BY RYAN O’CONNOR
The Bedford track and field team, once it stepped outside, quickly began running, jumping and throwing its way to Class I success.
On Saturday, April 19, in a five-team meet at Stevens High School, the Bulldogs, a group of freshmen and sophomores facing largely junior and senior competitors, finished first among boys with 91.5 points and second among girls with 57 points. It was the second
outing in Bedford High’s history.
“We’ve only been on the track for about a week and a half because of snow, so they’re just starting to come into their own,” said girls head coach Emily Blahnik, who acknowledged Bedford’s opponents faced the same challenge.
“Just getting out of high school and actually onto the track is important, especially because we’re still trying things out.
“There are so many events, and a lot of these athletes just want to try everything, so it’s very early, with only two meets under our belt, but so far I’d say we look very promising,” she continued. “We have a lot of green talent, but we have athletes in pretty much every event, and they’re putting a lot of effort into it, so I don’t see why we can’t be competitive all season – even at the big meets.”
Boys
For the boys, the 800-meter run proved especially successful. Sophomores James Schappler, Rus Contino and Caleb Earnshaw took the top three finishes with times of 2 minutes, 18.17 seconds, 2:24.26 and 2:24.30, respectively.
At 2:38.78, sophomore Adam Lamontagne placed fifth in the 800 before earning fifth in shot put at 35 feet, 3.5 inches and fifth in javelin at 100-9.
Connor McKay won the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 50.33 seconds, and Will Pearson finished third in 51.11 seconds.
In the 110-meter hurdles, Pearson earned top honors at 17.98 seconds, and McKay was second in 19.30 seconds. McKay also took second in pole vault at 8-0.
Freshman Christopher Giraldi finished fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.15 and fifth in the 200 at
26.52 seconds.
Giraldi also placed second in the 400 at 58.16 seconds, followed by teammate Jake Winslow who took fourth in 1:00.24 seconds.
Freshman Mike Cambria earned second in the 1,600-meter run with his time of 5:31.32, and sophomore Adam Knedeisen was third in 5:41.40.
In the 3,200, Knedeisen won with a time of 12:07.06, and Cambria took runner up in 12:11.02.
Sophomore Jack Joseph came in fourth in the high jump at 5-1 and was third in triple jump with an effort of 34- 6.5. He was followed by classmate Cameron Oliwa’s leap of 33-9.5.
Sophomore Tim Graves earned fourth in discus with a toss of 86-5. The boys also won all three relays.
Girls
Brittany Frazier, who met indoor success during the winter track and field season, already cleared 5-0 in the high jump on April 12, qualifying for the state meet.
Sophomore Grace Ouellette won the 800 in 2:39.69, and classmate Sarah Sullivan took fourth in 2:56.03.
Ouellette was tops in high jump at 4-4, finishing just ahead of sophomore Chelsea Haynes, who cleared 4-2.
In the 300-meter hurdles, freshman Ashley Marcoux placed second in 1:01.33, followed by sophomore Erin Johnson in 1:02.43.
Johnson placed first in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 19.43 seconds, and Marcoux was fourth in 21.37 seconds.
Freshman Margo Cassidy’s time of 13:44.10 was good for second in the 3,200, and Jill Stowe placed fourth in the 400-meter dash in 1:06.48.
In discus, freshman Becca Greaney came in third at 72-0, and Ashley Wright was fifth at 63-4.
The Lady Bulldogs took first in the 4x800 relay and second in the 4x100 and 4x400.