STAC TRACK CHRISTENS SPRING SEASON AT WEST POINT

 

The St. Thomas Aquinas track & field squad launched its outdoor campaign by taking part in the Dick Shea Open on March 24 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

 

Teams represented in the meet included Syracuse, Albany, Binghamton, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Marist, Sacred Heart, SUNY Cobleskill, Montclair State, Southern Connecticut, Mohawk Valley C.C., STAC, U.S. Military Academy Prep School, and Army.

 

Freshman Jeanette Gibson (North Rockland H.S./Pearl River, N.Y.) led the way for the Spartans, placing 10th in both the shot put (34 feet, 1 ½ inches) and discus (104 feet).

 

STAC’s 4x400-meter relay “A” squad of freshman Mike Valentine (Walter Panas H.S./Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.), freshman Vincent Modafferi (Clarkstown South H.S./New City, N.Y.), sophomore Andrew Gangemi (St. Peter’s Boys’ School/Staten Island, N.Y.) and freshman Chris Muniz (Suffern H.S./Suffern, N.Y.) clocked 3:39.02 to place 11th overall and second in its section. The respective split times were: Valentine, 54.5; Modafferi, 54.5; Gangemi, 58.0; and Muniz, 52.0.

 

The Spartans’ 4x400 relay “B” unit of sophomore James Strysko (Suffern H.S./Hillburn, N.Y.), 56.6; Rafael Ortiz (Spring Valley H.S./New City, N.Y.), 56.9; Andrew Spanos (Burke Catholic H.S./Campbell Hall, N.Y.), 57.5; and Anderson Munro (St. John the Baptist H.S., Wyandanch, N.Y.), 62.0, finished 14th overall and fourth in its section in 3:53.16.

 

Earlier in the meet, Strysko finished fourth in his section and 17th overall in the 100-meter dash in 12.13. In the 1,500-meter run, Spanos finished 25th overall in 4:27.69, while sophomore Elmer Eckert (Salesian H.S./Bronx, N.Y.) took fifth in his section and 30th overall in 4:41.51.

 

STAC was well-represented with five competitors in the 800-meter run: Ortiz, 22nd, 2:08.04; Muniz, 23rd, 2:08.31; Gangemi, 31st, 2:13.40; Valentine, 35th, 2:15.37; and Munro, 39th, 2:31.10. Munro also placed 42nd in the 200 (26.40) and no-heighted in the high jump.

 

Next up for STAC is the Trinity Invitational (Hartford, Conn.) on March 31.