BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity indoor track teams turned in solid performances last week at the annual Pat Russo Invitational, a meet named for the program’s longtime coach.
This year marked the fourth annual Pat Russo Invitational, named for the Decatur track coach and legend who ran the program for 41 years before retiring. The event, which honors Russo for his long contribution to track and student-athletes on the Eastern Shore, was held on December 21 at the Worcester County Recreation Complex in Snow Hill.
The Decatur boys finished 12th overall among the Eastern Shore schools participating in the meet. Smyrna finished first, Bennett was second and Caesar Rodney was third. On the girls’ side, Decatur finished 10th overall. Caesar Rodney was first, Smyrna was second and North Caroline was third.
In terms of individual performances, the Decatur boys finished in the top 10 in several events. Jared Massey was strong in the field events, collecting a fifth in the triple jump, a sixth in the long jump and a ninth in the high jump. Patrick Miller finished 10th in the shot put.
In the boys’ track events, the Seahawks got solid performances in many of the distance races. Kevin Beck finished sixth in the 800 and seventh in the 1,600. In the 3,200, Jack Reimer was eighth and Javier Hernandez was 10th. In the relays, Decatur finished third in the 4×800, ninth in the 4×400 and 10th in the 4×200.
In terms of girls’ individual performances, Decatur was again strong in the field events. In the pole vault, Jillian Mitrecic was fourth and Abbie Baker was sixth. Bethany Williams finished fifth in the high jump, while Khalin Wise was ninth in the triple jump.
In the track events, Claire Billings was eighth in the 500, while Adrianna Serpe finished ninth in the 55-hurdles. In the relays, the Decatur girls finished seventh in the 4×800, ninth in the 4×400 and 10th in the 4×200.