Count ‘em. Not just one but winning two Liberty District track and field team championships was the biggest one-day accomplishment in the history of the Wakefield High School indoor track and field program.
The Warriors won the girls title with 120 points and the boys with 138. The recent two-day meets were held in Prince George’s County.
“It was exciting for sure, and we knew we had the talent and depth to win both,” Wakefield coach Sam Sharp said. “Everybody was really dialed in on day two of the meets. We had good balance throughout the meets. There was some real team magic, some big personal records and school records.”
Both teams were led by athletes who placed high in multiple events. Each squad scored in most of the events and the teams combined to win five of the six relays.
Leading the girls were Hosanna Connor, Kenedy Shields, Sofi Vazquez and Grace Armitage. Plus, the girls won all three relays – the 4x200 (school record 1:47.84), the 4x400 (school record 4:11.84) and the 4x800 (9:48.17).
Connor won the triple jump (35-11/2) and pole vault (10-0), was second in the long jump and fourth in the 55 hurdles.
Armitage was second in the triple jump, 300 dash and 55 hurdles; fifth in the long jump; eighth in the high jump; and ran on a relay.
Vazquez was fourth in the long jump and pole vault and sixth in the triple jump.
Shields won the high jump (5-3), was fourth in the 55 dash, sixth in the 300 and ran on a relay.
Also for the Wakefield girls, Addison Young was fourth in the 1,600 and sixth in the 1,000, Ada Jordan was fifth in the 500 and ran on two relays, Quincy Daigle was fifth in the 1,000 and ran on two relays, and Eulalia Sarli and Madeleine Wearing ran on two relays.
For the Wakefield boys, Ben Chapuis was one of many top performers, winning the triple jump (43-1) and high jump (6-2) and placing third in the long jump.
Owen Jacques was fifth in the 500 (1:09.15) and second in the high jump; Chris Gilpin won the 55 dash (6.56) and was fourth in the high jump; Michael Hutchinson won the shot in a school-record 49-31/2; Logan Ward was second in the 1,000; Bryant Cruz-Lemus was second in the high jump; Frank Mani was second in the triple jump; Silas Lesparance was third in the 500 and fifth in the high jump; Thuyon Smith was third in the 55 dash; Alex Epstein was third in the pole vault, fourth in the 55 hurdles, seventh in the triple jump and 10th in the 300; Noah Gunville was fifth in the 3,200; Travon Buckner was fifth in the high jump; Diego Fernandez was sixth in the pole vault; and Jackson Gray had three top-10 finishes.
The Wakefield boys swept the top six spots in the high jump, scoring 31 team points.
In the relays, the Wakefield boys won the 4x200 (1:32.48) and 4x400 (3:31.72) in school-record times.
Sharp has been Wakefield’s indoor and outdoor head coach for three years. He has seen the program attract many more participants in that time.
“Success feeds success, and that has brought more kids into the program. They are motivated to succeed and find out what they are capable of,” Sharp said.
• For the Yorktown girls at the Liberty District meet, Sofia Sheldon was a double winner in the 1,600 (5:08.8) and the 3,200 (10:58.85).
Yorktown’s Eleanor Whitehouse was second in the 1,600 and Ellen Malloy second in the 1,000.
For the Yorktown boys, Matthew Pedicano was second in the 1,600.
• For the Washington-Liberty girls at the Liberty District meet, Amela Male won the shot put (35-5), Thalia Lynch was second in the 55 dash and third in the 300, Elizabeth Rupert was third in the shot, Ella Kaplan was third in the 55 hurdles and third in the triple jump, Therese Johansson was third in the 500 and fourth in the 1,000, and the 4x800 relay was second.
For W-L in the boys meet, Charles Gent won the pole vault (12-6); Ian Crowley was second in the 55 dash and 55 hurdles, fifth in the triple jump and sixth in the shot put; Nico Docena was third in the 55 dash and 55 hurdles; and Michael Rupert was fourth in the 55 dash.
