Somers Track Laces Up Versus Hen Hud

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Pole Vaulting

At Brewster

On Monday April 8, with the moon crossing the sun, Somers kept their heads down and laced up for a dual meet versus Hen Hud. Several multiple winners for the Tuskers, Haylie Donovan might have hit the trifecta, but the timing just wasn’t right. “My main race is the 400. I felt a little sick before, so I couldn’t run it,” she lamented, but the unsettling didn’t derail the rest of her day.

Taking the 100 meter (12.77) and the 200 meter (28.83), the junior always gets in the swing of things and then rides the crescendo. “I make sure I have quick arms and move as explosively as I can,” said Donovan.

Twice as nice for Somers was also Julia Duzynski. The long and the short of the day, she won the 110 meter hurdles (18.73) and the 3000 meter (10:49.32).

Quite the disparity, she definitely feels the distance but remains resolved over the long haul. “If I pain through it, there’s a reward at the end,” she assured.

At the start, the runner tries not to get out too fast and hangs tight with her teammates. But the time always comes to loosen the bonds. “I knew I had to go because I was looking at the splits,” the sophomore said. “”I wanted to make sure I had a time that I was happy with.”

As for going forward, her backstory of more intensive training in the summer bodes well. “I’ve come back a lot stronger,” Duzynski clarified.

Without really trying, Sam Parsons got that attribute in hand, and on the sprint, he gradually harnesses the bulk. “I’m a stronger athlete,” said the second place 100 meter finisher (11.71). “So I need to stay down and really push out for a long time before I transition up.”

First place in the 200 (24.26), he’s got an on/off/on approach. “I push out hard for the first 50 meters, kind of relax a little bit, and then about halfway through, I push until I get to the finish line,” said the junior.

Of course, long distance means an even keel until it doesn’t, according to Christian Wissa. “I stay back with my teammates, relax and stay calm,” he said. “I use my arms, control my breathing and let my peers take me through. Then I’ll go ahead.”

Good for the gold in the 3200 (10:27.84), he knows how he wants the season to end. “The goal is to try to make it to the states,” said Wissa.

Aiden Meza has some goals too. Accepted to West Point, he aspires to make his country proud and not just in terms of duty. “I want to get on the track team,” the senior revealed.

He needs to run the 800 in less than 1:55 and the 400 under 50 seconds. 53:11 on this day, the pace still translated to gold.

So did his 4:54 in the mile. “My strategy was to keep it even and go fast at the end,” he said.

The future cadet also has his team’s back, and just behind, Christian Lobasso could gratefully attest. “It’s the first time I broke the five minute mile (4:57.72), and he’s been a huge help in getting me there,” said the sophomore.

Meza is there in real time too. “My strategy was to follow Aiden and then use the time at the end of each lap to figure out my pace,” said Lobasso.

Behind Lobasso in third, Michael Maguire (15:17.66) was thinking team too. “We’re going to win section one,” he concluded. “I think we have a really good shot.”

On the field side, Andonia Doukakis won the hammer and discus, Charles Sullivan won the hammer, Matthew Hirsch and Jessica Masterson won the javelin, Luke Armstrong won the high jump and Ethan Steuber won the pole vault.