The Amsterdam High School boys track and field team won the 2016 Johnstown Invitational boys meet on Friday at Knox Field, scoring 129 points. The Rams got nine first-place finishes including two in the relays and four total from Kevon Boucaud.
Kevon Boucaud – The AHS junior claimed the top spot in the 100 meter dash, 400 meter dash, long jump, and was part of the Rams winning 4×400 meter relay team with Gabe Fernandez, Mikey Gomez, and Omahri Sturdivant. Boucaud was moving so fast the raindrops would evaporate if they made contact.
Omahri Sturdivant – The University of Albany bound Sturdivant finished at the top of the charts in the triple jump, was second to only Boucaud in the long jump, and joined him on the victorious AHS 4×400 meter relay team. The seniors’ leap of 46’1” in the triple jump was impressive in the rainy conditions.
Gehrig Garner – The high jump was among the toughest events to be contested, but the AHS senior and top man in the event was up to the challenge and placed first when some didn’t record a height. A total of 80 athletes entered in the event.
Gabe Fernandez – The AHS senior is known for leading the Amsterdam boys cross country team in distance running, but Fernandez made quick work of the 800 meter run posting one of his best times to date at 2 minutes and .18 seconds.
Adam Tatun and Trey Holloway – Tatun, a senior, and Holloway, a sophomore, gave the Rams 14 points toward their win. Tatum (second), and Holloway (third) in the 200 meter run, also put up times that were among their best.
Mikey Gomez – The AHS sophomore ran one of his fastest times at 53.82 seconds in the 400 meter run, good for third place. He later joined some of his teammates on the top 4×400 meter relay team.
Marcos Santiago – The Rams freshman continues to impress, and ran a time of 16.68 seconds in the 110 meter hurdles giving AHS a bright future in the event.
Jon Knack – The Amsterdam senior placed fifth in a pentathlon event that featured the 1500 meter run, long jump, high jump, shot put, and 110 meter hurdles. Knack won the 1500 meter run and was fourth in the hurdles while putting up a total of 1836 points.
AHS Relay teams – The Rams 4×100 relay team (Tatun, Luis Rodriguez, Angel Sanchez, and Alezey Rivera), and the 4×400 relay team (Boucaud, Fernandez, Gomez, and Sturdivant), both finished first, and the AHS 4×800 meter relay team of Michael Johnson, Ryan Kamanu, Timmy Klne and Jon Knack came in second to score a total of 28 points for Amsterdam.
Notable finishes – Ryan Kamanu (6th in 800 meter run), John Companion (12th in 800 meter), Luis Rodriguez (8th in 100 meter dash, 10th in 400 meter run), Angel Sanchez (25th in 100 meter, 16th in long jump), Timmy Kline (10th in 1500 meter run), Will Weinheimer (17th in 1500 meter), Trevor Dzikowicz (17th in 3200 meter run), Michael Johnson ( 5th in 400 meter hurdles, 14th in 110 meter hurdles), Jah’leel Muhammed (10th in discus throw, 19th in shot put), Edgar Maldonado (8th in discus throw).
“You don’t look for times with conditions like this,” Amsterdam coach Kevin Wilary said in regards to the rain, which was steady throughout the meet. “You compare it to what they ran before. We’re not necessarily going to get our fastest times, but you can’t always have perfect conditions to run. We’ve looked very strong with Kevon (Boucaud) in the 100 meter, long jump and triple jump, and Omahri (Sturdivant) in the long jump and triple jump, and the relay teams. Some are running in events for the first time. If we do what we’re supposed to do, we should finish on top.”
Broadalbin-Perth boys finish third
The Broadalbin-Perth Patriots boys track and field team totaled 48 points on the scoreboard, trailing only Amsterdam and second place finisher Canajoharie (74 points). The BPHS team got a pair of first place efforts from Jeff Derwin highlighting a hard fought effort.
Jeff Derwin – The junior topped the charts in both the shot put and discus throwing events in his quest to return to the state championships. Derwin’s distances in both events were well ahead of the competition.
Jake Bunker – The Patriots junior racked up 2237 points in the pentathlon event, good enough for a second place finish overall. Bunker placed second in each of four of the five individual events.
Chris Wagner – The sophomore placed third in the pole vault and fourth in the 110 meter hurdles to score a total of ten points for the Patriots.
Alex Hitrick – The senior leader on both the BPHS cross country and track and field teams finished eleventh in the 3200 meter run. What was remarkable was that Hitrick has been battling a back injury that would put most people on the sidelines. Unstoppable.
Notable finishes – Noah Marek (6th in 400 meter run, 7th in triple jump), Kolbe Waldvogel (4th in pentathlon), Ben Frye (7th in pentathlon), Brandon Akey (8th in discus throw), Anthony Townsend (17th in discus throw), Wyatt Couperus (15th in 3200 meter run), Niko Mancini (17th in 110 meter hurdles), Jayson Alvis (10th in 200 meter run), Bryant Palmer (12th in 200 meter run), Joey Vitalis (13th in 400 meter run).
More of the best from local schools
Canajoharie finished second with 74 points. Among the Cougars best were; Kevin Mazzarella (1st in the 200 meter run), Ken Sullivan (2nd in 110 meter hurdles, and 2nd in 400 meter hurdles), Andrew Yacobucci (2nd in high jump), and Mikey Hatrlieb (3rd in shot put, 2nd in discus throw).
Fonda-Fultonville came in fourth with 46.8 points overall. The best for the Braves squad included; Ben Vardi-Davidson (1st in the 110 meter hurdles, 2nd in pole vault), Damien Freeman (3rd in high jump), and the 4×800 meter relay team (1st).
Gloversville was seventh with37.7 points. The Huskies were led by; Taylor McCredie (3rd in the 400 meter hurdles, 3rd in the high jump), Alex Reppenhagen (2nd in the triple jump), and Sam Poulin (also tied for 3rd in the high jump).
The Johnstown Sir Bills ended up in twelfth with 16.7 team points. Nick Frasier and Christian Sofer were among several athletes tied for third place in the boys high jump.
All area track and field teams are back in action next week in preparation for sectionals. Amsterdam hosts South Glens Falls in a match up of two of the Foothills Council’s best on Tuesday at Amsterdam High School. Scheduled start time is 4:30pm. The Broadalbin-Perth Patriots and Johnstown Sir Bills will also square off on Tuesday, returning to Knox Field for a 4:15pm start. Amsterdam, Broadalbin-Perth, Gloversville, and Johnstown will all be present at the Foothills Council championships on Wednesday, May 18 at Schuylerville High School.
