Boys track ‘Cats win 6th straight SCAA title

by Dillon Cooper

It all came down to this. This day, May 19; arguably the most important date on the calendar for the Pittsford Wildcats boys track team. The reason why this date was so important was not because this was such a new and difficult league, as powerhouse Pittsford found out when they lost during the regular season to Colon and Bellevue, but that they had to prove that they could win their sixth straight league championship.

The odds were favored in Hillsdale Academy’s corner, and having already dropped two dual meets to Colon and Bellevue, the mountain to climb was steep; Pittsford was looking at a grim bronze metal for the 2009 track season, but the ‘Cats had other things in mind.

As we all know, stats are irrelevant and that is why we play the games, and the Wildcats proved that with what they did last night. “I thought they (the team) gave a tremendous effort,” expressed head coach of the boys track team Mr. Burger. “They wanted to win really bad and it showed in how hard they worked and I was pretty happy,” continued Burger with a faint smile. Not only did the Wildcats grab the championship in what you might call an “upset” or “unlikely,” P-ford won by a sizeable margin and so the streak continues. But we all know it was because of the outstanding performances that carved the way to this memorable moment.

Senior Ben Wines was the league champion in the discus, heaving the disc 138’2’’ and in the shot he placed second with an effort of 45’10.25’’. Sophomore Brandon Williams took 7th in the discus with a throw of 107’4’’. Junior Garet Lee took third in the high jump with a leap of 6’, 2nd in the high hurdles, and fourth in the 300m hurdles. Sophomore Austin Billington and junior Kurtis Brackman went one-two in the pole vault. Brackman also took 6th in the high hurdles and fifth in the 300m hurdles. In the two mile relay the team of Jake Osborn, Brent Smith, Luke Irwin, and Kyle Wyatt scored a third place for their respected team. In the 800m relay the team of Osborne, Blake Toner, Brad Beach, and John Sattler brought home a fifth place finish. Brent was the league champion in the mile and the two mile. “It was really cool to win because I worked so hard,” expressed Brent. The Pittsford 400m relay crossed the line seventh with the team of Osborn, Sattler, Steven Rose, and Michael Benedict. Kyle took second in the 800m run with Brent finishing just a split second behind his teammate for third. Luke Irwin took fifth in the two mile and the mile relay took fourth credited towards the team of Osborn, Lee, Beach, and Kyle. “It is pretty amazing when you think about it,” acknowledged Burger. “It just goes to show how lucky I have been to coach some pretty good athletes.”