It was a fantastic fight to the finish in Eisenhower and Sheffield's 2012 track & field opener during a tri-meet with North Clarion Wednesday at Sheffield High School.
Both the Knights and Wolverines boys teams finished the afternoon with records of 1-0-1. Both teams defeated North Clarion before settling for a tie in their head-to-head matchup. Sheffield and Eisenhower finished with identical scores of 70.5.
In girls competition, Eisenhower finished 1-1 and host Sheffield finished 0-2. The Lady Knights beat Sheffield, 76-65 and lost to North Clarion, 94-47. Sheffield also fell to North Clarion, 78-62.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Allen Seybert
Strong arm
Eisenhower’s Andy Decker completes his turn in the boys javelin event during a tri-meet with Sheffield and North Clarion held Wednesday at Sheffield High School.
Eisenhower finished the tri-meet with five first-place finishers. The Knights were victorious in two of the three relay races, winning both the 4X400 and 4X800.
Individually, Ben Perkins, Anthony Amroski and Jake VanHouten all recorded wins. Perkins won the 400, Amroski the 3200 and VanHouten the triple jump.
Sheffield standout Kalil Slaughter had an up and down start to his senior season. Slaughter earned individual wins in the 200 and the long jump and was part of the winning 4X100 relay team with Deonte Clay, Kwante Johnson and Dylan Reynolds.
However his best event, the 100 meters, was a disappointment. Slaughter cited a malfunctioning starting gun for his slow start out of the blocks and the speedster had to settle for a third-place run in the 100. This after finishing second in the state a year ago.
Sheffield's other victory on the day came from Evan Jamison who cleared five feet, eight inches to win the high jump.
"I was very impressed with our 4X100 relay team today," said Sheffield boys coach Bryan Gould. "We were just a couple thousandths of a second off the school record time. That's impressive for the first meet of the year. There is a lot of speed and a lot of talent on that team and I think the school record is within reach."
Eisenhower's girls team had a strong start to the year - especially on the track where Taylor Talasky and Bizz Baran stood out. In addition to the winning 4X400 relay race, Ike got wins from Talasky in the 100 and 200 and Baran in the 400.
"Our 1600 relay team had a very nice race," said Ike girls coach Mike Logue. "I was very pleased with their performance. Bizz and Lacey (Stanko) also had strong times in the 400 and of course Taylor had a nice afternoon."
Despite low numbers, Sheffield's girls team was stout on Wednesday, looking especially good in the field events. The team still did record two wins on the track, winning the 4X100 relay and the 100 hurdles with Morgan Leichtenberger.
Freshman Jen Isenberg led the way in the field with two wins. First, she won the javelin before sharing the winning high jump with teammate Ashley Davidson. Leichtenberger was a winner in the triple jump, Juli Ely won the discus and Jade Moore won the long jump.
"We were very strong in our field events," said Sheffield girls coach Jenelle Johnson. "Our freshmen are stepping up and earning lots of points for the team. I'm very impressed with this young team."
Johnson added that Davidson and Isenberg qualified for districts in the high jump and that Abby Labesky, Davidson and Ely all earned key points for the team.
Sheffield does not return to action until April 11 when it visits Coudersport. Eisenhower hosts Meadville on April 10.
Sheffield boys 79, North Clarion 62
Sheffield boys 70.5, Eisenhower 70.5
Eisenhower def. North Clarion
100: 1. Dean (N) 11.97, 2. Johnson (S), 3. Slaughter (S)
200: 1. Slaughter (S) 23.27, 2. Dean (N), 3. Johnson (S)
400: 1. Perkins (E) 53.42, 2. Eernisse (E), 3. VonHendricks (N)
800: 1. Schmader (N) 2:20.4, 2. Shakwan (S), 3. Quinones (S)
1600: 1. Schmader (N) 5:16.2, 2. Mizak (E), 3. Geisler (S)
3200: 1. Amroski (E) 11:18.3, 2. Schmader (N), 3. VanGuilder (E)
110 hurdles: 1. Dean (N) 16.28, 2. Silvis (N), 3. Kirkwood (N)
300 hurdles: 1. Dean (N) 41.93, 2. Kirkwood (N), 3. VanHouten (E)
400 relay: 1. Sheffield (Clay, Johnson, Reynolds, Slaughter) 45.15
1600 relay: 1. Eisenhower 3:44.5
3200 relay: 1. Eisenhower time NA
Shot put: 1. Obenrader (N) 49' 1 1/2, 2. Lee (S), 3. Fitch (S)
Discus: 1. Schmader (N) 111'6, 2. Fitch (S), 3. Jones (S)
Javelin: 1. Obenrader (N) 160'8, 2. Yeagle (E), 3. Fitch (S)
Long jump: 1. Slaughter (S) 20' 3 1/4, 2. Silvis (N), 3. Jamison (S)
Triple jump: 1. VanHouten (E) 40'11, 2. Perkins (E), 3. Shine (E)
High jump: 1. Jamison (S) 5'10, 2. Shine (E), 3. Vile (S), Onoratti (E), Popoleo (N)- tie
North Clarion 78, Sheffield girls 62
Eisenhower girls 76, Sheffield girls 65
North Clarion 94, Eisenhower girls 47
100: 1. Talasky (E) 14.03, 2. Vile (S), 3. Moore (S)
200: 1. Talasky (E) 30.58, 2. Stanko (E), 3. Vile (S)
400: 1. Baran (E) 1:06.5, 2. Bean (N), 3. Stanko (E)
800: 1. Wallace (N) 2:32.9, 2. Baran (E), 3. Bauer (E)
1600: 1. Wallace (N) 5:52.1, 2. Bauer (E), 3. Sherman (N)
3200: 1. Wallace (N) 13:04.8, 2. Megan (N), 3. Thompson (E)
100 hurdles: 1. Leichtenberger (S) 18.2, 2. Marsh (E), 3. Mills (N)
300 hurdles: 1. Ochs (N) 54.52, 2. Bawer (N), 3. Wallin (E)
400 relay: 1. Sheffield 57.88
1600 relay: 1. Eisenhower 4:47.7
3200 relay: 1. North Clarion 11:51.1
Shot put: 1. Nick (N) 25'11, 2. Mills (N), 3. Hansen (S)
Discus: 1. Eli (S) 74'9, 2. Young (N), 3. Hargenrader (N)
Javelin: 1. Isenberg (S) 89'10, 2. Vile (S), 3. Nick (N)
Long jump: 1. Moore (S) 14'4 1/2, 2. Reed (N), 3. Hargenrader (N)
Triple jump: 1. Leichtenberger (S) 28'1, 2. Sherman (N), 3. Davidson (S)
High jump: 1. Davidson (S), Isenberg (S), Oaks (N), 3-way tie