By CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com, see a photo gallery and all the results
HORNELL — The Wellsville Lions track program is in the midst of writing a script. With the unwavering support of one another, along with the fierce drive and ambition to succeed at the highest of levels of competition outside of their comfort zones, they wanted to receive that special opportunity to feel what winning a meet of ultimate and immense grandeur felt like.
To wrap up their regular season, a trip to the Maple City was in store for Friday. The Castiglione-Tobin Hornell Invitational was the event in the spotlight. A chance to make all the noise they wanted in their longtime rival’s backyard, one week before hosting the biggest track meet of the year and in the area — the Elks Spring Day.
20 different schools ranging from all over Section V, as well as Sections IV and VI, traveled far and wide to compete for glory at Hornell’s biggest Spring stage, going the entire early evening and into the dusk hours crowning the best of the very best in the meet.
As for the Lions, they were going in shorthanded, with several of their seniors out of the track and field lineup and in Boston for their Senior Trip over the weekend.
But that was no problem, as they looked to sophomore star Xavier Scott, along with juniors JJ Howard, Kaylee Oswald and Brooklyn Dahlgren to deliver masterful performances that gave them that prime opportunity to knock ever so loudly on the door.
Behind their four top finishers, along with a bounty of secondary finishes, the Lions were within striking distance of the team championship — a victory the program has not experienced in recent memory.
It would all boil down to the meet’s final event: The boys 1600 meter relay. On the checklist, just like any pro sports team trying to make their way into the playoffs themselves, the Lions would need to finish fifth or better to win the boys team title, and ahead of their longtime rival, the Red Raiders, to win it all completely.
The race commenced with an immaculate start from Evan Billings, who filled in for Collin Perkins due to injury, in the first leg. The baton would work its way around the track several revolutions later through Jack Davis and David Clark until it found the hands of Noah Joslyn for the final haul down the stretch. Joslyn then proceeded to pass the Red Raiders runner in front of him near the start-finish line at the very last moment, finishing off what was the performance of the night.
The end result: Fourth place. Better than fifth and better than Hornell. Both boxes on the checklist were marked off.
The Lions did it.
With a combined score of 122.5 points, Wellsville would go on to stand alone at the very top of the leaderboard at the Castiglione-Tobin Hornell Invitational, as they edged out the host Red Raiders by a miraculous half-point to claim this year’s championship, with the boys and their 12 finishes in the Top Five, along with a bow on an undefeated 15-0 regular season, helping fuel their first place fire on the track and from the field each and every step of the way.
For boys head coach Dean Giopulos, it was a performance that was just incredible to witness.
“I don’t think anyone knows how good this team is, and the best part is, they are only going to keep getting better,” the longtime coach said. “For the boys, we finished the regular season off at 15-0. It was a pretty special night with some kids missing because of the Senior Trip. We performed as well as we could have, and what made it even more special was the boys and girls scores giving us the win. It all came down to the end, and Noah passed a kid at the line to get the boys to finish in fourth from fifth. The kids were really into it and so many of them are new to this unique experience. We had kids running back and forth on the field cheering each other on. It was just incredible to see the meet up close.”
Giopulos added on the team’s ultimate victory, saying that “It was nice for them to experience what winning big meets taste like. Winning the combined title meant a lot to them, and they recognize how hard the work is they continue to put in. Spring Day is around the corner. You just don’t know how the deck of cards unfolds. We’re pretty strong throughout all the events, and we need to find ways to continue improving even more. We don’t have a lot of holes, and you win invitationals with star power. The kids compete with one another in practice every day and they push each other constantly. That in itself, it has made us a much better team and it has exceeded my expectations in a short period of time.”
Wellsville would wind up collecting 18 total placements in the Top Five — 12 for the boys team and six for the girls, with Xavier Scott and JJ Howard leading the way with two each. Scott would go on to earn gold in both spectrums of the meet, placing first in both the 110 hurdles and from the sand bunker in the long jump.
Howard followed with his win in the high jump to go with a second place finish in the triple jump, where Lucius Griggs and Jace Densmore followed with fourth and fifth place distances behind him. Because of his efforts, he would go on to claim Field MVP honors in the meet.
Kamron Dodge also added in two individual finishes of his own, placing third in the Steeplechase and fifth in the 3200 run. Noah Joslyn and Jack Davis would contribute an additional finish to their winning legs in the team’s 1600 relay, placing third in the 400 dash and fifth in the 400 hurdles, respectively along the way.
Wellsville would also add in a third place finish in the 4×100 throwers relay from the team of Terrence Benz, Xander Outman, Landon Cinque and Jaxson Black.
“Xavier was so pumped up that he set a new personal record in the long jump. Then, we got on a nice roll off his win in the hurdles,” said Giopulos. ”Kamron, this was his coming out party, taking third in the steeple after running a leg in the 3200 relay and then later on, finishing fifth in the 3200 run. That’s four and a half miles to get us some huge points. JJ won the high jump and took second in the triple, and to have Lucius and Jace follow behind, those were boosts that we needed.”
It wouldn’t be a complete victory for Wellsville without six more big finishes from the Lady Lions, with defending throwing State Champion Kaylee Oswald, along with Brooklyn Dahlgren helping lead the way towards more glory.
Oswald joined Howard with Field MVP honors behind two dynamic throws in both the shot put and discus, placing first while rewriting some new meet history, as she broke a 35-year old record in the shot put last established by Sue Livergood.
A changing of the guard.
Giopulos says that “It was a record that I never thought would be broken. To see a Wellsville kid go out and break and replace a record originally set by someone else by Wellsville, especially with it being Sue’s record, that was a really special moment to see happen.”
Lady Lions coach Jamie Bump added on the team’s fifth place finish, noting that “Kaylee breaking the record that Sue has held onto for many years, that was a really neat thing to witness. She wants the school record back home, and she’s so close. To get this one here tonight at a big event like this, that was special. All the girls went out and performed. We were able to get fifth place, but there were a ton of personal bests to go with that. Brooklyn (Dahlgren) got first in the high jump and she’s been so consistent this year. Jaden (Dunbar) and Gracelynn (Howe) in the pole vault, they went back-to-back, the throwers relay did great. We have a lot of great opportunities to go out now and get some great seeding for Sectionals. Overall, it was an awesome night.”
Helping further the cause for Oswald’s showing from the throwing pit was Brooklyn Dahlgren, as she eclipsed the height needed to take first place in the high jump to record the team’s third and final first place finish of the night.
Following up was a second-third place back-to-back finish from Jaden Dunbar and Gracelynn Howe in the pole vault. Placing fourth was the Lady Lions 4×100 throwing relay, led by the team of Oswald, Makenna Cooke, Grace Kinnicutt and Joscelyn Howard.
In addition to Wellsville’s exceptional performance, there were plenty of big performances that witnessed several first place finishes from many more local athletes across Allegany and Steuben County to fuel the meet even further beyond.
On the boys side of the event, Wayland-Cohocton’s Wyatt Mastin and Addison’s Pauljonas Beth both medaled in the 1600 and 3200 runs each. Cuba-Rushford’s Ethan Coleman claimed the winning height in the pole vault, while Canisteo-Greenwood’s Kylan Burdick (discus) and Dansville’s Ethan Canfield (shot put) provided a sweep of the throwing events.
The Mustangs also went on to record the winning finish in the 4×100 throwers relay.
As for the girls arena of action, Hornell’s Selena Maldonado provided an exceptional showing across all phases, scoring three first place finishes in the 200 dash, long jump and triple jump. Joining her was her teammate, Ella White, who placed first in the 100 dash. Wayland-Cohocton’s Celise Wicker earned gold in the 800 and 1600 runs, while Canisteo-Greenwood’s Kora Dininny scored a first place finish in the pole vault.
From the relay department, Dansville claimed top honors in the 400 relay, Hornell crossed the finish line first in the 1600 relay, and Bath-Haverling placed first in the 3200 relay. The Lady Rams also clinched winning honors in the 4×100 throwers relay.
Coming up next weekend, Wellsville will now grace center stage and host their annual Elks Spring Day meet next Saturday morning.
