Tuesday’s track and field meet at Amsterdam High School was a rarity. Not that the temperature approached a record high for the month of April, nor was it the teams that participated. But, it was the result of the Amsterdam boys meet that was something seldom experienced.
“It was the second loss of my career,” Amsterdam coach Kevin Wilary said after the AHS boys dropped a league meet for only the second time since Wilary took the helm of the program, and in recent years has guided the Rams to league and sectional titles while producing some of the finest student- athletes in school history including Isaiah Brown (Rutgers), Omhari Sturdivant (U Albany), and David Graveley (SUNY Cobleskill), all participating at the college level.
And while the Rams fell to the Scotia-Glenville Tartans 79-62, it wasn’t due to a lack of standout performances by team members, rather it was the need for more athletes to score points.
“We have to get more kids on the team,” Coach Wilary said. “Depth is difficult, but we had a lot of kids do something I didn’t expect.”
Boucaud runs, jumps, scores
One of the Rams who has been a solid performer since breaking on to the track scene two years ago is senior Kevon Boucaud. Tuesday was the beginning of what could be a record breaking year for him. During indoor track and field season, Boucaud actually took down one of his predecessor Isaiah Brown’s records. Tuesday afternoon, he was back in form and ready for a run at outdoor track’s finest.
“I wasn’t expecting my times today,” said Boucaud, who took first in four events for the Rams. “My times tell me where I’m at.”
Boucaud posted first place finishes in the 100 meter (10.90 seconds), 200 meter (22.10), 400 meter (50.50), and in the long jump (22 feet 3.5 inches). But, that wasn’t all that impressed Boucaud.
“I pr’d (personal record) in every event today,” Boucaud said. “I’m looking forward to stepping up this year.”
Boucaud, now a senior will be counted on for his leadership among a talented group of underclassmen including junior Luis Rodriguez who finished second to Boucaud in both the 100 meter and 200 meter.
Rodriguez impresses
“I was most impressed with him of all the sprinters,” Coach Wilary said of Rodriguez. “I wasn’t expecting the times he put up. He broke 23 seconds in the 200 meter.”
Rodriguez posted a time of 22.80 seconds in the 200 meter, not far behind Boucaud. He also took second in the 100 meter with a time of 11.50 seconds. Rodriguez was also a part of two winning AHS relay teams, first with the 4×400 meter relay team that featured Ryan Kamanu, Mikey Gomez, and Marcos Santiago (3:41.80), and then with the 4×100 team of Brett Forsey, Angel Sanchez, and Marcos Santiago (45.80 seconds).
Santiago hurdles to success
Sophomore Marcos Santiago picked up a pair of wins in the hurdles to give the AHS boys and girls a complete sweep of the hurdles on Tuesday. Santiago turned in a time of 15.50 to take the 110 meter hurdles, and followed that with a time of 1:03.20 to best the field in the 400 meter high hurdles and earn ten points for the home team. Santiago continued that success with wins as part of two AHS relay teams. Fellow sophomore Louis DiManno placed fourth in the 400 meter hurdles, and fifth in 110 meter hurdles.
Young stars on the rise
In addition to Rodriguez’s runner-up performance in the sprints to Boucaud, the Rams have plenty of reason to be excited for the future and it showed on Tuesday. Freshman Marco Rivera placed third in the long jump with a distance of 17 feet and nine inches, and backed that up with fourth place effort in the triple jump with a leap of 37′ 2.5”. Rivera and sophomore Antonio Reyes also tied for fourth in the high ump with a height of 5′ 3”.
Eighth grader Trevor Dzikowicz was third in the 3200 meter distance run with a time of 11:38.20 while scoring for Amsterdam. Dzikowicz also placed sixth in the 1600 meter run (5:09.80). Freshman Daniel Bublak notched a fourth place effort in the longer distance with a 11:50.60 time.
Rams varsity veterans lead the way
Junior Ryan Kamanu hustled to a first place win in the 800 meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 10.80 seconds. Kamanu also placed fourth in the discus throw with a toss of 69′ 11”. Junior Ja’ Muhammed finished second in both the shot put and discus throw events.
Juniors Mikey Gomez and Rafeal Ramirez also did well for AHS. Gomez scored a second place mark in the 400 meter dash with a time of 52.90 seconds. Ramirez was fourth in the event with a 56.30 time.
Amsterdam senior Tim Kline posted a pair of fourth place finishes in the 800 meter and 1600 meter runs. Kline logged a time of 2:18.60 in the shorter distance, and a time of 5:04.80 in the longer run.
“A lot of kids did a lot of great things today,” Coach Wilary said noting that he was also anticipating how well a talented modified team that will one day be the future of the program, will perform.
Scotia-Glenville’s keys to success
The Tartans achieved seven first place finishes on Tuesday with two of them coming from senior Jacob Greski in the distance events. Greski topped the field in both the 16600 meter and 3200 meter runs. The Tartans swept the top three spots in the 1600 meter with Kyle Jerreld taking second and Nathan Tabbert placing third. Gabe Winters-Bona also scored for SGHS with a second place in the 3200 meter.
The Tartans 4×800 meter relay team of Tabbert, Greski, Jerreld, and Bruce Ryan were victorious for the only SGHS relay win on the day. Scotia- Glenville also swept the pole vault event with Anthony Clements, Alex Tebano, and John Geniti sweeping the total of nine points.
Rounding out the first place finishers for the Tartans were Ire Pinney in the shot put, Dominic Jack in the discus, and Rickey Woodley in the high jump. Chris Adams earned a second place in the long jump and was good for third in the 200 meter and 400 meter runs, Woodley was third in the 100 meter, Adam Chaffin placed second in the 110 meter hurdles and third in the high jump, Jacob Leaper was third in the 110m hurdles, and Christian Corker was third in the 400m hurdles. Jack also placed second in the high jump, while Pinney was third in the discus, and Eli Stay was third in the shot put.
The Amsterdam track and field teams are hosting the Kiwanis Bi -County Invitational on Saturday at Amsterdam High School. Start time for the meet featuring high school track and field teams from Montgomery and Fulton counties is scheduled for 10am. The Rams return to Foothills Council action on Tuesday, April 18 against Johnstown at Knox Field.
