ERIE — Vince Harris and Giuliana Nastale were chasing their idols.
Monroe’s Teegan Simmons was named the Boys Most Valuable Athlete at the Erie Mason Track and Field Invitational in 2024.
Beth Sweeney of Erie Mason took girls honors in each of the past two seasons.
Harris and Nastale were watching with an eye on taking those trophies.
That’s just what they did in the 61st annual running of the event on Saturday, May 2.
Harris is a junior at St. Mary Catholic Central and a close friend of Simmons.
“I am really excited,” he said. “Teegan Simmons has been a big inspiration for me. I can’t wait to tell him. … I am going to call him right away.”
Like Simmons, Harris excels on the track and in the field.
He won the 200 meters Saturday with a personal-best clocking of :23.27, was second in both the 100 meters and shot put and ran on a winning relay.
“I’ve always looked up to Teegan,” Harris said.
Nastale was always trying to match her former teammate Sweeney.
She put on quite a show for the home fans in her final Mason Invitational, winning the 100 (:12.7), 200 (:26.73) and 400 (:54.44) dashes and anchoring the winning 800 relay.
Victories in the two shortest races of the meet are nothing new to Nastale. She was the Division 3 state champion in both events last season.
The 400 is new to her repertoire this season.
“I’m starting to like it,” she said.
And she is adjusting to the bullseye on her back created by the two state titles.
“The weather has been bad,” she said. “My times have been slow. And there is a lot more pressure. People know who I am now.”
Mason’s Lincoln Murbach captured Boys Track Athlete of the Meet honors after sweeping the hurdle races. He ran the lows in a school-record time of :40.05, topping the standard set by Aaron Roelfs in 2008.
Murbach was just two years old when Roelfs set the record.
“He was a great athlete,” Murbach said. “I’ve been looking at his name for a long time. That’s what has pushed me.”
The Girls Track Athlete of the Meet was Adela Illes of SMCC. She anchored the winning 400 relay and posted seconds in the individual 100 and 200 and the 1,600 relay.
“It surprised me,” she said of her trophy. “I just ended basketball, so I am just working up to speed.”
She was delighted to be honored for her work in relays.
“I love relays, being part of a team,” she said.
Zamir Austin of Monroe was crowned Boys Field Athlete of the Meet after winning the high jump at 5-8 and hitting a personal-best of 20-5 to soar to victory in the long jump. Ava Lassey of Wixom St. Catholic earned Girls Field Athlete of the Meet honors after winning the shot-put and taking third in the discus.
SMCC swept the Gerald Wing Memorial Mile trophies with Bella LaFountain winning for the girls and Christian Craanen taking home the boys’ hardware. Craanen also ruled the 800.
Monroe teammates Torran Simmons (shot-put) and Nolan Cacioppo (discus) controlled the throws.
Other boys champions were Gavin Swartout of SMCC (100), Caleb Healy of Erie Mason (3,200) and Braden Bydlowski of Ida (pole vault).
SMCC took the two sprint relays with Swartout, Harris, Lucas Rafko, Brady Reinhardt and Carlson Welker.
Jefferson’s team of Noah Hintz, Maddex Shotwell, Orion Galloway and Josh Hargraeves won the 1,600 relay and Mason was tops in the 3,200 with Healy, Logan Doom, David Mills and Joseph Colaluca.
Ida’s Julia Hughes won both hurdle races for the girls while Claire Miller of Jefferson (3,200), Addyson Wilt of Ida (discus), Olivia Beaudrie of SMCC (high jump), Grace May of Ida (pole vault) and Paige Konrad of Erie Mason (long jump) each finished first in an event.
Joining Illes on SMCC’s winning relay were Beaudrie, Angie Illes and Katelyn Boberg.
Erie Mason was best in the 800 and 3,200 relays with Nastale, Konrad, Tanylei Neff, Adrianna Cosby, Jaelynn Horton, Riley England and Alivia Cowdrey.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Vince Harris, Guiliana Nastale win top honors at Mason Invitational
Reporting by Niles Kruger, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
