Monday, January 26
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Anthony Union High School track and field team has the finish line to the indoor season in its sights. But first, the Patriots needed to take care of a little business in the home stretch.

MAU competed at Williams College on Saturday in its last home meet of the season, turning in a strong 1-2 finish in the boys and girls fields, respectively, with a number of individual highlights. The MAU boys placed first over Fair Haven by one point to take the meet, while the girls ended up 10 points shy of the Slaters and settled for second place.

"We train at Williams, so the kids feel comfortable and have a home advantage there," said MAU coach Bob Kurtzner, who added that the Patriots looked strong despite a somewhat lengthy layoff. "Most of them have been off for the last three weekends, but they've been working really hard and they were ready to go."

The Patriot boys amassed 67 team points to top the Slaters (66), Bellow Falls (17), Drury (13) and Arlington (nine).

The scoring was spread out across many events by the boys, and was highlighted by junior Jason Devens' performance in the open 400m. The event was a tryout for the All-Star 4x400 Relay Team that the state of Vermont will bring to the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston for a National USATF Meet in February.

Devens posted the fastest time in the state on Saturday, securing him a position on the team. The team will be made up of: Devens, MAU (53.95); Kevin Chu, Burlington (54.14); Tony Sulva, Champlain Valley (54.34); Dan Stuart, Burlington (54.54); Nolan Link, Fair Haven (54.67, alternate) and Ethan Fontneau, Rice (54.84, alternate). Josh Rosse of MAU finished with a time of 56.32, and provided Devens with the rabbit he needed for his own standout performance.

"Rosse went out like a shot, and even though he finished (behind), he ended up really pushing Jason," Kurtzner said, explaining that every other finisher in the above group (except Link) was racing in Norwich on Saturday.

On the day, Devens also anchored the winning 4x400 relay of Rosse/Zach Bartlett/Ethan Burdick in 3:54.00. He was also second leg on the 4x200 relay, which placed first in a time of 1:37.77, and consisted of Bartlett/Burdick/Ziyaad Madany.

With balanced scoring on the day, the boys had the following performances:

Zach Bartlett - 55m (first, 6.88); 300m (first, 38.77)

Ziyaad Madany - 55m (fifth, 6.99)

Ethan Burdick- 300m (second, 39.62)

Graham Winseman - 300m (third, 43.79); 600m (third, 1:41.32, PR); Long Jump (fifth, 15'9")

Torrey Kurtzner - 300m (fourth, 44.06, PR); 600m (1:47.04, PR, Q)

Josh Rosse - 1600m (second, 5:05.47, PR)

Jesse Crosier - High Jump (third, 4'10", PR); Long Jump (second, 17'4.5")

Corey Armstrong - Shot (first, 41'6.75")

Corby Facto - Shot (third, 39'1.75")

Jeff Trites - Shot (31'9", PR)

The MAU girls (62.5 points) finished second to Fair Haven (72.5) and ahead of Bellows Falls (17), Drury (13) and Arlington (nine).

Senior co-captain Kelsey Blakeney scored a trio of first-place finishes on the day: 1000m (3:28.72); 1600m (6:08.60) and 4x400 relay anchor, a PR time of 4:54.30 with Elizabeth Pietrucha/Sami Vadakin/Elena Pereria.

"Kelsey keeps improving, and she's got a great attitude," Kurtzner said. "She's a good captain, because she doesn't question anything - she just does what she needs to do, and goes after things."

Junior Becky Beagle scored big on the day also: 55m (second, 7.98, PR); 300m (third, 47.60, Q); LJ (second, 14'1") and lead leg in the 4x200 relay (second in a PR time of 2:02.09) with Vadakin/Joy Benner/Icy Li.

Many MAU girls turned in good performances and personal bests, with some continuing to qualify for States. Others placing in the meet on Saturday were:

Joy Benner - 55m (fourth, 8.42)

Icy Li - 300m (second, 47.53, PR, Q)

Katie Johnson - 300m (fifth, 50.53, PR, Q)

Elizabeth Pietrucha - 600m (second, 1:55.20, PR); 1000m (second, 3:59.75)

Elena Pereria - 600m (fourth, 2:06.76)

Quin Mann - 1000m (fourth, 4:06.73)

Brittany Atkinson - 1000m (third, 4:01.63)

Austin Bevin - High Jump (third, 3'10")

"B" Team 4x200 relay - fifth (2:16.98) with Bevin/Katie Cross/Johnson/Baheeyah Madany

Other PRs and Qualifiers:

Andrea Sleeman 600m (2:34.14, PR)

Katie Johnson Long Jump (13'4.5", PR, Q)

MAU competes at Norwich University next Saturday, Jan. 31, for its last meet of the regular season. The State Championships will be held on Feb. 14 at Norwich University. Kurtzner said that MAU head coach Kathleen Newton had told her team that she was looking for PR performances on Saturday, as so the coaching staff was not disappointed with the Patriots' showings at Williams.

"(Newton) told them that it was the perfect time for them to go out and have a strong meet," Kurtzner said. "Most of the kids are doing exactly what they need to do."