BUCKLAND — Unbeknownst to any of his opponents, Belchertown’s Aidan Clancy had an ace up his sleeve — or rather, on his spikes.
Clancy met his idol, South Hadley graduate and current Harvard superstar Jonas Clarke, at a meet recently. Clancy got both a picture and an autograph after chatting with him.
“We talked at a meet the other day, and I got a picture and got him to sign my shoe,” Clancy said. “It’s the only reason I won, I kissed it before every event.”
The good-luck charm worked for the senior, who jumped up from a fifth-place seed in the 200-meter dash to finish second with a time of 23.35 seconds. He then blew the competition away in the 100-meter dash final with a winning time of 11.26 seconds, a full three-tenths of a second faster than the next fastest competitor at the PVIAC Division 2 Track & Field Championships at Mohawk Trail Regional High School.
“I definitely wanted to be a lot more explosive this time compared to prelims,” Clancy said on his 100-meter win. “Coach told me to take it a little easier to save my energy for this. I had some great motivation — Jonas Clarke in the crowd.”
Clancy was visibly stoked after winning his race, taking off his spikes and waving them in the air at his fanbase on the sidelines, including Clarke. He also placed fifth in the long jump (19-2.5).
Clancy’s teammates Trevor and Brandon Adamson placed sixth (10:57.02) and eighth (11:01.94) in the two mile run, respectively.
On the girls’ side, Cameron Ting had an impressive day for Belchertown in the field events, placing fourth in the high jump (4-8) and fourth in the long jump (15-3).
Belchertown’s Natalie Shaw also had a strong showing, finishing fourth in the 400 run (64.80), and Molly Bail placed fifth in the 800 (2:30.59).
Belchertown’s Kami Wlodyka took seventh in the two mile (13:30.33) and Allison Morris finished eighth in the 400 (67.61).
While Clancy’s finishes were slightly unexpected — he wasn’t seeded first in either event — South Hadley’s Emma Sanford was just as predictable as ever, winning three events — the 100 hurdles (15.23), the long jump (17-0), and the 400 hurdles. Though the 400 hurdles was her least favorite event of the night, the finish was one of the highlights of the evening.
Sanford looked as though she would cross the line firmly in second place in the 400 hurdles. Mount Greylock’s Katherine Goss was a couple steps ahead as the two raced neck and neck down the final straight.
Then, an opening — Goss clipped a hurdle, and there was a visible shift in Sanford as she geared up for the comeback.
“I came around the end curve, and the girl was coming at me from the left, and I was in a different lane so I could have see it sooner,” Sanford said. “She tipped the last hurdle, and I just thought that was my time to really push through and get there, because I knew I could do it.”
After cleaning the final hurdle clearly, Sanford unleashed her lethal sprint and out-leaned Goss at the line for the title.
Abigail Gelinas also had a night to remember for South Hadley. The sophomore finished third in the 200 dash (27.11) and second in the 100 dash (13.02). Maddie Soderbaum took sixth in the high jump (4-8) and three Frontier girls placed in the pole vault, led by Sophia Leone in second (9-0). Gage Calhoun placed third (8-0) and Ohia Dellert took fifth (6-0).
On the boys’ side, Jameson Webber finished sixth in the 400 hurdles (63.93), Matt Gillis took fifth in the triple jump (39-3.5) and Jack Loughrey finished sixth in the triple jump (39-0.75).
Frontier’s girls team finished second overall with 78 points, one point ahead of third-place Pope Francis, and it’s thanks in large part to the team’s combination of talent and depth.
“We’re really pleased with what they did. They are, I think, the best they’ve been all year, which is what you want at the end when you get to a championship,” Frontier coach Bob Smith said. “People stepped up and did big things today that we were happy to see.”
Sanford and Frontier’s Caroline Crocker battled back and forth all evening; Crocker took second in the long jump (15-7.5) and the 100 hurdles (15.56).
Frontier’s Lilly Novak took control in the field events, picking up valuable points with a third place finish in the shot put (28-5), sixth in the discus (89-10) and fifth in the javelin (92-0). Teammate Micky McCarthy finished sixth in the shot put (27-1.5).
Nicole Plasse finished seventh in the 400 hurdles (75.73), Sylvie DiBartolomeo finished fifth in the two mile (13:08.14), ahead of teammate Bianca Peura in eighth (14:14.79). Abigail Howard finished fourth in the mile (5:48.97)
On the boys’ side, the Redhawks placed second as a team as well with 63.50 points.
Adrien Pazmandy helped out the Redhawks with a second place finish in the pole vault (9-6) and Aiden Dredge took second in the javelin (156-1). Fernando Saravia took fourth in the 400 (52.48), Luke Howard crossed the line sixth in the mile (4:43.76) and Ben Cachiguango finished third in the 110 hurdle (16.84). Alex Schreiber finished fifth in the discus (116-2).
BB Tauscher competed in one of the most thankless events – the 400 meters, essentially a full-out sprint for an entire lap, a grueling test of endurance and speed.
It’s taken Tauscher awhile to find a home in an event, but he has finally landed on the 400 and managed to hold on for a first place finish with a time of 51.68, just edging Mount Greylock’s Quinn McDermott (51.85).
“The race is really excruciating, but in the end, it’s really a mental race, especially the last 100,” Tauscher. “I really want to go to nationals, so I just have that thought in my head, and it gets me to push myself to get what I want to do.”
His teammate Joseph Boyer had some impressive finishes as well, placing third in the 100 dash (11.58) and sixth in the 200 dash (23.62).
On the girls’ side, Addie Barr finished fifth in the mile with a time of 5:51.09, and Jade DeNucce-Simms took seventh in the discus (83-9).
Other top finishes from the evening:
Kathleen Barry of Hampshire finished third in the two mile with a 12:37.89 and teammate Charlotte Niswonger finished sixth (13:14.40). Sicily Chase finished seventh in the 800 (2:36.83), Barry placed sixth in the mile (5:53.76) and Addie Morrey took seventh right behind her (5:54.12).
Jaiden Kudelka took third in the 100 dash (11.58) and fourth in the triple jump (39-5.5) for Hampshire.
In the relays, Frontier’s boys 4×400 placed second (3:36.7) and its 4×800 took third (9:01.8). The Frontier girls’ 4×400 took fourth (4:30.26) and their 4×800 group was third (11:16.31).
Hampshire’s girls 4×400 finished fifth (4:31.94) and the 4×400 took fifth (11:28.79), while South Hadley’s girls 4×400 finished sixth (4:37.53).