Medgar Evers’ Kadiecia Baird won the 300 meters in 39.49. (Damion Reid)
Midwood hopes its borough championship victory is a precursor for what’s to follow. The Hornets took home their second PSAL Brooklyn indoor boys track and field crown in the last three years thanks to improved finishes in the field events. While they are hoping it shows they are becoming the top team in the borough for the future, right now they are looking for an even more prestigious title.”
“I want to win the city championships,” senior sprinter Donald Williams said. “It is basically like a preview of what is to come.”
The Hornets won by far the closest of the five borough races with four teams jockeying for position throughout the meet. They bested second place Transit Tech, 73-55, at the Armory Thursday morning. Thomas Jefferson was third with 54 points and Brooklyn Tech fourth with 53.
“I like that we are starting a winning tradition here,” coach Marc Cohen said.
Midwood had a banner day to win in style. Williams did his part, winning the 55 meter dash in a time of 6.55 and Scott Dorante (46 feet, 6 inches) and Daniel Georges (44-07.50) placed first and second in the shot put, a big key according to Cohen. Senior Gavin Henry shattered the school record in the 600. He won the race in a time of 1:22.10, besting the old mark of 1:23.80 set in 2002. Daniel Simon of Boys & Girls was second in 1:22.12. It was a mark Cohen said he expected a few weeks ago.
“It felt close,” Henry said about the race. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to win or not.”
Triple jumper Olukayode Owolabi kept Midwood excelling in the field event. He leapt well beyond his school record mark in the triple jump of 45 feet 10 inches. He easily won the event with a leap of 46-11. Robeson’s O’Neil Sandiford, the PSAL’s best high jumper, won the long jump with a leap of 21-06.75 and the high jump with a mark of 6-04, coming back from a knee injury.
“We taking over the field events,” Owolabi said.
But if the Hornets are going to reach that city title they know it will take well more than that.
“We are expecting big things from everybody,” Williams said. “From the distance, to the sprints to the jumps.”
The Medgar Evers girls team knows a thing or two about stringing borough championships together. The Cougars won for the second straight year, after winning their first season ago, by beating second place Brooklyn Tech, 128-64, with a team of just two seniors and 22 freshmen. But coach Nicola Martial isn’t quite ready to call earning the championship plaque a regular occurrence.
“I think it can, but the Brooklyn boroughs are the most competitive out of all the boroughs,” she said. “Everyone comes out for the borough championships. You can’t sleep in Brooklyn.”
Junior Camille Edwards won the 55 dash in a personal best time of 7.29 and a crushed her old long jump mark (17-3) with a leap of 18-08.50. She was also third in the triple jump, her first time competing in the event, with a mark of 35-04.25. Teammate Shnell Wishart was second (36-11) behind Midwood’s Amani Oliver (38-06.50).
“Sometimes you can’t force things to happen,” Edwards said of peaking late in the season. “It is going to happen when it’s suppose too
Freshman Kadecia Baird helped lead a four place sweep of the 300 with a time of 39.49. Shakle Seaton and Nyaka Moise placed first and second in the 600 with times of 1:36.32 and 1:36.40, respectively. Seaton was also on the winning 4 x 200 relay. Martial credited an increase in depth this season for her team’s continued success.
“Everyone pulled together to win this championship,” She said. “It’s not just one or two athletes.”