BUCKLAND — Although Jacob Cross had already secured first place in the high jump at Saturday’s PVIAC Division II Track and Field Championships, he was hardly satisfied.
Cross put down his medal and told the officials he wanted to jump again. He may not have bettered his leap of 6 feet, 2 inches on his following attempts, but grit and determination is what he and his Mohawk Trail teammates are all about.
“We’re never satisfied here,” Mohawk boys’ coach Shawn Billings said.
Mohawk smashed the competition, sweeping both the boys and girls sectional meets at the Joe Chadwick Track. It was the first time in more than 20 years that boys’ and girls’ teams from Mohawk swept the Western Massachusetts Meet.
The boys finished first with 96.5 points, 22.5 better than Monson and Wahconah, which tied for second. It was their first sectional title since 2006.
Cross came late to track, joining the team after he left AAU basketball due to a separated shoulder. The first time he attempted the high jump, he cleared six feet and knew right away it was the event for him.
“The school record (for high jump) is 6-5 and I’ve cleared 6-4 before,” he said. “I’ve been told I have the vertical to do it. I just need to work on my form.”
Mohawk finished second two years ago and was determined to do better this season so the seniors could exit with a championship.
“We’ve been saying all along that today would be the day for an upgrade,” coach Shawn Billings said.
Billings was equally happy for Chadwick’s girls.
“Joe’s like a father to me and I’ve known him since second grade,” Billings said. “I’ve been dreaming about track since I was 6.”
The girls took 94 points, 27 better than runner-up Lenox. It was their first title since 2014.
It was a superb showing by both teams, who brought out their best on their home track, named for a man who is very dear to them.
For Chadwick, it was the 40th WMass championship he has won coaching Mohawk track and cross country. He could not name a favorite champion.
“That’s hard to say and wouldn’t be fair,” Chadwick said. “But this one is right up there because of where we came from and where we ended up today. It is just incredible.”
It should be. Mohawk came in as the favorite in a girls’ meet that was projected to be close.
“We made things go our way,” Chadwick said. “This group of girls feed on each other.”
The key was the triple jump, where the Warriors collected 20 points.
But neither meet was close because of the Warriors’ dominance.
That’s precisely why Chadwick was quick to deflect attention away from himself and steer it toward the athletes.
Mohawk’s Eli Shearer, one of five seniors who have been on the team for six seasons, won two events. He won the 400-meter dash in a school record 51.05 and the triple jump in 41.5.5
The school record Shearer broke belonged to Billings, who set it while competing for Eli’s father, Tim.
Billings didn’t mind witnessing his record broken.
“I’m so happy someone finally broke it, and Eli is one of the hardest workers on this team,” Billings said. “These seniors are the best leaders I’ve ever had. It’s a learning experience and each year, every kid that comes up adds something new to the team and the team absorbs that and becomes that much better.”
Shearer now owns four school tack records.
“It was a fantastic day to jump,” Shearer said. “The boys’ and girls’ teams have a very special bond. I couldn’t be happier.”
Cam Olyank captured the mile in 4:40.73 and was second in the 800-meter run in 1:59.60.
Seth Hoynoski, a sophomore, set a school record (59.47) by placing second in the 400-meter hurdles. He was also fourth in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.70 seconds.
“This is my first year doing hurdles and I just wanted to improve,” Hoynoski said “We wanted to win it for all of our seniors.”
Tradition’s important for the Warriors.
“There’s a lot of history at this school and this feels great,” Cross said. “Hopefully, it will get this team noticed.”
Greenfield’s David Giurgiu and Silvian Popusoi tied for second place in boys’ pole vault at 12 feet. Giurgiu credited a switch to a longer pole for his success.
“I would like to think with more practice with the new pole I can do even better,” Giurgiu said.
Franklin County Tech’s Owen Ortiz was second in the 100-meter dash in 11:55. Frontier’s Jared Kellogg placed second in shot put (40-10.5) and Greenfield’s David Emberley was runner-up in Javelin (141-9).
The Mohawk girls also had a number of standouts. Sally Slowinski won the triple jump at 34-11 — an event that saw the Warriors claim 20 points.
“That was just phenomenal,” Slowinski said.
Kayla Baus was third in triple jump (33-.75) and Kayla Kurland-Davis was fourth (32-2.2.25) to combine for the 20 points. Kurland Davis was also third in the 100-meter dash (13.56).
Violet Rawlings secured second in discus (96-6). Gabby Shean finished fourth in javelin (93-7), Madison Boucias was fifth in the mile (5:29.4), just behind seventh-grader Jackie Wells (5:27.32).
Slowinski was third in the long jump at 15-5 and finished fourth in shot put (31-4.5).
Kurland-Davis also helped the Warriors placed third in the 4×100.
“Teamwork is so important and we’ve put in a lot of hard work,” she said.
Mohawk freshman Meghan Davis secured second in the 2-mile run in 11:35.12.
Frontier’s Kat Miner, who will attend the University of Michigan in the fall, won two events for a Red Hawk team that was decimated by injuries.
Miner chose Michigan over Duke. It was a no-lose situation for her, but that did not make her choice easy.
“They’re both great schools,” Miner said.
Miner won the 200-meter dash in 26.93. She won the high jump at 5-4. She would love to have her name attached to a state record.
“In practice, I was able to get 5-10 and I’d love to do that or better at States,” Miner said. “There will be a lot of competition.”
Miner also competed in 100 and finished second.
“It was a very busy day,” Miner said.
But certainly a productive one.
“She was two points shy of a perfect day and did her last high jump after running in four events,” praised Frontier coach Bob Smith. “She’s such a gifted athlete and did a sensational job.”
Ivy Shattuck was eighth in the discus, which was a personal best.
Despite the injuries, Frontier was able to secure sixth place with 53.5 points. But the future does look bright for the Red Hawks, thanks to some outstanding performances by several underclassmen.
“We definitely lost a lot of key players but our team has done such a phenomenal job of pulling together,” Miner said. “A lot of our younger players stepped up.”
Among them were Jenna Martin, who was fourth in the long jump (15-4), and eighth-grader Kimani Topolski-Burgess, who placed seventh in the 200-meter dash (29.35).
“We didn’t come in with any expectations, it was try to do your seed or better,” Miner said. “I am so proud of our team.”
Ally Parker won two events for Mahar. She was first in the 100-meter dash at 13.32 and the long jump with a leap of 16 feet.
Emily Caselia won shot put with a throw of 36-2.5 and captured the discus title with a toss of 108.3. She also took second in javelin (105.5).
Pioneer Valley’s Victoria Laskoski took first in pole vault with a jump of 9-6.
Mahar has a new record-holder in the high jump after sophomore Kianna Reilly finished second at 5-2.