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Athletes from Winchester High School’s Track & Field team attended two national events over the weekend.
Six athletes headed to Philadelphia for the New Balance Nationals while 11 others traveled to Oregon for the Nike Nationals. Both events were organized by the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation with sponsorships from Nike, New Balance, and Adidas.
WHS Head Coach Jason Cacciapouti headed out to Oregon while assistant coaches Coley Carden and Francesca Pellegrini went to Philadelphia.
Coaches and parents who went along on the trip were sending photos and posting results as the athletes competed.
From Philadelphia, Carden posted results from senior Mikayla Ferguson’s Steeplechase, where she placed 28th with a time of 7:27:76. Ferguson had been seeded 39th.
“She ran a consistent race to finish 28th overall,” Carden stated. “Her sprint to the finish over the last 200 meters was very impressive.”
According to Nike, a steeplechase race is a track race that takes runners over 28 large, fixed barriers and seven water jumps. It’s important to note this isn’t a regular hurdles race — steeplechase uses large barriers that span several lanes.
The 4xmile team — Wesley Kaukas-Quinn (senior), Tim Hamilton (senior), Tyler Johnson (senior), and Owen Bernstein (junior) — competed with a strong performance, as summarized by the coach.
Their time was 17:53:96, breaking the school record. The team placed 16th overall and were seeded 27th.
The Boys Distance Medley Relay team — Wesley Kaukas-Quinn (senior), Tim Hamilton (senior), Tyler Johnson (senior), and Owen Bernstein (junior) — finished in 21st place with a time of 10:15:44.
In Oregon, senior Mia Kurz just missed the finals in the discus event.
In the 100-Meter Dash, junior Danny Killian medaled, finishing third.
The 4x200 relay team — made up of juniors James Flemming, James Yasziti, Toby Janowski, and Danny Killian — also medaled, finishing fourth and breaking a school record and earning All-American recognition.
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