BUCKLAND — The short wait between the 200-meter dash final and high jump final behooved South Hadley sophomore Lindsay Marjanski.
“When my legs are a little tired I jump better, which is weird,” she said. “They’re warm.”
Marjanski won the 200 in 26.44 seconds at the District F&G Division 2 Track & Field Championships, then jogged over to the high jump pit, where she cleared 5 feet for her second title of the meet.
She entered the 200 preliminary rounds seeded second, but posted the top qualifying time. After the turn in the final heat, Marjanski noticed she was ahead.
“I thought ‘only 100 left, I can keep it,’” she said. “I gave it everything because once I do this I can have a break.”
She won two of South Hadley’s four event titles. Despite their individual success, the Tigers couldn’t repeat as team champions. They were second with 81 points. Mount Greylock won with 95.
“We left some points on the table in a couple spots where we can’t leave points,” South Hadley coach Nick Davis said. “Had we hit the seed spots, that would have changed a couple things. At the end of the day, not everybody can have their best day all the time.”
Savannah Sudyka didn’t feel like she had her best day for South Hadley, but still ended up with two wins. She held seed in the shot put, throwing 37-11.
“I feel like I had an OK day. I could have thrown farther, I just need to get my leg underneath me,” she said.
Sudyka also anchored South Hadley’s championship 4×100 relay team with Amy Hampson, Teagan Gawron and Kayla Carleton that won in 52.02 seconds. Running last makes Sudyka nervous, but she feeds off the energy.
“I love my anchor leg. I love my 4×1 team,” she said.
South Hadley was second in both the 4×4 (4:16.54) and 4×8 (10:16.78) relays.
Olivia Vecellio captured two first-place finishes for Frontier Regional. She expected to win the discus as the top seed, but was surprised by the javelin title.
She hadn’t practiced javelin in a week.
“No pressure on yourself, just throw,” Vecellio said.
She threw 101-6 for the win.
The pressure was on in the discus. She saw Mohawk Trial’s Violet Rawlings throw 102-11 and knew she had to pick it up. Vecellio backed it up with a 106-4.
Hampshire Regional finished behind the Tigers in third with 71 points.
Lovisa Swedenborg won the Raiders’ only individual title by crossing the 100-meter line first in 13.2 seconds. She edged Mount Greylock’s Madison Ross by .05 seconds after weathering tow false starts.
“It kind of stresses you out. You’re so pumped up the first time, but the second and third time you just want to get it over with,” Swedenborg said. “You’ve got to get your adrenaline pumping and get your head in the game even though you’re really not.”
Hannah Labrie was second in the 100 hurdles in 16.87 seconds. Jillian Scott took second in the pole vault after she lost a jump off at 8-6. The Raiders were second behind South Hadley in the 4×1 (52.74).
Brandyn Robinson raced down the back stretch of the 400 looking at Seth Hoynoski’s back. He remembered losing the 4×4 relay anchor leg to the Mohawk Trail senior when Frontier Regional faced them in the second meet of the season.
“I was so disappointed with myself. I had to beat him because I knew I was better,” Robinson said. “So I went for it.”
He overtook Hoynoski down the last 100 and won the race in 52.82 seconds. Hoynoski finished second at 53.12.
“My dad had a Western Mass. title in triple jump when he was in high school, so a little flashback from his days,” Robinson said.
Robinson won Frontier’s only individual event, but the Red Hawks placed second with 62 points. Mount Greylock scored 97 to win.
“Late in the game there were a lot of gutsy moments,” Frontier coach Walt Flynn said. “When they looked for the extra, it was there.”
It was Frontier’s best team finish since 2005.
Alex Sharp took second in the mile in 4:39.31. Jack Vecellio cleared 11-0 for second in the pole vault.
Carsten Carey placed second in the 2-mile at 10:10.16, losing out on a kick to Hampshire’s Chris Vayda (10:10.1).
Vayda wanted to kick first so he could be in front at the last leg and hold off Carey at the end.
“He was tall, like extra long,” Vayda said. “At first I didn’t know (I won) because it was so close. It was so weird. It just feels really good.”
Hampshire tied for seventh with 32 points. Its 4×8 relay was second (9:00.1).
Nick Lajoie won the boys 110 hurdles in 15.9 seconds for South Hadley.
“I have really long legs, I just finish stronger than everyone else — bigger strides,” he said. ”
Joel Wyzik took fourth in the discus for Belchertown (112-0), while Hunter Klingensmith was fourth in the javelin (130-07).
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com.