Niagara-Wheatfield track team hits sectionals on the run

by Eric Keppeler
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, May 31, 2007

Josh Gilmore hands the baton to Christian Warchocki on the first exchange of the 400-meter relay at the Starpoint meet two weeks ago. The duo make up half of the Niagara-Wheatfield quartet in the 1,600-meter relay as well, which will be competing in this weekend’s Section VI meet, also at Starpoint. (photo by Larry Austin)

If a high school track team is lucky, it might send a dozen boys and girls to the sectional championships.

The Niagara-Wheatfield Falcons are sending approximately twice that number to Saturday’s Section VI Track and Field Championship at Starpoint Central High School, hoping that at least a few of them can move on to the New York State Championship the following weekend in Kingston.

Leading the way will be senior Aaron Foote, who finished seventh in the state last year in the 1,600-meter run. Bound for the U.S. Naval Academy in the fall, Foote will compete in the 1,600 and the 800 at sectionals. He won the 1,600 at last week’s Niagara Frontier League Championship at Lockport with a season-best time of 4:18.52, and also set a league record in the steeplechase in 9:40.9. He also wound up second in the 800.

Freshman Jim Donner was an NFL champion in the shot put with a toss of 46 feet, 2 inches, and he will compete in sectionals.

The Falcons’ 1,600-meter relay team of Josh Gilmore, Christian Warchocki, George Todino and Foote finished second in the NFL and qualified for sectionals. Gilmore also qualified in the 400.

Other sectional qualifiers include junior Dan Heberle (third in the NFL) in the 3,200, Derek Kratts (third in the NFL) in the high jump, senior Joe Silluzio in the steeplechase and Josh Sorley in the pentathlon.

“We’re sending more guys to sectionals than I thought we would,” veteran N-W boys track coach Dick Bartha said. “They’ve really come a long way – all of the sudden, they just blossomed out. We’re peaking at the right time. I’ve been very pleased with the way we’re running now.”

The N-W girls team might be sending even more athletes to sectionals.

Junior Ashley Beamish was the top Falcons performer at the NFL meet, finishing third in the 800 – and she will run that event at sectionals.

Other sectional competitors include Caitlin Barber and Rebecca Chaplin, who both qualified in the high jump. Madison Brown is going in the 400 hurdles and freshman Emily Carl qualified in the pole vault.

The Falcons also qualified both the 1,600 and 3,200 relay teams, although those line-ups are still in a bit of flux because of conflicting schedules. N-W girls coach Al Pogel says that senior Michele Schaffer definitely will run both relays, joined by Samantha Schleicher, Stephanie Schmidt and one other athlete in the 3,200 relay. In the 1,600 relay, Jamie Sledziewski and Brianna Baleri will join Schaffer, along with one more runner.

Pogel is pleased, if not surprised, that so many of his athletes will have the opportunity to compete to move on to the next level.

“Our goal is always to send as many as we can to sectionals,” Pogel said. “It’s very encouraging that we have so many underclassmen on our relays. In fact, except for Schaffer, everyone going to sectionals will be back next year. This is a very young group.”