By Christopher Hunt
photos by www.wingedfootfotos.com

Just 30 meters left in the race and somehow Zach Keefer jammed his left foot in the track, darted to the outside and snatched a race like he had launched some last-second sneak attack.

His Fordham Prep teammates all sat above the finish line. They erupted. The Rams fell on the CHSAA championships like an avalanche. Keefer’s dynamic win in the 600 meters over Nazareth’s Sean Atkinson was the first snowball gaining momentum.

“That was a key moment in the meet for us,” Fordham Prep coach George Febles said.

Fordham Prep snagged its second straight CHSAA championship with 54 points. The Rams were favored coming in but got the wind knocked out of them when their 4x400 relay was disqualified in the trial heats after an official deemed Wayne Seaton threw his baton at the finish line.

“We were all kind of demoralized after that,” Febles said. “That was big for us.”

Keefer said he anticipated that Atkinson would take the pace. He intended to follow. Atkinson made a strong move with two laps remaining and Keefer latched on. Then just-in-time mad dash before the finish turned the tide of the meet with Keefer winning in 1:20.90 with Atkinson second in 1:21.00.

Then Fordham Prep went 1-2 in the 55-meter hurdles. Wayne Seaton trailed teammate Bruce Grant over every hurdles and an extra push before the tape proved to be the difference. Seaton won in 7.60 with Grant second in 7.66. They smiled the whole walk back to the starting line. As much as points matter in the team competition Seaton couldn’t help but look ahead to nationals next month, where Seaton and Grant will compete in the shuttle hurdle relay with a solid chance at a national championship. They expected to win Saturday, Grant just hoped the order would be different.

“I was scared,” Seaton said. “Bruce has been my biggest competition since Day 1.”

Febles said: “We had always said that my father (George, Sr.), for years has been turning mediocre sprinters into great hurdlers. We were always hoping that he’d great some great athletes and the last couple years he has and look at what’s happened.”

Seaton’s time broke a meet record of 7.71 set by Jim Bermudez of Molloy in 1980. Andrew Hemmings earned the meet record award for winning the triple jump in 44 feet, 8 inches and finishing second in the long jump in 21-2.  The 4x800 team of Harley Griffiths, Carlos Petrovich, Michael Jennings and Keefer won in 7:56.54 to qualify for the state meet and will be one of the clear favorites.

With the relay disqualification and losing their top pole vaulter John Horvath to an elbow injury, the team said they found adversity and tried to use it as motivation.

“We just all clicked this year,” Jennings said. “We all come together and when we do that in total we can win meets.”

Iona Prep’s Sean Halpin won the 1,000 in 2:29.33 leading from the gun.

“I wanted to set the meet record about I wasn’t afraid to take the pace,” said Halpin, who’s considering Wisconsin and the Albany. “That race was really more about going out and seeing what I could run alone.”

Jordan Hamm of Canisius (Buffalo) won the 1,600 in 4:17.58. Hamm worked his way through the crowd before raising the tempo with two laps left.

“I knew the race was holding a good pace,” Hamm said. “I just wanted to stay back and hang on. I felt good I knew I had to go earlier than later. I knew I had the confidence and strength to go when I wanted.”

Farrell also broke a meet record winning the 4x400 in 3:23.45.

Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.