JEFFERSONVILLE – Rivalries are the lifeblood of sports. Teams that vie against each other year after year for titles spawn intense fervor not only between the contenders themselves, but also among invested onlookers, including families, fans and communities. 

Sullivan West and Tri-Valley share that rivalry in every sport and track and field is no exception. The Tri-Valley boys have been preeminent in that rivalry over recent years, but Sullivan West has had its moments as well. Going back further when T-V was under the mentorship of Joe and Missy Iatauro, it was the Bears who were dominant for years on end. 

Then, Sullivan West, under the brilliant tutelage of Joe Seidl, won five consecutive girls Section IX titles. Last year, the Sullivan West girls outpaced T-V in the Section IX meet under the savvy leadership of Skylar Musa. 

She is now back at T-V, from whence she hails along with husband Tyler Eckhoff overseeing the Lady Bears who are once again on top. 

For Sullivan West with new coaches Justin Diehl and Joe Ebeling for the boys and girls respectively, it’s about rebuilding. Whatever year and whatever state each of these teams finds itself in, the rivalry lives on. 

So, in this dual meet that also included Livingston Manor and Roscoe, clearly the focus was on the two Division VI heavyweights. The SW boys had a very strong showing and with a few different places here and there, or in the case of the shot put, a matter of inches, the Bulldogs could have pulled off a surprising upset. 

The two teams will meet again this coming weekend at the Tri-Valley Invitation but the showdown that matters will take place at Section IX championships to determine the final hierarchy this spring. This past Friday, Tri-Valley went on to compete in the Iron Dukes Relays at Marlboro, building more caché with some fine performances:

T-V Iron Dukes Relays top five finishers: Boys- 800: 1. Adam Furman 2:00.92. Discus: 2. Armaan Butler 108-04. 1600: 1. A. Furman 4:20.42; 2. Craig Costa 4:29.78. 3000 Steeplechase: 1. Van Furman 9:54.30. 4x100 Throwers Relay: 5. (Butler, Talan Scanna, Mark Klein, Matthew Klein). 4x800 Relay: 1. 9:19.03 (Costa, Ian Horton, Thomas Houghtaling, Connor Weyant). Shot Put: 4. Butler 37-0. Hammer Throw: 3. Butler 122-5; 5. Mark Klein 96-02. Javelin: 5. Scanna 96-11.

Girls- 400: 2. Mya Ibarra 1:05.51. 800: 3. Ibarra 2:38.11.1 1500: 1. Anna Furman 4:57.27.4. Amelia Mickelson 5:15.10. 100 Hurdles: 4. Kendall McGregor 18.73. 400 Hurdles: 2. Mackenzie Closs 1:19.91; 4. McGregor 1:21.29. 2000 Steeplechase: 3. Lily Siciliano 9:54.31; 4. Delanie Hoffman 10:04.92. 4x100 Throwers Relay: 1. 55.69. 4x800 Relay: 1. 9:13.51.32. Hammer throw: 3. Brooke Mulholland 73-03; 4. Dakota Evans 65-10. Javelin: 2. McGregor 55-10; 4. Emily Hornbeck 41-09; 5. Sophia Richardson 41-05. 

SW Dual Meet results

Boys results: Tri-Valley 75, Sullivan West 65; Sullivan West 120, Livingston Manor 12; Sullivan West 135, Roscoe 0; Tri-Valley 120, Livingston Manor 11; Tri-Valley 130, Roscoe 0; Livingston Manor 54, Roscoe 0.

4x800: 1. Tri-Valley 9:43.5 (Adam Furman, Craig Costa, Van Furman, Thomas Houghtaling). 110 Hurdles: 1. Peter March (SW) 19.81; 2. Henry Studney (T-V) and Noah Jucha (T-V) 20.0; 3. Nick Bender (T-V) 20.69. 100: 1. Noah Edwards (T-V) 11.59; 2. Ayo Jimenez (SW) 12.17; 3. March (SW) 12.38. 1600: 1. Adam Furman (T-V) 4:48; 2. Costa (T-V) 4:55; 3. Van Furman (T-V) 4:56. 4x100 Relay: 1. Sullivan West 49.78 (Will Nearing Blaise Maher, Jimenez, Brodey Herbert. 400: 1. A. Furman (T-V) 52.91; 2. Dayne Wall (T-V) 55.3; 3. Costa (T-V) 56.41. 400 Hurdles: 1. March (SW) 65.9; 2. Edwards (T-V) 68.6; 3. Jucha (T-V) 69.1; 4. Hunter Ebeling (SW) 69.9. 800: 1. A. Furman (T-V) 2:08; 2. Wall (T-V) 2:18.5; 3. Vincent Mingo (T-V) 2:19.5. 200: 1. Edwards (T-V) 25.0; 2. Jimenez (SW) 25.25; 3. Maher (SW) 25.74. 3200: 1. Costa (T-V) 11:25.1; 2. V. Furman (T-V) 11:25.3; 3. Houghtaling (T-V) 11:40; 4x400 Relay: 1. Sullivan West 3:53 (Nearing, Maher, Jimenez, Herbert). High jump: Andrew Gabel (LM) 5-2; 2. Hunter Ebeling (SW) 5-2 decided on misses; 3. Nearing (SW) 4-10. Pole Vault: 1. Robert Davidson (SW) 8-8; 2. Bender (T-V) 8-0; 3. Nathaniel Mendoza (SW) 7-0. Triple jump: 1. Nearing (SW) 35-3; 2. Charlie Kutschera (SW) 31-1; 3. Mendoza (SW) 30-7. Long jump: 1. Ebeling (SW) 17-11; 2. Nearing (SW) 16-11; 3. Danny Aiello (LM) 16-2. Shot put: 1. Armaan Butler (T-V) 38-8; 2. Dillan Hanslmaier (SW) 38-5; Mark Klein (T-V) 35-6; Discus: 1. Butler (T-V) 116-0; 2. Hanslmaier (SW) 100-6; 3. Klein (T-V) score not reported. 

Girls Results: Tri-Valley 84, Sullivan West 50; Sullivan West 128, Livingston Manor 6; Sullivan West 136, Roscoe 0; Tri-Valley 125, Livingston Manor 7; Tri-Valley 130, Roscoe 0; Livingston Manor 52, Roscoe 0. 

4x800 Relay: 1. (T-V) 11:40.3 (Anna Furman, Amelia Mickelson, Delanie Hoffman, Brynn Poley. 100 Hurdles: 1. Kendall McGregor 13.44; 2. Katelyn Smith (SW) ) 19.0; 3. Brooke Nunnari (SW) 19.13. 100: 1. McGregor (T-V) 13.44; 2. Ibarra (T-V) 14.4; 3. Violla Shami (SW) 14.42; !500: 1. Furman (T-V) 5:26; 2. Mickelson (T-V) 5:35; 3. Ella Herbert (SW) 5:43. 4x100 Relay: 1. (SW) 57.31; 2. T-V) 60.3; 3. (LM) 61.5. 400: 1. Ibarra (T-V) 65.75: 2. Jasmine Green (SW) 67.5; 3. Jaimee Hendrickson (SW) 68.25. 400 Hurdles: 1. Nunnari (SW) 77.5; 2. Joyce Brooks (T-V) 78.2; 3. Elianna Light (SW) and Brooke Bull (LM 87.6; 800: 1. Furman (T-V) 2:49; 2. Mickelson (T-V) 2:54; 3. Sami Mentnech (T-V) 3:08. 200: 1. McGregor (T-V) 29.6; 2. Ibarra (T-V) 30.7; 3. Kaylon Weldon-Erdman (SW) 31.69. 3000: 1. Furman (T-V) 11:37; 2. Mickelson (T-V) 12:06; 3. Herbert (SW) 12:28. 4x400 Relay: 1. T-V 4:54: 2. SW. 5.09. High Jump: 1. McGregor 4-6; 2. Herbert (SW) 4-4; 3. Keely Schock (SW) 4-4. Pole Vault: 1. Schock (SW0 7-0. Triple Jump: 1. Shami (SW) 30-1; 2. Green (SW) 27-7; 3. Grace Gozza (T-V) 25-9. Long jump: 1. Brooks (T-V) 12-10; 2. Gozza (T-V) 12-8; 3. Ashley Diehl (SW) 12-5. Shot put: 1. Dakota Evans (T-V) 23.4; 2. Rahmat Gambari (SW) 23.3; 3. Brooke Mulholland (T-V) 22-4. Discus: 1. Shami (SW) 83-4; 2. Evans (T-V) 75-10; 3. Mulholland (T-V) 67-8.