SOMERS — Every track meet has its stories.
With a track meet as large as the Joe Wynne Somers Lions Club Invitational, which included 54 teams and nearly 2,000 athletes, there were many.
Saturday, May 2, they included the first- and second-place finishers in the boys 400 meter race moving into first place for the season among all Connecticut and all New York high school 400 runners.
There was the boys 100-meter champion winning in a personal-best time despite the meet being his first of the season after tearing a hamstring in a winter indoor relay.
And there was the story of one girl sweeping the hammer, discus and shot put to finish out a week of wins as she earlier committed to throwing the hammer and indoor weight on scholarship for Div. I TCU.
The 400 was particularly noteworthy since Brenan McCabe of Immaculate posted a winning time of 46.95, which not only is now Connecticut’s No. 1 time for the season, but also broke the 25-year-old meet record of 47.5, which was held by Rob Frelow, who ran that time for White Plains.
The runner-up and new New York No. 1 was Mamaroneck junior Mark Lebowitz, who credited his time, which was a second better than his previous best, to running against McCabe, who was named the meet’s boys track MVP.
Lebowitz entered his best and favorite event hoping to run a low 48-second time, so his 47.79 was huge for him.
“It helps racing Connecticut No. 1,” Lebowitz said. “It pushed me to run better.”
From disappointment and pain to a win and renewed hope
One of the day’s happiest finishers was Stepinac’s Ian Thomas, who edged Scarsdale’s Labrowne Brown 10.80-10.91. in the boys 100.
Thomas’ time was not only a personal best but also No. 9 in the state for the season.
Considering this was his first meet since tearing his right hamstring, he was close to ecstatic and looking forward to further lowering his time with an eye on a possible state championship.
The tear, which came early in the 4×200 relay at Eastern States, cost him a chance to compete in the 55 dash at the indoor state championships and indoor nationals.
“I felt one pop, then felt another pop and went down. It was the worst I’ve ever felt,” Thomas said.
Thomas thinks with more training he’ll have a shot at grabbing New York’s No. 1 time, as well as win at states. While very happy with his time and win, he said he still needs to work on maintaining speed.
“The race wasn’t my best. I have to improve finishing through. After 80 meters I started to die out,” said Thomas, who hopes to run for the University of Albany next year.
Hastings’ Morgan, Hen Hud’s Savatgy, Somers’ Sullivan take top honors
Hastings senior Danae Morgan committed to throw for TCU on Thursday. On Friday, she threw a seven-foot personal best in the girls hammer to win by 10 feet at 145-8 in a 29-thrwer field. That throw was the best in the state among girls this season and No. 24 in the U.S.
Saturday, she threw a personal-best and New York season No. 9 37-9 to win the shot put and threw 116-7 to win the girls discus.
Hammer isn’t thrown at the state championships but is Morgan’s favorite event and what she’ll throw in college, along with the weight. She said between now and nationals she plans to work on adding a fourth pre-release spin before her release to increase her hammer distance.
“I’m just excited to see what’s next,” Morgan said, noting she hopes to throw the hammer close to 180 feet before her final high school season ends.
The meet MVP for girls track events has a lot more time left in high school.
Hen Hud sophomore Sofia Savatgy was chosen after she was the girls overall 400 winner, clocking 56.99, took third in the 200 at 25.17 and split a 58 in anchoring her 4×400 relay team to a second-place finish.
Those performances helped Hen Hud win the meet’s girls Class B team crown and also netted Savatgy three meet T-shirts. She got a blue and a tan for herself and noted the third was to be determined because she needed to find an extra large to give to her dad.
She received a trophy for her MVP selection and said that would be added to the track wall she has in her room.
Showing her versatility, Savatgy noted in addition to the open 400, girls 4×400 relay and co-ed 4×400 relay, she planned to run the 100 at next week’s famed Loucks Games and hopes to go sub-12 seconds.
Somers senior Charlie Sullivan, who a day earlier moved into No. 1 in the country in the boys hammer throw and into the No. 5 spot all-time in the state with a 238-3 throw, took the meet’s boys field MVP honors.
The University of Wisconsin commit threw the shot put 42-5.25 to win that event and was second in discus at 127-2.
“(It was) a really amazing thing to happen on the first of May and knowing the season will be going into June, I just can’t wait to see how much I can build on this,” Sullivan said on May 1.
Arlington, New Rochelle take top team honors
Arlington was the overall (not by class) top team scorer for the boys with Hen Hud second, although without senior star Victor Delgado, who’s out with a stress fracture. New Rochelle had the top score for girls teams with Arlington second. The top combined (girls and boys) team winner was Arlington.
Other winners
Boys pentathlon: Byram Hills’ Zachary Bourkadi (2,634 points)
Girls pentathlon: New Rochelle’s Sophia Kasimir (2,362 points)
Girls 100: Scarsdale’s Alice Nicassio 12.28
Boys 200: Scarsdale’s LaBrown Brown (22.03)
Girls 200: New Rochelle’s Elisa Crisp (24.88 edges 24.9 by Rye Country Day’s Payton Richardson)
Boys 400 hurdles: Stepinac’s Josh Johnson (56.52)
Girls 400 hurdles: Mamaroneck’s Malia Dean (1:10.83)
Boys 800: Hen Hud’s Vivek Sekhri (1:59.3 edges 1:59.4 by Matt LaRosa of White Plains)
Girls 800: Mahopac’s Cara O’Halloran (2:18.82)
Girls 1,500: Hackley’s Emma Curran (personal-best 4:38.62)
Boys mile: Fox Lane’s Jaques DeForges (edges Scarsdale’s Nate Lynch 4:30.22-4:30.79)
Girls 3,000: Arlington’s Kirsten Anastacio (10:19.01)
Boys 3,200: Arlington’s Anis Abidar: 9:24.65
Boys high jump: John Jay-East Fishkill’s Kyle Kershaw (6-6)
Girls high jump: Scarsdale’s Anna Van den Broek (4-6. Won in tie-breaker. Four jumpers at 4-6)
Boys long jump: Stepinac’s Nick Harrison (22-7.5)
Girls long jump: New Rochelle’s Ryann Joseph (16-2.5)
Boys triple jump: Sleepy Hollow’s Gilbert Onwe (44-6.75)
Girls triple jump: New Rochelle’s Sophia Magazzu (32-11)
Boys pole vault: Somers’ Ethan Steuber: 13-0
Boys discus: Bronxville’s Zijun Xu: 158-10
Boys 4×200 relay: Brewster’s Cameron Lindsay, Ethan Elibox, Mason Sanchez and Derik Medrano (1:32.14, edging Mount Vernon at 1:32.66)
Girls 4×200 relay: New Rochelle’s Ryann Joseph, Sofia Magazzu, Alexis Smith and Alivia Smith (1:47.05, edging Mount Vernon at 1:47.43)
Boys 4×400 relay: Mamaroneck’s Michael Gonzalez, Pierce Krebs, Jonny Smath and Mark Lebowitz (3:27.51)
Girls 4×400 relay: Arlington’s Emily Lario, Ella Sheridan, Lovie Greene and Alexzandrea Todman (4:20.82)
Boys 4×800 relay: Hackley’s Henry Prescott, Michael Baez, Ben Iaderosa and Alfie Adams (8:06.05)
Girls 4×800 relay: Arlington’s Molly Pool, Ashley Cousins, Bailey Guckian and Kirsten Anastasio (10:00.87)
Visit lohud.com/sports for further coverage of the Somers meet.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Lebowitz takes over NY No. 1 in 400, placing second at Somers meet
Reporting by Nancy Haggerty, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
