Dragons might lose, says boys? track Coach Stan Ford, but his runners will make their opponents run ‘very well and very hard? to win.
Though the team only had two victories in last year’s season, they improved their standing at the league meet by finishing higher than expected, according to the coach.
Dragons missed first place by a meager 12.5 points.
‘The league this year appears to be quite even, as far as the competition, though I expect Troy will be very good and tough to beat,? he said. ‘But the one thing that we train for is to compete.??
This year’s team is anchored by Captains distance runners Nathan Ziolko and Sean Bone, sprinter Anthony Papagni and hurdler’Chris’Fraga, all seniors.
Rounding out the roster is senior mid-distance runners Jeff Slavick’and Brad Norman, sophomore sprinter Nick Balavich, junior high jumper/long jumper Talyor Jongekreg, junior sprinters K.J.’Ester and LaFrance Broner, sophomore distance runners Justin Prawdzik, George Modrak and Ryan Singles, juniors Matt Emerick, Dominic Arnold, Jake Lauka and Brad Cross, sophomore hurdlers’Alex’and Michael Roberts, along with Juniors Jeremy Nixon and Cameron Goodall.
‘We have well over 100 track and field athletes, with a fair amount of balance from one grade to another,? said Ford.?’As always, we look to develop our younger runners, and from the looks of them now the’middle school programs’have done an excellent job.?
Ford says Sean Goodall,’T.J. Carey, Andre?’Bonneville, David Arenz, Joe Deneau, Jacob Houlihan and Jordan Waymer are up-and-coming athletes.
In the Dragon’s first match-up of the season, they faced LOHS alumnus Eric Lohr, first-year coach for Rochester Adams, March 31.
Both boys and girls teams came out with the win. Boys took first place in 11 events, second in six events and third in 10.
The 3200m relay team of Arnold, Slavick, Ziolko and Bone took first; Roberts nailed a first place in the 110m hurdles; Ziolko took first in the 1600m run; Arnold tallied another first place in the 400m dash; Nixon took first in the 300m H; Bone tallied another first for the 800m run; Ziolko flew into first in the 3200m run; the 1600m relay team of Bone, Slavick, Norman and Arnold took first; A. Lewis threw his way to first in shot put; and Jongekreg took first in both the long jump and high jump events.