a score of Pittsford 117 Camden 16. The shot put and discus were dominated by Wines who placed first in the shot (42’) and disc (132’2”). Lee won the high jump (5’10”), the 110m hurdles (16.25s), and the 200m dash (24.70s), Brackman won the pole vault (11’00”) and the 300m hurdles (44.8s), Smith won the 1600m run (4:46.44s), the 800m run (2:08.2s), and the 3200m run (10:55.90s).

The boys track squad did all right as hosts of the Ralph Crume Invitational, placing eighth out of the sixteen schools there. Lee placed 5th in high jump (5’08”), Wines placed 4th in the shot put with a personal record (43’03”), Brackman placed second in the pole vault (11’06”), sophomore Austin Billington placed fourth in the pole vault (11’00”), the 3200m relay team placed 5th (9:00.40), the freshman 800m relay took 4th (1:51.80), Smith took 2nd in the 1600m run (4:45.40), and in the 800m run, sophomore Kyle Wyatt took 5th (2:08.50). Wines had a feeling he would throw well. “Pretty much my form and effort that I put in that week of lifting, pushed me to another foot,” explained Ben.

On the trip to Colon, a rarity happened—the ‘Cats dropped a dual meet, losing 69-67. Though Pittsford lost this meet, the team did some really good things. Wines won the discus (124’11”), Austin and Kurtis tied for 1st in the pole vault (11’00”), the 3200m relay took 1st (9:07.15), Lee won the 110m hurdles (16.52), junior Brad Beach placed 1st in the 400m dash (56.85), Kurtis won the 300m hurdles (45.91), and Smith placed first in the 1600m run (4:55.10), the 800m run (2:11.34), and the 3200m run (10:49.33).