Records Fall at County Individuals Meet
CHESHIRE, Mass. -- By the end of his Saturday morning in the high jump area, Taconic’s Josh Tayi was competing by himself, against gravity and for a spot in the record books.
And Tayi won, setting a school record in the event by clearing 6 feet, 6 inches to win at the Berkshire County Individuals Track and Field Championships at Hoosac Valley High School.
Tayi, 6-2, just missed on his bid to shatter the old mark of 6-5 set in 2000.
His record-setting pursuit drew the attention of most of the fans and the athletes not themselves competing in other events at that moment.
“That definitely helps,” Tayi said. “It feels great that my friends are there cheering me on. It’s a great feeling.”
Tayi said he did not expect to clear 6-6 -- 4 inches over his previous season best -- going into Saturday’s competition.
“I thought this was going to be a regular day, but after I did my first jump they were telling me that I had a good jump, so I felt good about that,” he said.
Tayi was not the only athlete to set a school record in the event on Saturday. Mount Greylock’s Madison Ross raised her own school mark to 5-4.5 on the way to a first-place finish.
And Tayi arguably didn’t have the best day for a Taconic athlete. That honor probably goes to Aliyah Bolling, who Aliyah Bolling, who won three events: the 100 meters in 13.34 seconds, the 200 in 27.53 and the triple jump with a mark of 33-1.
Lenox’s girls also had a strong day on the track with Mary Elliot winning the 400 (1:03.64) and the school taking both the 4-by-400 and 4-by-800 relay titles.
Pittsfield took the other relay, the 4-by-100, edging Monument Mountain by just more than a second.
The girls from Mount Greylock and Monument Mountain divided up the distance titles. Mounties Maddie Albert (2:23.10) and Josephine Smith (11:34.13) won the 800 and two-mile, respectively. Spartan Grace Phair won the mile in 5:24.32.
Mount Greylock’s Elizabeth Dupras won the 100 hurdles in 16.77, and Hoosac Valley’s Lilly Boudreau defended her home turf in the 400 hurdles, winning 1:11.28.
In the field, Mount Greylock’s Caroline Hadley turned in a dominating performance in the discus. Three of her four throws beat the field, and her best toss went 102-9 to win the event by more than 17 feet.
Taconic’s Lily Lobovits won the shot put by a comfortable margin with a mark of 31-5.75, and Drury’s Laura Thomas earned her team its only title of the day with a winning throw of 94-4 in the javelin.
The long jump title went to Lenox’s Solia Schmid with a mark of 15-8.25.
In the boys meet, Mount Greylock and Pittsfield went toe-to-toe for the second time of the week, and unlike the dual meet won by the Generals on Wednesday, Saturday’s competition was a tie with the schools’ stalemating atop the leaderboard with 34 points apiece.
Mount Greylock’s Josh Cheung won the 800 (2:05.56) and 1600 (4:35.79) and ran a leg on the team’s winning 4-by-400 relay.
Pittsfield’s Sam Higuera won the 100 (11.48) and 200 (24.05) and ran anchor on the Generals’ winning 4-by-100 quartet.
Also winning for PHS was Connor Hayford in the javelin (154-5).
Mount Greylock’s boys won the 4-by-800 relay and picked up individual wins from Jesse Seid in the 3200 (10:01.24) and Theo Sandstrom in the 400 (53.28).
The hurdles were split by Lenox’s Spencer Villinski, who took the 110 in 16.63, and Wahconah’s Tyler Olds, who won the 400 in 1:00.18.
Wahconah also got a win from Shea McIlquham in the long jump (19-9.5). Taconic’s Mohammed Ahmed won the triple jump with a mark of 44-5.75.
Homestanding Hoosac got wins in the boys shot put and discus, where Dominic Acquista (43-2) and Joe Delmolino (113-6) came out on top.
Top Three Finishers
GIRLS
100 meters: 1. Aliyah Bolling (Tac), 13.34; 2. Ellie Clark (Wah), 13.68; 3. Rosa Barnaba (MM), 13.96.
200 meters: 1. Aliyah Bolling (Tac), 27.53; 2. Maggie Nichols (MG), 28.46; 3. Sadie Anderson (Wah), 28.49.
400 meters: 1. Mary Elliot (Lnx), 1:03.64; 2. Lilly Boudreau (HV), 1:05.10; 3. Jamie Barthe (HV), 1:06.49.
800 meters: 1. Maddie Albert (MG), 2:23.19; 2. Haley Crosier (Wah), 2:28.25; 3. Magdalena Sorrentino (Lnx), 2:29.70.
1600 meters: 1. Grace Phair (MM), 5:24.32; 2. Ellen Huth (Lnx), 5:26.22; 3. Jacqueline Wells (MG), 5:38.58.
3200 meters: 1. Josephine Smith (MG), 11:34.13; 2. Grace Elliot (Lnx), 11:39.17; 3. Victoria Gamberoni (Wah), 11:50.50.
100 hurdles: 1. Elizabeth Dupras (MG), 16.77; 2. Hannah Locklear (MG), 16.86; 3. Solia Schmid (Lnx), 17.25.
400 hurdles: 1. Lilly Boudreau (HV), 1:11.28; 2. Hannah Locklear (MG), 1:12.85; 3. Shaleigh Levesque (HV), 1:14.41.
4-by-100 meter relay: 1. Pittsfield (Sadiya Quetti, McKenzie Ressler, Sasha Grosz, Liz Swanson), 55.70; 2. Monument Mountain, 56.63; 3. Wahconah, 56.67.
4-by-400 meter relay: 1. Lenox (Grace Elliot, Mary Elliot, Solia Schmid, Magdalena Sorrentino), 4:25.75; 2. Monument Mountain, 4:35.15; 3. Wahconah, 4:44.55.
4-by-800 meter relay: 1. Lenox (Ellen Huth, Marion Huth, Aidan Burns, Ava Bachman), 10:51.33; 2. Pittsfield, 11:24.56; 3. Hoosac Valley, 12:04.12.
High jump: 1. Madison Ross (MG), 5-4.5; 2. Gracie O’Brien (MM), 4-8; 3. Abby Dohoney (MM), 4-8.
Long jump: 1. Solia Schmid (Lnx), 15-8.25; 2. Ellie Clark (Wah), 15-0.5; 3. Sarah Aitken (PHS), 14-9.
Triple jump: 1. Aliyah Bolling (Tac), 33-1; 2. Sarah Aitken (PHS), 32-2.25; 3. Jane Skavlem (MG), 30-3.
Shot put: 1. Lily Lobovits (Tac), 31-5.75; 2. Caroline Hadley (MG), 27-3.5; 3. Maddie Albert (MG), 27-1.
Discus: 1. Caroline Hadley (MG), 102-9; 2. Lily Fredsall (MM), 85-4; 3. Lily Lobovits (Tac), 81-7.
Javelin: 1. Laura Thomas (Dru), 94-4; 2. Shaleigh Levesque (HV), 91-10; 3. Meghan Doane (Wah), 89-0.
BOYS
100 meters: 1. Sam Higuera (PHS), 11.48; 2. David Kankam (PHS), 11.49; 3. Ian Graham (Wah), 12.10.
200 meters: 1. Sam Higuera (PHS), 24.05; 2. Nasim Purry (PHS), 24:09; 3. Kieran Santos (MM), 24.49.
400 meters: 1. Theo Sandstrom (MG), 53.28; 2. Chris Adams (Tac), 54.25; 3. PJ Pharmer (Wah), 54.68.
800 meters: 1. Josh Cheung (MG), 2:05.56; 2. Easton Eberwein (Wah), 2:07.60; 3. Andre Collins (Lnx), 2:07.91.
1600 meters: 1. Josh Cheung (MG), 4:35.79; 2. Caleb Pollard (MM), 5:01.88; 3. Brandon Pelkey (Tac), 5:02.82.
3200 meters: 1. Jesse Seid (MG), 10:01.24; 2. Oliver Swabey (MG), 10:33.31; 3. Carlton Brooks (Wah), 10:41.48.
110 hurdles: 1. Spencer Villinski (Lnx), 16.63; 2. Kevin D’Aniello (PHS), 16.72; 3. Tyler Olds (Wah), 16.87.
400 hurdles: 1. Tyler Olds (Wah), 1:00.18; 2. Kyle MacDonald (Tac), 1:02.31; 3. Gabe Rich (PHS), 1:03.07.
4-by-100 relay: 1. Pittsfield (Mark Amenlemah, David Kankam, Nasim Purry, Sam Higuera), 46.17; 2. Monument Mountain, 47.87; 3. Mount Greylock, 48.48.
4-by-400 relay: 1. Mount Greylock (Jack Catelotti, Matt Sorrell, Josh Cheung, Theo Sandstrom), 3:41.48; 2. Pittsfield, 3:43.05; 3. Wahconah, 3:44.02.
4-by-800 relay: 1. Mount Greylock (Jakin Miller, Oliver Swabey, John Skavlem, Jesse Seid), 9:13.99; 2. Lenox, 9:18.81; 3. Taconic, 9:32.13.
High jump: 1. Josh Tayi (Tac), 6-6; 2. Shane Steinman (Lnx), 5-9; 3. Mohammed Ahmed (Tac), 5-9.
Long jump: 1. Shea McIlquham (Wah), 19-9.5; 2. Mohammed Ahmed (Tac), 18-7.75; 3. Jack Pudlo (Wah), 18-4.
Triple jump: 1. Mohammed Ahmed (Tac), 44-5.75; 2. Jack Pudlo (Wah), 40-11.75; 3. Josh Tayi (Tac), 40-10.5.
Shot put: 1. Dominic Acquista (HV), 43-2; 2. Nolan Roberts (HV), 41-7; 3. Connor Hayford (PHS), 39-5.75.
Discus: 1. Joe Delmolino (HV), 133-6; 2. Kerin Coscia (PHS), 118-3; 3. Ryan Goss (MG), 112-9.
Javelin: 1. Connor Hayford (PHS), 154-5; 2. Tristan Collins (Lnx), 138-8; 3. Andre Collins (Lnx), 131-2.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES
Mount Greylock, 40; 2. Lenox, 28; 3. Taconic, 21; 4. Hoosac Valley, 13; 4. Monument Mountain, 13; 6. Wahconah 12; 7. Pittsfield, 9; 8. Drury, 5.
BOYS TEAM SCORES
1. Pittsfield, 34; 1. Mount Greylock, 34; 3. Taconic, 22; 4. Wahconah, 21; 5. Hoosac Valley, 13; 5. Lenox, 13; 7. Monument Mountain, 4.