By Christopher Hunt
photo by Greg Armstrong
Sheepshead Bay sulked down the staircase and started to trudge over to the midfield. Coach John Padula had just laid into them about all the lost opportunities. Thinking all the while that the Sharks had lost by two points.
The truth is, it looked liked they lost. But even with all the point Sheepshead Bay left on the board, it still held off Midwood for its first city title ever at the PSAL Championships Saturday. Sheepshead Bay won with 48 points. Midwood was second with 45.
“It was a terrible day,” Padula said. “Everything went wrong. I guess you’re a great team when everything goes wrong and you still win.”
Sheepshead Bay had never won a city championship before and suffered through eight second-place finishes. It looked almost like there would be a ninth but depth – something the team always reached for – saved the team when miscues could have done them in.
First the Sharks took a blow in the 55 hurdles when Curtis senior Kareem Crawford snatched the race with an impressive win in 7.45, which ties the fastest time in the state. Sheepshead Bay went 2-3-4, led by Richmond Ahadzi, who was favored in the race, finished second in 7.67.
“I still feel like we got something accomplished today,” Ahadzi said. “After the hurdles, we were just upset at each other. We had a plan that if I didn’t win that someone else would step up. That didn’t happen so we were all just upset.”
Then John Thomas carried a achy hip into the 300 final and didn’t have any push in the last 50 meters. But Davion Wint of Columbus gained the advantage on the home stretch and won in 33.94, the fastest time in the state this season and the fourth-fastest in the country.
“I didn’t want to run it that hard in the first 100,” said Wint, a junior. “I wanted to save it for the last 150. That’s where the race is.”
Thomas said his hip had been hurting before the race but not during. He admitted that he wanted to protect is leg to make certain he was healthy for the state championships next week at Cornell University in Ithaca. Wint instantly made a strong case for a state championship if he can beat Thomas again at Cornell.
“I always heard about John Thomas. I always wanted to compete against him,” Wint said. “This was exciting.”
Sheepshead Bay had been leading most of the meet, but losing races the team expected to win started to shake the team and the frustration grew after the 4x200.
Paul Fyffe and Midwood’s Andy Nicolas took the baton almost simultaneously for the anchor leg. Nicolas grabbed the advantage on the first curve but Fyffe wedged himself on the inside. The two jostled around the bend and into the back straightaway but Nicolas allowed Fyffe to squeeze through and Fyffe took advantage. He slide by on the inside but when it seemed that Fyffe’s move would decide the race, Nicolas surged again on the home stretch for the win.
Midwood’s Alex Sterling, Donald Williams, Jr., Eric Williams ad Nicolas own in 1:29.88, a season best.
“I knew I was going to catch him,” Nicolas said. “I was thinking that he was going to trip me and I was going to fall. I got hit about five times.”
Another shot for Sheepshead Bay, which currently leads the country in the 4x200 (1:29.00).
“We were up there saying we suck,” Ahadzi said. “We were blaming each other and pointing fingers. But we’re a team. We know we can’t do that. We can’t blame each other.”
Midwood needed to finish at least third in the 4x400 to win and was in third after two legs. But Hornets fell back afterward and finished sixth.
“We were right there,” Midwood coach Marc Cohen said. “We thought we had a better 4x400. We expected more from the 4x400. … The meet was up for grabs. We just didn’t get it.”
Curtis finished third with 39 points led by senior Jason Stapleton who won 3,200 in 9:54.63 and later won the 1,600 in 4:32.85. The double-win earned him the most outstanding performer award.
Grady was fourth with 30 points behind stellar races by Shevaun Marsh and Tevonne Hemmans. Marsh won the 1,000 in 2:32.47 but Hemmans pulled off a dramatic win, winning the 600 from the third heat in a 1:20.66, a two-second personal best and the fourth-fastest time in the country this season.
Hemmans spent most of the race following Strymar Livingston of Columbus, who set a torrid pace and ended up third overall in 1:21.06. But Hemmans had been predicting all week that he could run 1:20 and knew he needed to get ahead to do it.
“I just knew I wanted to go to states,” Hemmans said. “I knew I had the strength. The goal here was to make states.”
Grady also qualified the 4x800 relay, winning in 8:09.90 with a team of Khorey McDonald, Hemmans, Mark Dressman and Marsh. For Sheepshead Bay though, the meet served as a lesson learned.
“It’s kind of great that they did badly,” Padula said. “This should motivate them. They should come back with their shoes laced up and ready to run.”
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.