MONTICELLO - By dint of its expansive nature, diversity, as well as the number of athletes it involves, track and field is king when it comes to the array of spring sports. That’s not a knock on baseball, softball and golf that certainly have their allure, stars and sterling moments. Nor does it diminish the accomplishments of the individuals and teams from those sports. But just looking over the hillside of fans watching the meet at Monticello who were braving the freezing cold weather, the damp atmosphere and mud, was evidence of how many people are drawn to watch the sport that features so much variety among its runners, jumpers and throwers.

Originally, this meet was slated to be a tri-meet among Monticello, Tri-Valley and Livingston Manor/ Roscoe. But the addition of Eldred and Sullivan West, who were competing against each other in a division fray, made it even more exciting. The most anticipated clash was to be the Monticello vs. Tri-Valley boys. Talk had been circulating prior to the meet with a difference of opinion as to which team would prevail.

Tri-Valley is talented to be sure, with its standout distance runners featuring Adam Furman and his cross-country and indoor teammates. They figure to be a dominant force in Class D. But Monticello is a Class A school in track with a bevy of talent across the entire spectrum of events.

Rumors of a Tri-Valley agenda to beat Monticelllo fired up the Panthers and their coach Matt Buddenhagen. The Panthers’ vibrancy became evident with its sweep of the jumps and sprints and two of the three relays against the Bears that amounted to a lopsided 99-33 lead in head-to-head scoring versus the Bears.

“We had some great performances in tough weather conditions,” noted Buddenhagen. “It was a great atmosphere for track and field for all the participating schools.”

The Montis also defeated LM/R 123-8. The T-V Bears easily outpointed LM/R 107-14. As for Sullivan West, scored only against Eldred, the Westies proved victorious 96-17 against the Yellowjackets. This was the first meet for all the competing schools except Monticello which already had logged a division win over Port Jervis.

T-V began the meet with a 4x800 victory deploying their four strongest distance runners in Furman, Craig Costa, Vincent Mingo and Caleb Edwards, but when it came to the 110 hurdles, the 100 and the 4x100 relay, the high, long and triple jumps, it was a Monticello sweep of all those events.

The much-anticipated matchup between Monticello senior Evan Waterton and Tri-Valley junior Adam Furman had to wait until the running of the 400, one of the four events won on the day by Waterton for the second straight meet.

Furman’s strength is in the distance runs, most notably in the 3200 and the steeplechase. His dad and coach Chip Furman has been emphasizing the shorter races to build up his speed so those distance match ups between the county standouts will have to wait.

Highlights of the meet included a first-place shot put throw by Sullivan West senior Chris Campanelli (43-1 ½.), Monticello’s Jadden Bryant’s sweep of all three jumping events, Adam Furman’s win in the 400 IH which served as practice for the barrier jumps in upcoming steeplechase races, the great sprint finishes by Monticello’s JuJuan and Jadon Swasey along with Rohan Patrick and of course Waterton’s dominance in the 400, 800, 1600 and 3200.

Despite the chill and the damp, things really heated up. It was a great opening bell for Sullivan County track and field.

Boys results

Monticello 99, Tri-Valley 33, Livingston Manor 8

4x800 relay: 1. T-V 8:46.4; 110 HH 1. Tahir Denton (M) 15.9; 2. Christian Corces (M) 17.1; 3. Quenten Liciaga (M) 17.1. 100: 1. Rohan Patrick (M) 11.5; 2. Ju’Juan Swasey 11.6 3. Jadon Suasey (M) 11.8. 1600: 1. Evan Waterton (M) 4:52; 2. Van Furman (T-V) 4:58; 3. Connor Weyant (T-V) 5:19. 4x100 Relay: 1. Monticello 45.6. 400: 1. Waterton (M) 51.8; 2. Adam Furman (T-V) 53.4; 3. Costa (T-V) 58.0. 400 IH 1. Adam Furman (T-V) 62.4; 2. Denton (M) 66.3; 3. Christian Corces 70.4. 800: 1. Waterton (M) 2:10; 2. Costa (T-V) 2:13; 3. Van Furman (T-V) 2:19. 200: 1. Patrick (M) 23.3; 2. Jadon Swasey (M) 23.5; 3 Ju’Juan Swasey (M)23.6. 3200: 1. Waterton (M) 10:42; 2. Thomas Houghtaling (T-V) 11:18; 3. Frankie Giorgianni (M) 11:51.4x400 Relay: 1. Monticell0 3:48 (Patrick, Suasey twins, Ricky Gonzalez). High Jump: 1. Jadden Bryant 5-10; 2. Quenen Liciaga 5-8; 3. David Williams (M) 4-10. Shot put: 1. Armaan Butler (T-V) 36-1; 2. Jesse Corces (M) 35-10; 3. Colin Canto (M) 33-6. Long jump: 1.Bryant (M) 17-5; 2. Williams (M) 16-7 ½; 3. Raphael Liciaga (M) 16-3. Triple jump: 1.Bryant 37-5; 2. Christian Corces 34-4; 3. Williams 29-2 ¼.

Sullivan West 96, Eldred 17

4x800 Relay: 1. SW (Gabriel Wasner, Chase Ferber, Jared Kratz, Landon Volpe) 10:04.9. 110 HH: 1. Peter March (SW) 20.4. 100: 1. Aoleces Jimenez (SW) 12.6; 2.. Dominic Furlipa (Eld) 13.1; 3. Danny Shami (SW) 13.6). 1600: 1. Volpe (SW) 5:12; 2. Karl Swanson (SW) 5:26; 3. Landen Boyd (SW) 5:58. 4x100 Relay: 1. Eld 53.6 (Kain Quimby, Tyiese Mack, Furlipa, Jonathan Morabito). 400: 1. Dylan Sager (SW) 57.8; 2. Jimenez (SW) 59.8; 3. Jeff Morgan (Eld) (no time reported). 400 IH 1. March (SW) 1:12.2; 2. Kratz (SW) 1:21.1. 800: 1. Sager (SW) 2:23; 2. Boyd (SW) 2:52; 3. Morgan (Eld) 2:54. 200: SW (1,2,3) 4x400: 1. SW 4:18 (Shami, Tariq Gambari, Charles Kutschera, Ferber). High jump: 1. Gambari (SW) 4-10; 2. Will Nearing (SW) 4-8. Shot put: 1. Chris Campanelli (SW) 43-1 ½. 2. Dillan Hanslmaier (SW) 34-8. 3. Sean Linton (Eld) 25-5 ½. Long jump: 1. Morabito (Eld) 16-3 ¼. 2. Tarrell Spencer (SW) 16-2; 3. Nearing (SW) 15-10. Pole Vault: 1. Nate Coy (SW) 6-0. Triple jump: 1. Spencer (SW) 36-9; 2. Shami (SW) 33-3 ½. 3. Nearing (SW) 31-8.

Tri-Valley 107, Livingston Manor/Roscoe

14 4x800 (T-V) 8:46.4. 110 HH 1: 1. Noah Jucha (T-V) 20.4; 2. Reese Chelmandine (T-V) 21.4; 3. Nicholas Bender (T-V) 12.7. 100: 1. Noah Edwards (T-V) 12.2; 2. Brandon Kaplan (T-V) 12.3; 3. Dakota DeWitt (LM/R) 13.0. 1600: 1. Van Furman (T-V) 4:48; 2. Connor Weyant (T-V) 5:19. 4x100 Relay: 1. (T-V) 62.4 (Jucha, Connor Rafferty, N. Edwards, Dylan Poley). 800: 1. Craig Costa (T-V) 2:13; 2. V. Furman (T-V) 2:19; 3. Vincent Mingo (T-V) 2:24. 200: 1. Poley (T-V) 26.5; 2. Dayne Wall T-V) 26.6; 3. Zac Dertinger (LM/R) 29.4. 3200: 1. Thomas Houghtaling (T-V) 11:18; 2. Dertinger (LM/R) 12:00. 4x400 Relay: 1. T-V) 4:01 (Adam Furman, Costa, Mingo, Caleb Edwards). High Jump 1. Andrew (LM/R) 5-0; 2. Brandon Schultz (T-V) 4-8; 3. Shelmadine (T-V) 4-0. Long jump: 1. Jucha (T-V) 15-3; 2. Donny (LM/R) 14-8 ½; 3 Schultz (T-V) 14-6. Pole Vault: 1. Rafferty (T-V) 7-0; 2. Kristoff Guanzon (T-V) 6-0; 3. Bender (T-V) 6-0.

Monticello and Sullivan West girls prevail in their respective challenges

When it comes to winning track and field meets, the most important ingredient is depth. As points are tabulated across the events for the top places in each event, teams look to accrue as many points as possible and that takes a significant number of participants. Monticello clearly showed it had that depth in its contention against up-and-coming Tri-Valley.

Both the Lady Panthers and the Lady Bulldogs proved dominant in their respective clashes. For Monticello, that superiority manifested itself in first place finishes in all the events vs. Tri-Valley with the exception of the 1500, 800 and High Jump. The former two distance races were won by Amelia Mickelson and the high jump by Kendall McGregor. It should be noted that Tri-Valley is a Class D school, while Monticello is in Class A.

The T-V girls are coached by Tyler Eckhoff and the program is clearly on the rise. Monticello girls are led by coach Rick Sternkopf and are looking to make strides in Class A this year. Monticello’s sprint depth included the wiles of Meg Cruz, Yamilette Escobar, Chelsea Reynolds and Taina DeJesus. The latter is rounding into shape in her mainstay, the 100 hurdles.

Abby Morse captured the 400 IH, an event DeJesus will no doubt soar to win as the season moves on apace. In the Division V clash between Sullivan West and Eldred, the resurgent Lady Westies, under the watchful eye of coach Skylar Musa, who has encouraged a significant number of youngsters to join up with the veterans, have a long view of returning Sullivan West to its former superiority in Class D.

For the Lady Westies, it was a meet sweep of all the first place finishes in the meet with the exception of the pole vault won by Eldred’s Kaitlyn Potter. Keely Schock won the 100 hurdles and the 200. Paige Parucki swept the triple, long and high jumps. Katheryn Widmann won the shot put, Grace Boyd ran a leg in the wining 4x800 along with Abby Parucki, Sam Everett and Jamie Hendrickson. Boyd also prevailed in the 1500. Hendrickson won the 400 and Brooke DeCarlo captured the 400 IH. Ella Herbert proved victorious in the 800. Sullivan West will have its biggest division challenge as it heads to Tri-Valley tomorrow.

Girls results

Monticello 80.5, Tri-Valley 41.5

4x800 Relay: 1. Monticello 11:46.9 (Kaitlyn Morse, Diya Patel, Abby Morse, Hannah Titus). 100 HH: 1. Taina DeJesus (M) 19.1; 2. Joyce Brooks (T-V) 21.0; 3. Alexandra Dietz (M) 21.7.100: 1. Meg Cruz (M) 13.5; 2. Kendall McGregor (T-V) 13.8; 3. Yami Escobar (M) 14.0. 1500: 1. Amelia Mickelson (T-V) 5:44; 2. Brynn Poley (T-V) 5:49; 3. Patel (M) 5:51. 4x100 Relay: 1. Monticello 53.5 (Cruz, Chelsea Reynolds, Escobar, DeJesus). 400: 1. DeJesus (M) 66.2; 2. Reynolds (M) 69.0; 3. Kalene Harris (M) 70.5. 400 IH: 1. Abby Morse (M) 1;26.5; 2. Mackenzie Closs (T-V) 1:26.6; 3. Brooks (T-V) 1:28.7. 800: 1. Mickelson (T-V) 2:52; 2. Titus (M) 2:55; 3. Poley (T-V) 2:59. 200: 1. Cruz (M) 29.1; 2. McGregor 29.4; 3. Escobar (M) 30.8. 3000: 1. Kaitlyn Morse (M) 15:37; 2. Abby Morse (M) 15:42. 4x400 Relay: 1. Monticello 4:44.3 (Patel, Reynolds, Cruz, Titus). Triple jump: 1.Zeniyah Gholson (M) 28.6; 2. Closs (T-V) 23-9 ½; 3. Claudia Corces (M) 20-9. Long jump: 1. Escobar (M) 13-3 ½; 2. Closs (T-V) 12-1 ½; 3. Gholson (M) 11-10 ½. Shot put: 1. Emma Werbalowsky (M) 23-3; 2. Emily Hornbeck (T-V) 19-4; 3. Juliannah Bilas (M) 18-1. High jump: 1. McGregor (T-V) 4-8; 2. Reynolds (M) 4-2; 3. Ellyza Ocampo (M) Brooks T-V) 3-6.

Sullivan West 105, Eldred 16

4x800 Relay: 1. Sullivan West 11;42.3 (Grace Boyd, Abby Parucki, Sam Everettt, Jamie Hendrickson). 100HH:1. Keely Schock (SW) 21.4; 2. Tabitha Smith (Eld) 22.4. 100: 1. Amanda Dirig (SW) 14.6; 2. Violla Shami (SW) 14.9; 3. Alexis Williams (Eld) untimed. 4x100 Relay: 1. SW 63.7 (Ellla Herbert, Schock, Ella LaBagh, Brooke DeCarlo). 400: 1. Hendrickson (SW) 70.2; 2. Madison Eisma (SW) 3:13. 200: 1. Schock (SW) 31.8; 2. DeCarlo (SW) 32.4; 3. Dirig (SW) 34.1. 4x400 Relay: 1. SW 5:03.7 (Hendrickson, Paige Parucki, Brooke Nunnari, Abby Parucki). Triple jump: 1. Paige Parucki (SW) 25-8 ½; 2. Shami (SW) 25-1 3. Smith (Eld) 20-3. Pole Vault: 1. Kaitlyn Potter (Eld) 6-6; 2. Schock (SW) 6-0; 3. Regn Kizer (Eld) 5-6. Long jump: 1. P. Parucki (SW) 11-10; 2. Dirig (SW) 10-10; 3. DeCarlo (SW) 9-8 ½. Shot put: 1. Katheryn Widmann (SW) 29-9 ½; 2. Lindsay Zgrodek (Eld) 29-1; 3. Ksenia Sosnowski (Eld) 22-1. High jump: 1. P. Parucki (SW) 4-2; 2. Abby Parucki (SW) 4-2; 3. Shami (SW) 3-9.