TWICE IS NICE: For 2nd straight year at Hornell’s Castiglione-Tobin Invitational, Wellsville races past host Red Raiders in final event of night to capture back-to-back team titles

[PHOTO PROVIDED]

HORNELL — They came together to take that magical team photo at the home of their archivals when the clock struck past midnight, last Spring in the Maple City. It was an experience that the Lions of Wellsville had relished in full for the first time in recent memory, edging out Hornell at the very last moment to claim the prestigious Castiglione-Tobin Invitational Team Championship by an incommodious half-point.

It seriously does not get any closer than that.

The Lions had gone without several of their then-seniors in the lineup at a juncture where they traveled out of state that weekend for their annual Senior Trip to Boston. With many of those stars that stood out for the team last year in their absence, names such as current seniors Kaylee Oswald and Brooklyn Dahlgren, along with now-junior superstar Xavier Scott remaining in the fold, they knew that they were going to be in good hands heading into a long night under the twilight sky and the bright lights.

A night filled with immense glory.

Now one year later, before shifting the track and field limelight to their own backyard for Spring Day next weekend, Wellsville entered the penultimate meet at full strength. Like last season, the Lions continued to chase history in the midst of yet another special season outdoors, with three of their State Meet competitors — Scott, Oswald and JJ Howard all locking up return trips to the big event right at the beginning of the season.

At the 59th annual running of Hornell’s signature meet on Friday, it would once again come down to the very last event of the night — this time, the 3200 relay.

Of course it did.

After the Lady Lions saw their 4x800 relay team of Lexi Coleman, Raegan Vogel, Lexi Aftuck and Morgan Mattison all throttle towards their claiming of a crucial point to stay within reach of Hornell at the top, the simmering on the stovetop quickly turned into a raging boil when the boys then took the track for their full-go to bring a close to the night.

The objective was elementary: Fourth place or better, and they win it all. To say that the pressure was on, it would be the most mild of understatements. Wellsville’s 3200 relay team of Collin Perkins, Conner Carr, Jesse Rafferty-Machuga and Ryan Long proceeded to run the race of their lives.

There was nowhere else for Hornell to hide. Every shred of time continued to tick off across every turn and straightaway on the track, as the Lions hovered right around their ideal position needed to find the podium at the end of the night. After strong legs from all four racers, Wellsville crossed the finish line fourth.

Again.

The celebration was on.

You know what they always say: Twice is always nice.

When it was all said and done, the Lions of Wellsville repeated history once again behind 19 Top-5 finishes across both the boys and girls arenas of competition. With Most Valuable Athlete awards going to JJ Howard and Kaylee Oswald for their torrid performances from the field in their calling card events, the team came together to finish a mere two points ahead of Hornell to claim back-to-back team championships at the Castiglione-Tobin Invitational.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with how things transpired,” Lions coach Dean Giopulos said. “That 4x800 was one of the most fun experiences in my career. Just seeing them have at it, it was thoroughly enjoyable. The veteran leadership running their tails off, this is a special team. We have some big time talent and we have kids that fill in every possible void that you can ask. Even Derek Coleman, Terrence Benz and Jacob Vogel as our throwers, one of many examples with our team. All three of them have come a long way since the start. We need a performance like this to win Spring Day back home and to have a shot at winning Sectionals.”

Giopulos continued on his team, saying that “That’s the goal, to sweep the table. It’s great to see the camaraderie of both teams. They run together, they support one another, they experience it all together. They all deserve this moment. Sometimes they don’t understand the magnitude of an event such as this, but this is something they absolutely deserve more than anything.”

The Lions concluded with a 147-point first place team finish to lead a field of 22 total schools in attendance in the Maple City, as they put together a magnificent assembly of Top-5 finishes to aid their path to glory. Leading the pack was both JJ Howard and Kaylee Oswald, as the two stellar athletes combined for five first place finishes — three belonging to Howard in the high jump, long jump and triple jump, while Oswald claimed her stake with a sweep of both the shot put and discus throwing events.

Oswald was also part of the team’s fifth place 4x100 throwing relay squadron.

Xavier Scott followed up with a first place victory of his own, galloping to the finish line with the quickest time in the 110 hurdles to go with a second place 100 dash placing. Jack Davis had three Top-5 finishes to register into the ledger, placing second in both the 110 and 400 hurdles, and third in the 400 sprint. Lucius Griggs had two more top finishes of his own to chip in, finishing second in the triple jump and third in the long jump.

To go with a monumental fourth place finish in the 3200 relay to capture the meet championship, Wellsville also saw their winning 4x100 relay team of Scott, Howard, David Clark and Andrew Kristeroffersen speed to the finish line over top of Hornell by mere seconds.

For the Lady Lions, Brooklyn Dahlgren came across a second place finish in the high jump to further the team’s cause from the field behind Oswald. Jaden Dunbar soared to a third place finish in the pole vault. Piper Metro placed fourth in the high jump alongside Dahlgren, while Sarah Mattison claimed fifth place in the discus event.

As for the host Red Raiders, they finished second overall with 145 total points behind an outstanding evening filled with first and second place finishes from their girls team. Ella White and Silvia Carretto each scored two first place finishes to pave the way, with White medaling in the 100 and 200 dashes to go with a second place 100 hurdles finish, while Carretto took care of business with a 400 and 800 sprint first place finish each.

Adding more fuel to the fire was Selena Maldonado, who placed second in both the 100 and 200 dashes. Delainey Thompson (400 sprint), Madison Rudenauer (400 hurdles) and Mayleigh Martin (long jump) all had second place finishes of their own to throw into the mix. The Lady Red Raiders also captured a first place finish from their 4x100 relay team consisting of White, Maldonado, Riley Harwood and Maura Khork alongside a second place 1600 relay finish.

The boys team was led by Kellen Crowe, who placed first in both the 100 and 200 dashes. Landon Boyle claimed fifth place in the 400 sprint. In the relay department, the Red Raiders placed second overall in the 400 relay.

For an in-depth look of the complete results at this year’s running of the Castiglione-Tobin Invitational, you can follow the corresponding link here.

The Lions will begin to gear up for their annual hosting of the Wellsville Elks Spring Day next weekend with a return to regular season action on Monday, traveling alongside Bolivar-Richburg on a trip to the Jungle in Belmont to take on Genesee Valley/Belfast at 5 p.m.

“It’s difficult to run an invite of this caliber, but when you have people like Brownie (Chris Brown) and Jamie Bump stepping in to help us out along with the Elks Club, the parents are also getting involved as well. It’s something that we take a great deal of pride in,” said Giopulos. “It’s one of the big reasons why this event is one of the biggest in New York State. We’re definitely looking forward to next weekend, and I know there will be some track alumni that will be coming to town to take this one in. That alone makes it even more special.”