Port Chester T&F team runs off with 17 medals in Mount Vernon's Memorial Stadium Invitational
May 29, 2024 at 9:51 p.m.
In an unprecedented display of sprint, middle and distance running events prowess on an individual as well as relay team basis, the Port Chester Track & Field Rams raced to a season high 17 medals in the Mount Vernon Memorial Stadium T&F Invitational last Tuesday (5/21).
"It was a very good meet for us: we won a lot of medals against quality competition," Rams head coach Greg Domestico said in something of an understatement.
But no matter how it was stated, the Rams and Lady Rams ran wild against top-tier teams such as Bergen Catholic (New Jersey), Evander Childs and Truman of the Bronx, Benjamin Cardozo (Queens), Minisink Valley (Upstate) and Westchester powerhouses Iona Prep and host Mount Vernon.
The unusual mile sweep
In fact, for the first time in memory going back almost two decades, the Lady Rams took win, place and show in the 1,500 meters, the metric equivalent of the one mile run, with Chenoa Marquez (in a time of 6:05.81), Mayerlin Torres (6:25.70) and Katherin Espinoza (7:15.80) finishing one-two-three in winning the gold, silver and bronze medals in that event.
And Santiago Marquez, Chenoa's kid brother, won the 1,600-meter run, winning the gold medal in the metric equivalent of the one-mile run while breaking 5 minutes for the first time, cutting it close by hitting the finish line in 4:59.59.
And that's not all.
For a complete rundown, ladies first.
*The 4x4 4-mile relay took gold in a combined time of 29:72.44 running with a quartet consisting of Abigail Pesantez, Espinoza, Marquez and Torres, the latter three coming back to each run a relay mile after sweeping the individual mile event. And if you don't think that's hard, try running back-to-back miles after a short rest.
Medal parade continues
*And then for good measure, that same foursome won the distance medley relay gold medal with a time of 17:21.12 with each runner completing different legs: Torres (1,200 meters, the metric equivalent of a three-quarter mile run), Pesantez (400), Espinoza (800) and Marquez (1,600).
*The 4x200-meter relay raced to a second place silver medal sprinting with a foursome that included Juliana Castillo, Mia Pagnotta, Casey Schultz and Liz (Elle) Cruz.
*The 4x400-meter team raced to a second place silver medal finish in 4:45.31 running with a quartet that included Alexa Aguiriano, Alexandra (Alee) Cruz, Andrea Barajas and Juliana Martinez; the sprint medley relay took a silver second place medal in 2:00.58 running with a team consisting of Elle Cruz (400), Castillo and Schultz (both 200) and Pagnotta (800). Daniela Lopez and Martinez took second and third place silver and bronze medals in the triple jump (25:09 and 24:08) while Castillo took a third place bronze medal in the long jump with a leap of 15:02.
In the individual events, there were some impressive times including Castillo, Elizabeth Franco and Daniela Lopez finishing third. sixth and seventh in the 100 meters in 14:44, 15:03 and 15:11; Schultz, Barajas and Lopez sprinting to third, seventh and eighth place finishes in the 200 meters in times of 28:54, 29:20 and 30:07; Alee Cruz finishing seventh in the 400 meters in 1:10.86 and Aguiriano and Alee Cruz winding up fifth and seventh in the 800 in 2:47.67 and 3:11.89.
Rams join the party
The Rams staged their own medal parade with five second place bronze medal-winning performances including the 4x200-meter relay with Marc Dorsainvil, Ramaul Morgan Jr., Jaycee Rodriguez and Anderson Doran clocking 1:41.85; Jonathan Abraham, Alejandro Salinas, Christopher Zamora and Eduardo Sanchez strode through the 4x400-meter relay in 4:04.30; the 4x4-mile relay team of Salinas, Abraham, Marquez and Zamora ran their combined legs in 22:51.79 and the sprint medley relay of Morgan (200), Rodriguez, Dorsainvil (100) and Doran (400) clocked 1:43.63. And the distance medley relay hit the finish line in 12:20.48 running with Zamora (1200), Nicholas Wolff (400), Salinas (800) and Abraham (1600).
In the individual events, ex-football running back Dorsainvil ran the fastest times in the 100 (12:03) and 200 meters (24:80), Wolff loped the 400 in 58:60, and Abraham and Zamora ran the 1,600 in 5:20.19 and 5:59.16, good for fifth and seventh place in that grueling event.
Wolff also long jumped 17:10 and triple jumped 34:04, finishing fourth in that event, while José Antonio Velasquez triple jumped 36:06 for a third place finish and leaped 17:01.75 in the long jump.
What all those times add up to is the fact that the team is rounding into top form at the right time with the T&F season winding down and the State Qualifying Meet coming up Friday (5/31) at 5 p.m. at Suffern. So, while the times may not hold up against elite competition, the Rams and Lady Rams have shown marked progress and improvement and that's all Domestico, Lady Rams head coach Danny Alvarado and their sidekick Nick Mancuso can ask. Even as they keep asking for more.
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