Jesuit wins Sheaner Relays
By GREG
FORD
Sports Editor
Photography: Travis Mathews
RAIN-SOAKED:
Jesuit’s Andrew Faso overcame the inclement weather conditions to
capture second place Saturday in the long jump at the Jesuit-Sheaner
Relays.
The weather conditions Saturday put a damper on the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays
in more ways than one.
The rainy conditions not only prevented participation in the preliminary
events, but it also deprived the eventual winner, Jesuit, from showing the
rest of the competition that it could defeat them in a full-scale meet.
“It’s a litte bit bittersweet, because we wanted
to say this was the best Jesuit team ever,” fifth-year Jesuit head coach
Ross Oliver said.
The Rangers scored a total of 154 points at the meet, in which all the
races were run as finals. Lancaster was second with 86 points, and Forney
finished third with 59 points.
Another local school, W.T. White, finished seventh with 46 points.
Jesuit has not won the event since it became the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays in
1975, according to former Jesuit track coach Herb Sheaner, after who the
event is named.
A year ago, Oliver said, Jesuit finished third, adding that the team has
improved steadily in the relays during his tenure.
This year Oliver said he was looking forward to competing against teams
such as Lancaster, Greenville and Denton Ryan, all of which he considered
to be Jesuit’s toughest competition.
However, the weather conditions early Saturday prevented any hopes of
having having a complete event.
That might leave doubt in some people’s minds as to whether Jesuit could
have beaten the competition in a full-scale affair.
Many of the top competitors at the event had left by the afternoon, when
the running finals took place.
“We would not have scored (as many) points in good weather, but I think
we would have won,” Oliver said.
“We won the meet, but there are those who will say could we have won it
in good weather. My answer is yes, but will we ever know? No.”
The Rangers had sixfirst-place finishes, including wins in the 1,600-meter
relay and the distance medley relay.
Individual winners were Matt O’Shea in the discus, Tony Corona in the
800 meters, Michael Schlund in the 400 meters and Tom Colven in the 1600
meters. Oliver is especially proud of his mile relay team, which consists
of Corona, Jose Pietri, The relay team has finished second only once this
season, Oliver said. It also ran a 3:17.0 at the Lobo Relays in Longview,
where it faced Class 5A competition, he said.
“To my knowledge nobody in the state has run faster than a 3:19,”
Oliver said.
Oliver said that Corona and Altaffer have been the “cornerstones” of
the program.
Corona won the 800 with a time of 1:59.43. and Altaffer finished second in
2:08.47. Teammate Brian Case was third with a time of 2:11.65.
“They are the hardest workers and have the best work ethic,” Oliver
said of Corona and Altaffer. “When the race is on, we can count on
them.”