NTL TRACK & FIELD: TROY PULLS AWAY LATE TO CLAIM FIRST LEAGUE TITLE IN 43 YEARS (2024-05-11)

Northern Tier Sports Report
ATHENS — For the first time in 43 years the Troy boys’ track and field team is on the top of the NTL. The Trojans won the league title with 130 points, holding off a strong charge from Wellsboro (113).

They got wins out of Avery Sens (shot put) and Ben Warburton (long jump), but did most of their damage by racking up top three finishes in 11 of the 18 events of the day.

“They said when we got on the bus, ‘nobody’s going to be happy about running in the rain except for us,’” Troy coach Matt Geer said about his team gearing up to win their first NTL title since 1981.

The bleak weather - chilly, windy, and rainy - did little to dampen their performance as they came in the favorites and led from beginning to end.

“The boys made it their goal, after finishing second two years in a row, that this was going to be their year,” explained Geer. “They worked hard all season, and anytime we had a bad day they would pick themselves up knowing that they had this opportunity.”

Wellsboro hung with them most of the day, and even close to within 12 points late, but a strong finish from Evan Geer in the 800, coupled with their second place finish in the 4x400 sealed the deal for them.

“That’s a little fatherly pride,” Geer said about Evans’ third place finish in the 800. “I started breathing again, that’s huge for him.”

“We did not have our best day, that’s for sure” explained Geer. “We bled points all day long. I had us scored pretty good, and I knew we could afford to lose a few, but it was just some guys out performed, some guys under performed. You’re going to get that every year, and it’s kind of a heart attack.

Sens won the shot put with a throw of 51-feet, 1 3/4-inches while taking fourth in the discus (122-feet, 9-inches), and seventh in the javelin (122-feet, 2-inches). Kael Millard would take sixth in the shot put (39-feet, 3/4-inches) and eighth in the discus (106-feet, 9-inches).

Warburton (21-feet, 10 1/2-inches) and Colin Loveland (21-feet, 5-inches) went 1-2 in the long jump, as Loveland (40-feet, 7 1/4-inches) took third in the triple jump. Cameron Morey (37-feet, 11-inches) was eighth.

Kendrick Ross (5-feet, 10-inches) took third in the high jump, with Hart Houseknecht (9-feet, 6-inches) and Ben Osgood (9-feet) sixth and seventh in the pole vault.

They racked up points in the sprints, as well, getting three place finishers in both the 100 and 200.

Jacob Hinman was third in the 100 (11.41), third in the 200 (23.18), and third in the 400 (52.14).

Warburton was fourth in the 100 (11.49) and fourth in the 200 (23.76), with Charles Oldroyd sixth in the 100 (11.69) and eighth in the 200 (24.70). Mason Wulff took fourth in the 400 in 53.81.

Geer ran 2:06.54 to take bronze in the 800 while finishing seventh in the 1600 in 4:47.03. Houseknecht took eighth in the 3200 in 10:56.19.

Rylan Breidt got points in the hurdles, taking fourth in the 110 (18.09) and seventh in the 300 hurdles (46.24).

All three relay teams took home silvers - the 4x100 in 45.63, the 4x400 in 3:32.98, and the 4x800 in 8:47.34.

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PHOTO CAPTION: Troy’s Avery Sens watches his throw in the shot put…PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING

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