BROOKVILLE — After a drought (by their lofty standards), the Bradford High boys track and field team found themselves on top of the District 9 mountain once again, winning the Class 3A team title on Friday.
The Owls finished with 106.5 points, easily outdistancing second-place DuBois, which finished with 75.5.
“We hadn’t won since 2018 after taking 19 titles in 20 years from 1999-2018,” said Bradford coach Tom Tessena.
It was Tessena’s 26th District 9 title to go along with 18 cross country championships.
“When you are 76, you don’t know how many more chances you will get to win another one, so this one was special,” Tessena said.
Bradford dominated the first-place finishes on the boys’ side. Earning individual first-place finishes for the Owls were Leo Paterniti in the 800 (2:04.04), Brayden Frair in the 1600 (4:43. 28) and 3200 (9:44.29), Andrew Giordano in the javelin (141-6), Chase Wineberg in the high jump (6-1), Daniel Marasco in the triple jump (41-3.75) and Dan Taylor in the shot put (43-10).
The Owls brought home a total of 43 medals and scored 56.5 points in the seven field events.
“That was more than two schools scored in all their events,” noted Tessena.
The only event the Owls didn’t score in was the 100, and only just narrowly in that.
“We only had four seniors, but they did well,” Tessena said. “Leo Paterniti has run well all year, but he was even better on Friday. He got us started in the first running event of the day, the 4x800M relay, by running a 1:59 leadoff leg. We won that relay and were off to the races. Leo scored 197 points this year. We are really going to miss him next year. Chase Wineberg repeated in the high jump leaping 6-1 and narrowly missing 6-3. He will be shooting for that down at states. He also placed third in the 110 hurdles (15.83) and fourth in the long jump (19-7.5). He has had a great career, and he will be missed. Dan Taylor took first in the shot put with a personal best of 43-10, narrowly defeating teammate Patrick French who threw 42-10. These two guys worked extremely hard for four years and they helped each other as well as some of the younger guys. They were good leaders.”
The three-member junior class of Frair, Joe Caruso and Joe Cary shined as well.
“Brayden Friar has been our top performers for the last two years. This year he was even better,” Tessena said. “He anchored our winning 4x800M relay in 1:58 to seal the victory. We ran the sixth fastest time for Bradford (8:14.51). Then he won the 1600 and the 3200. He then anchored the 4×400 relay to a second-place medal. He scored 282 points this year. Only 12 people have done better, and they were all seniors. He is currently our school record holder in the indoor and outdoor 3200 and he will be shooting to lower that at states this weekend.
“Joe Caruso had a career day. He was a part of that firstt place 4×800 relay and he fought off his man to hand off with a lead. He came back to finish fourth in the 1600 (4:47.24) and third in the 3200 (10:36.41) in a personal best time. Our third junior, Joe Cary, missed the first half of the season due to an injury but came on at the end of the season to place fourth in the javelin (129’5”) and fifth in the discus (114’3”) to give us some big points.”
The large sophomore class flexed its muscles, led by Danny Marasco, who jumped a personal best 43-3.75 to win the triple jump, also taking third in the long jump and fourth in the 400 and a strong leg in the 4×400 relay.
Logan Kohler was second in both the 110 hurdles (15.59 — a personal best) and the 300 hurdles (41.55). He took fifth in the 200 (23.84) and ran well in the 4×100 relay.
Andrew Giordano placed in all three throws. He won the Javelin (141-6) that was thrown in heavy rain. He had a best ever throw of 119-6 for third in the discus and was fourth in the shot put (42-1.75. He also scored 118 points this year.
Newcomer Fabian Sherk placed in three events. He took third in the triple jump (41-1.5) a mere 2.25 inches out of first. He placed fifth in the high jump (5-7) and ran on the third place 4×100 relay.
Jeremiah Long took third place in the javelin (129-5) for a personal best and ran in the third place 4×100 for his second medal.
He also ran the 100 (12.31) and the 200 (25.11) at the meet.
Enzo Aiello placed third in the pole vault (12-3). Marcus Terwilliger had three sixth-places (long jump, 18-7.5, triple jump – 38-0, and 46.75 in the 300 hurdles) and almost took home a medal. Matt DeCasper ran in the 100 13.0) and 400 (60.1).
Kadyn Tessena led the freshman class with a 2:07 split in the 4×800 relay. He came in fifth in the 800 (2:02.28) and also ran on the 4×400 relay team.
Tyler Simmons was tied for third in the high jump at 5-9 and ran a leg on the 4×100 relay team that ran its fastest time of the season. He also placed sixth in the 100, while Simmons was seventh in the 200.
Cooper McGee placed fifth in the pole vault (11-3),a personal best, while Evan Soto placed sixth in the pole vault (11-6), a PR. Evan Troisi also placed sixth in the 3200 (10:52.56).
“I would like to thank all the boys and their parents for all the effort they both put into this season,” Tessena said. “To be undefeated and a district champion as well takes everyone. I would like to thank the school administration, the school board, Mike Erickson, and our booster club for all their help.
“Special thanks goes out to all the coaches — Larry Stillman and Natalie Nuzzo in the jumps, Dave Cercone in the throws, Logan Obermeyer in the pole vault and Travis Faulkner in the distance events. These people played a huge part in this win. I can’t thank them enough.”
BOYS
AT BROOKVILLE
Bradford 106.5 points to win team title
100: Nathan Kougher (DuBois), 11.36 200: Nathan Kougher (DuBois), 23.20 400: James Pistner (St. Marys), 52.15 800: Leo Paterniti (Bradford), 1,600: Brayden Frair (Bradford),4:43.28 3,200: Brayden Frair (Bradford), 9:44.28 400 relay: DuBois (43.90) 1,600 relay: St. Marys (3:32.30), 3,200 relay: Bradford (8:14.51) 110 hurdles: Brady Collins (Clearfield), 15.38 300 hurdles: Brady Collins (Clearfield), 40.79 long jump: Kai Lynch (Clearfield), 20-7.25 triple jump: Daniel Marasco (Bradford), 41-3.75 high jump: Chase Wineberg (Bradford), 6-1 shot put: Dan Taylor (Bradford), 43-10 discus: Noah Crawford (DuBois), 136-3 pole vault: Edward Burkett (DuBois), 14-7 javelin: Andrew Giordano (Bradford) 141-6
