Morell smiles after a successful throw at the Yellowjacket Invitational.
ONEONTA – With an AP exam on Friday, May 10 and another one scheduled for Monday, May 13, Bradley Morell still had time to break a school discus record at the Yellowjacket Invitational on the Lloyd Baker Field.
With a toss of 163’ 8”, Morell eclipsed his season best set last week of 160’ 0”. The previous record was held by Jim Hurtubise in 2003, and was 163’ 3”. Morell was very happy with his throw, and is looking toward the Section IV record of 176’ 0”, set by Ithaca’s Sam Cherney in 2012.
Morell helped his team by also winning the shot put with a put of 47’ 4”, a season best by almost a foot and a half.
In all, the girls took second out of 16 teams competing in the invitational, scoring 68.5 points, and the boys placed third with 43.5. Powerhouse Norwich won both.
The winning OHS Yellowjackets are, front row from left, Erin Stalder, Ting Poon (holding trophy) and Yuliah Johnson; back row, from left, Sabrina Scianimanico, Jocelyn Turley, Jillian LaHood, Samantha Ficano, Olivia Hanbridge, Miriam Fonjweng, Randy Odago, Autumn Nealis, Oliva O’Donnell, Danielle Basdekis, Morgan Jipson. (Connie Herzig/AllOTSEGO.com)
Editor’s Note: With this report, Connie Herzig becomes the weekly sports columnist for AllOTSEGO.com, Hometown Oneonta and The Freeman’s Journal. An Oneonta resident and retired 25-year elementary phys-ed teacher at Cooperstown Elementary, she is active in the life of both communities, and expert in both sports scenes. Send Connie news, story tips and any other inputs at herzig@stny.rr.com
OHS’ Brad Morell won both throwing events, pushing his team into first place. (Photo courtesy David Morell)
The 29th Annual Don Howard Track & Field Invitational last Saturday, May 4, at Cooperstown High School had an unlikely star – the sun popped through for a while on a cloudy, windless and not-rainy day. The spring season has been cold, wet and windy for much of the young season, but perfect conditions led to many season-best performances. The great one himself, Don Howard, was there with his wife, Doris, to cheer on the teams.
The Oneonta girls’ team won the 13-team meet with 140.5 points, while Cooperstown’s girls were nipping at their heels in second with 119.5.
The two teams battled head to head in several key events, which were highlighted by the sprints, hurdle races and the jumping events. In the 400m relay, the Oneonta team of Erin Stalder, Morgan Jipson, Yuliah Johnson and Reece Thorsland posted a time of 53.19, almost a second better than they had previously run this season.
The Cooperstown girls, Ashley Kiuber, Ireland Gable, Samantha Vezza and Nora Jensen, were second, improving their seed time by almost a second at 53.44. Oneonta’s 1600m relay team also won, with Staldler, Thorsland, Danielle Basdekis and Randy Odago shaving five seconds off their time.
Cooperstown’s Nora Jensen won the 100m hurdles and was second to Oneonta’s Basdekis in the 400m hurdle race. (Cheryl Clough/AllOTSEGO.com)
Cooperstown’s Jensen had a great day in the hurdle races, winning the 100m hurdles and coming in second to Oneonta’s Basdekis in the 400m hurdle race. Basdekis also won the 200m with teammate Johnson getting third. Between them was Cooperstown’s freshman sprinter Gable. Johnson also won the 100m for Oneonta. In the 400m, Oneonta’s Stalder won the race, taking 3 seconds off her season best. Teammate Olivia O’Donnell was third and Cooperstown’s Abby Ford was fourth.
Mayor Gary Herzig and wife Connie give Martha Van Burek, outgoing director of the Wet Kortright Center, at Martha’s Great Retirement Rumpus on Saturday afternoon. Hundreds of guests honored Van Burek, who has worked there for 43 years, with testimonials, musical performances and scenes from Shakespeare plays. Marie, Sander Sebastian, who owns the farm next door, presented Martha with a quilt made in 1987 bearing an image of the Center. “I just love this place.” said Van Burek, “It raised my daughter and now my grandchildren. It’s all so rewarding and I think you all for letting me do it.” (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig gets a congratulatory hug from Otsego Now COO Elizabeth Horvath after the announcement that the City of Oneonta will received a $10 million special allocation from Governor Cuomo for downtown revitalization. At right is the city’s first lady, Connie Herzig. Check slide show to see the range of attendees at yesterday’s event in Foothills Performing Arts Center’s black-box theater. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
With a toss of 163’ 8”, Morell eclipsed his season best set last week of 160’ 0”. The previous record was held by Jim Hurtubise in 2003, and was 163’ 3”. Morell was very happy with his throw, and is looking toward the Section IV record of 176’ 0”, set by Ithaca’s Sam Cherney in 2012.
