The Bradford Owls will be competing for their eighth straight
District 9 Class AAA track and field title this spring.
“We have some veterans back who do not want to be the team that
doesn’t win so they have been working very hard,” Bradford coach
Tom Tessena said.
Of the team’s 47 boys, 18 are returning letterwinners.
“We do have the numbers,” the coach said. “We have to replace a
few guys from last year’s team that went 7-0 and extended our dual
meet winning streak to 45 straight.
“We have a good mix of veterans and younger guys and we had a
great indoor season where we broke almost all of our indoor
records.”
Leading the senior group are four-year lettermen Shane Hvizdzak
and Josh Holleran.
“These two guys have scored over 700 points and can run any
distance from the 100 to the 800 as well as long jump,” the coach
noted.
Hvizdzak and Holleran will run the sprints and relays.
“They both work hard and will do any event the team needs them
to do,” Tessena added. “They both are leaders and set the pace for
the rest of the guys in their events.”
Steve Kirkland returns for his third letter.
Kirkland was a dominant runner for Bradford in cross country and
did even better in the indoor season.
He set records in five different events as well as qualifying as
a part of the 4×800 relay that made indoor nationals this year.
Kirkland has his sights set on the 3200-meter record. He will be
under two minutes in the 800 and could also make a run at the
1600-meter record as well, Tessena said.
AIex Ita returns in the sprints. Last year, Ita ran some good
times and this year is capable of breaking the oldest sprint
record, the 400 meters, the coach said.
“Brian Hart ran a 49.94 back in 1970, my first year coaching,”
Tessena commented. “Alex had run 51.09 last year but has already
run 51.83 this winter so he definitely could get down there if he
pushes himself everyday.
Ita won the James Manners award for the outstanding male at the
district meet last year. Ita is the top returning athlete in the
100 and 200 and second in the 400 meters.
Andy Preston is another three-year man and will run the hurdles
and the relays. He ran 15.98 in 110-meter high hurdles and just
missed first place. He was also third in the 300-meter intermediate
hurdles.
“Andy has worked hard this winter and is determined to win the
hurdle events this year,” the coach said.
Preston was also a member of the district champion 4×100 relay
and could run in the 4×400 relay this year.
“Andy is a good leader,” Tessena said.
Ryan Miller and Dan Sutton are also returning lettermen. Sutton
will throw the shot and discus while Miller returns in all the
jumps and hurdles.
“This year Ryan is ready to step up and get us a lot of points,”
Tessena maintained.
Ben Moran and Anthony Cavallaro return in the distance events.
Cavallaro will run the 1600 and possibly the 3200 this year. Moran
had a great cross country season and is just starting to get in
good shape, the coach pointed out. Moran took a spot in the 1600 at
districts and ran 4:49.
“We expect him to get under 4:40 this year,” Tessena
emphasized.
John Lonzi returns in the shot and discus. He will be battling
for that second or third spot in the shot put, the coach said.
Newcomer Max Wilton will do the jumps.
The junior group has five returning lettermen.
They are led by distance runners Shroy Mukerjee, Colton
Langianese and Jared Feura. Feura captured the District 9 AAA
individual title in cross country and broke the mile record
indoors. He will run the 1600 and 3200 this spring.ð
Mukerjee was the 800-meter champ last spring and broke the
indoor record with a 2:01. He anchored the 4×800 relay team that
qualified for indoor nationals.
The relay team of Mukerjee, Kirkland, Langianese and Rich
Bartlebaugh also qualified for the Penn Relays this spring.ðð
Langianese ran well in cross country and had an outstanding
indoor season where he ran 2:01.9 for 800 meters.ðð
“They are only .1 of a second off the actual outdoor record and
have a good shot at the converted record of 7:59.24 set back in
1970,” Tessena admitted.
Bartlebaugh also high jumped 5’11” and ran 2:04 for the 800
indoors.
This is Bartlebaugh’s first year on the team and he is going to
be a big “help this year,” the coach said.
“These four guys are also very versatile and can run the 400 as
well as the 1600,” the coach noted.
Rob Bleem returns in the throws where he should be one of the
best throwers in the area, according to his coach.
He threw the shot 48’5″ indoors and will be over 50′ soon,
Tessena said.
He is also strong in the javelin and discus.
Tommy Morris is also a returning lettermen. Morris took fifth
place in the high jump last year and will definitely be over six
feet this year, the coach claimed.
Mike Foerstner returns in the distance events and is coming off
a very good cross country season. C.J. Mackey and Ryan Mongillo
return in the throws.ð
“C.J. has looked very strong in the discus and Ryan is coming on
in the shot,” Tessena remarked.
Tyler Hopkins returns in the jumps as well. He has worked hard
with weights this winter and should be able to score some big
points for us this year, the coach said.
Newcomers include Garret McCune and Brandon Bandy. Bandy will
throw the shot and McCune will throw the javelin, long jump and
sprint.
The sophomore group is the largest and probably most talented,
the coach said.
The Owls have five returning sophomore lettermen. Ben Walter
returns in the sprints and relays. Walter placed fourth in the 100
and 200 meters at districts and was a member of the 4×100
relay.ð
“That’s quite an accomplishment for a freshman,” Tessena said.
“Ben should have an outstanding year this year.”
David Rivera returns in the long and triple jumps and the
javelin. He scored 14 points as a freshman. Last year he threw
168’6″ in the javelin, jumped 42’9″ in the triple and 20’4″ in the
long jump.
Dan Gonzalez placed second in the discus last year with a 135’9″
throw.
“He is the top returning guy this year and should easily add
20-30 feet,” Tessena admitted.
Nick Johnson returns in the hurdles and sprints. “He has been
looking strong in the 110 high hurdles,” the coach said.
Alex Goodman is back with a fourth-place finish at districts in
the 4×800 relay. He will run the 400- and 800-meter events as well
as relays.
The team has two good pole vaulters returning in Matt Teribery
and Dan McMurtrie.
“They both should be 12 feet or better this year,” the coach
said. “We have not scored a point for the last two years at
districts in this event.”
Ben Lanich comes back with good experience in the javelin and
discus where he threw 142 feet and 122 feet, respectively.
“These are both good marks for a freshman,” Tessena pointed out.
“Ben should give us a lot of depth in the throws.”
Vince Pascarella and Rich Colosimo return in the throws as does
Josh Yaworsky in the sprints. Newcomers include Alan Kandare
(javelin, pole vault) and Venere Maynard (sprints, relays).
Maynard had a good indoor season where he ran the 400 meters in
54 seconds and the 200 in 24.5.
“Our freshman class is small with 11 individuals but there is
potential here as well,” the coach said.
“Shane Speaker pole vaulted 10′ indoors this winter, Vinnie
Schiappa did well in the hurdles and Tyree Bennett had some good
middle distant times,” the coach said. “Steve Reinhardt will
continue the fine tradition of Reinhardts in the throwing events.
Steve is looking good in the shot and discus.ð
“His older two brothers were district champs in the shot put.
This will be the only three brothers ever to do it if Steve wins
one.”
Other freshmen include Andy Skaggs and Craig Kloss in the
sprints; John Karrasch, middle distance; Billy Thompson and Zach
Kinney, pole vault; Zach Frombach, jumps, and Hayden Gangloff,
throws.
“We are pretty optimistic about this year’s team,” Tessena said.
“We have somebody in every event with most events having three or
four solid guys. We should also have some great relay teams, all of
which could break school records.
“It all depends on how hard this group is willing to work and
whether or not they become satisfied with just being pretty good.
Making the next step to very good requires a lot of dedication and
plain old hard work and pain.
“For the home opener (March 28) we will have a guest starter for
the opening event, the 4×800 relay. Retired Bradford Era sports
editor Ronald Kloss will fire the first shot to begin the
meet.”
