Article by Coach Nick Burk
The Batavia Indoor Track team competed at the A2 Section V championships on Saturday at Houghton College and the boys team came away with a 111 to 107 victory over 2nd place Newark and 13 scoring schools. This Sectional Championship is the 10th title for the Batavia Indoor boys team and the 26th Sectional championship for both the girls and boys Indoor teams. Combined with our Outdoor Sectional championships, this makes 37 Titles for Batavia Track and Field!
The meet started out very strong with a 4th place finish in the 3200m by junior Nate Canale (10:28.56). The 55m Hurdles was a big event for the Blue Devils with Junior Fabian Vazquez finishing 2nd (8.19), Junior Ifran Armstrong finishing 4th (8.62), and Senior Jesse Reinhart finishing 5th (8.79). Next in the 1000m, Junior Cody Harloff crossed the line in 3rd place (2:45.96), and Junior Noah Pickard finished 4th (2:49.78), in the 1600m, Freshman Cooper Konieczny finished 6th (5:15.51), and in the 300m Sophomore Parris Price finished 6th (37.63).
In the Field events, Batavia had a dominant showing, specifically in Pole Vault with Junior Tyler Umlauf winning the event championship (11-0). Senior Noah Burke finished 2nd (11-0), and Sophomore Owen Halpin finished 6th (9-0).
The throwers once again were well represented in this meet with Senior Austyn Fernandez taking 2nd in the Shot Put (44-2) and 4th in Weight Throw (47-10). Senior Luke Geiger placed 2nd in the weight throw with a phenomenal toss (56-2). Senior Abel Hammer finished 3rd in the Shot (43-10) and Senior Dan Saeva finished 5th in Shot as well (41-7). Junior Parker Kleinbach finished 6th in the Weight Throw (44-9). All together our throwers contributed 29 points in just two events towards our total score.
Other field event results included Fabian Vazquez finishing in 2nd in Long Jump with a new personal best jump (21-2), Jesse Reinhart finished in 4th in Triple Jump (40-10) and 4th in High Jump (5-7), and Senior Carter Havens finished 6th in Triple Jump (39-5).
All three relays were able to score demonstrating the depth and balance of our team this season. The Boys 4x800 Relay of Cody Harloff, Noah Pickard, Dom Grillo (Junior) and Nate Canale finished 4th (9:30.32). The 4x400 Relay of Carter Havens, Donavin Solis (Sophomore), Ifran Armstrong, and Cole Grazioplene (Sophomore) finished in 3rd place (3:42.87), and the 4x200 Relay of Fabian Vazquez, Aidan Anderson (Junior), Parris Price, and Cole Grazioplene finished in 3rd as well (1:36.46).
The strength of the Batavia program is that we've structured our team to be as competent across all of the events for track and field as possible. We place great emphasis on developing hurdlers, vaulters, and throwers to compliment our accomplishments on the track. Once again the depth of our team shined through in this meet and contributed directly to our 10th championship!
Not to be outdone, our Batavia Girls Indoor Track team had an incredible day and fell just 1 point short of their own championship. Canandaigua finished in first with 88 points, while our girls scored 88. There were 13 total teams that scored for the girls as well.
On the Track Freshman Campbell Riley had an incredible meet winning the Sectional Championship in the 1500m (5:12.72) and placing a very close 2nd in the 1000m (3:10.43). In the 3000m, freshman Izzy Scott finished in 5th place (11:44.19). In the 55 Hurdles, Junior Abby Moore finished 4th (10.18). In the 1000m Freshman Nicole Doeringer placed 4th (3:20.35), and Senior Olivia Halpin placed 6th (3:40.11). In the 1500m, 7th grader Mallory Boyce finished in 6th place (5:49.72). All of our points besides one that was scored on the track were from girls who are underclassmen and will return next season.
In the Field events, specifically, the girls Shot Put we had arguably our best performance of the day from 8th grader Libby Grazioplene. Libby entered the meet seeded 15th in this event and ended up as the Sectional Champion with a personal best throw that was more than five feet above her previous best (30-5). This was one of the most clutch performances we've ever had for Batavia Track. Freshman Zenallah Simmons finished 2nd in Shot (29-6) and 6th in Weight Throw (32-2). Senior Emma Radka finished 4th in Shot Put (28-8),
Other field event results included Senior Gavin Konieczny finishing in 2nd in Pole Vault (8-6) and her sister, Junior Sydney Konieczny finishing in 4th in Triple Jump (31-0) and 6th in Long Jump (14-10). Sophomore Isabella Walsh finished 2nd in the High Jump (4-11).
The girls had a great showing in the relays also, demonstrating our team's depth. The 4x800 Relay of Izzy Scott, Jadyn Boyce (Sophomore), Makayla Andalora (Senior), and Mallory Boyce finished in 4th (11:16.32). The 4x400 Relay of Nicole Doeringer, Leigh LeFevre (Freshman), Noelia Ventura (Senior), and Campbell Riley finished in 3rd place (4:31.30), and the 4x200 Relay of Abby Moore, Layla Jones (Freshman), Sydney Konieczny, and Ella Shamp (8th grade), finished in 4th with a season-best performance (1:55.72).
The girls team came into this meet seeded to finish in 4th place by nearly 30 points to Canandaigua! We ended up in 2nd place by one point and this was a truly amazing performance by our Lady Devils! So many of our girls contributors on this year's team are young and yet they displayed heart and determination like a much more veteran team would. Our future is very bright with these young athletes.
Batavia track and field is proud to have competed so well in Sectionals and is looking forward to the State Qualifier meet this coming Friday at Houghton College. Again none of our success would be possible without the dedication from our coaching staff including Dan Geiger, Bre Clark, Rich Boyce, Bill Buckenmeyer, and Amanda Mikiciuk. These coaches helped prep this team for success and were up to the task of continuing the strong traditions of Batavia Indoor Track. full results can be found at:
http://results.yentiming.com/2022/indoor/2-19-22-Class-A2.htm
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Photos by Steve Ognibene
