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Thirteen JFK athletes qualify for sectionals
An eye-popping total of 13 John F. Kennedy High School indoor track and field athletes qualified for the Section VI championships after dominant performances at the February 16 Team Championships at Fredonia State College.
Team leader and junior Andy Wrazen won the 55-meter high hurdles, tying his school record in the process, with a time of 7.96 seconds. He later set a school record in the 55-meter dash by finishing fifth overall with a time of 6.82 seconds.
"It was by far Andy's finest hour," said JFK boys head coach Pete Szymanski. "This really was an important meet for Andy in that he needed to solidify himself as the top hurdler to beat in the upcoming sectional qualifier meet. By all means so far, Andy has answered them all."
Also, freshman Nathan Odrobina and senior Steve Blenker- described by Szymanski as good friends and teammates- also made sectionals. Odrobina finished sixth in the 1,000- meter run, while Blenker placed seventh in the 600-meter run.
Other male qualifiers included junior Derek Krzemian (seeded ninth in the shot put), senior Chris Scharf (12th in shot put), sophomore Brandon Wyatt-Bell (300-meter run, high jump), sophomore Patrick Craft (300-meter run, high jump), seventh grader Khaliq Satcher and freshman Daron Lipscomb. Satcher, Lipscomb, Wrazen and Wyatt-Bell comprise the qualifying 4x200 relay team, while Wrazen, Wyatt-Bell, Blenker and Odrobina are part of the qualifying 4x400 relay squad.
Overall, the Bears finished tied for 13th among 31 competing teams.
On the girls' side, junior Moriah Orwat broke a long-standing school record in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 3:22.00 to qualify for sectionals. Other qualifiers included senior Jessica Stechenfinger (3,000- meter run), freshman Nikki Suwalski and seventh grader Rachael Kurtz.
Orwat, Kurtz, Stechenfinger and Suwalski comprise the Lady Bears' qualifying 4x800 relay team. The squad is ranked 12th heading into sectionals.
Kurtz and Suwalski ran personalbest times in the 1,500-meter run with times of 5:37.50 and 5:41.30, respectively, while Stechenfinger also ran a personal-best time.
Senior Denise Brucz (2:00.2) and freshman Jillian Golemlewski (2:09.3) also both ran personal-best times in the 600-meter run.
Sectionals will take place Saturday, again at Fredonia State. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships will take place March 8 at Cornell University.
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