HHS Indoor Track-and-Field Team Goes to Sectionals!

There is a feeling you get, an adrenaline rush, when you are following your passion. That is how the members of Homer’s Indoor Track and Field Team felt as they left their competitors floundering in the dust during sectionals.

Excellence was certainly watching over the girls’ team. Caroline Riley, Delaney Hartnett, Lydia Sujkowski, and Kristen Rahner carried Homer to 3rd place in the 800-meter relay with a final time of 2 minutes. Ashley Tollner came in 4th place in the 3000-meter relay with a time of 12 minutes and 30 seconds. Harnett, Brianne Cooley, Tassie Fox, and Sujkowski placed 4th in the 1600 meter relay with a final time of 4 minutes and 50 seconds. Amelia Ponirakis, Alyson Witt, Tessa Yonta, and Tollner ran the 3200-meter relay, finishing 4th in 12 minutes. Arielle Moheimani completed the 55-meter hurdles in 10 seconds, finishing in 5th place. She also placed 3rd in the long jump with a 15-5.75 record and 1st in the weight event with a 30-5.75. Rahner placed 2nd in the shot put with a 30-9.5 record.

With regards to the boys’ competition, Andrew Swenson placed 4th in the 3200-meter with a time of 10 minutes and 20 seconds. He also placed 7th in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5 minutes. Paddy Fox, Derrick Fouts, Nate Potter, and Kollin Vanwagenen placed 2nd in the 1600-meter relay with a time of 3 minutes and 50 seconds. Grant Stokoe came in 1st place in the 600-meter with a time of 1 minute and 26 seconds. Vanwagenen finished 11 seconds behind Stokoe, coming in at 11th place. In the 55-meter hurdles, Fox placed 5th with a time of 9.3 seconds. Only 0.17 seconds behind Fox, Fouts came in 6th place. Vanwagenen, Nate Potter, Sam Pullman, and Joe Brady ran the 3200-meter relay with a final time of 9 minutes and 50 seconds. Dakota Wagner placed 7th in the Long Jump with a record of 17-11.25. In the weight competition, Marton Tozser placed 3rd with 39-2, Brent McNeil placed 4th, with 36-10.75, and Jacob Lyman placed 6th with 32-5.5. McNeil also brought 2nd place to Homer with a high jump of 5 feet 8 inches. Finally, Fox, Stokoe, McNeil, and Sebastian Justiniano Illanes placed 2nd in the 800-meter relay in 1 minute and 38 seconds.

The entire day left many schoolwide records broken. Some students actually qualified for State competitions! Those lucky few included Arielle Moheimani, Brent McNeil, and Grant Stokoe. Congratulations to all of these hardworking athletes!