By Jordan J. Michael

FONDA –– Berne-Knox-Westerlo and Fonda-Fultonville battled on Tuesday for the right to be called kings and queens of track and field in the Western Athletic Conference.

“In reality, it’s either us or them for the title on both the girls’ and boys’ side,” said BKW boys’ Head Coach Scott Hannay at the WAC Championships at Fonda. “Fonda is a big fish in a smaller tank. If we win, it’ll be a big deal.”

The Bulldogs ended up talking first place over Fonda by the score of 144 to 137. The Lady Bulldogs came in second to Fonda with 81 points.

“I’m impressed with how we’re doing because we’re so young,” said girls’ coach Bill Dergosits in the midst of the meet. “This is the first big-time meet for a lot of the girls. I just hope they keep me as coach because I like where this is going.”

BKW took first place in the 3,200-meter relay on both the girls’ and boys’ side. Martha Mackey, Courtney Tedeschi, Alex Luciano, and Abby Swint posted a time of 10:47.3 for the girls and David Haverly, Jeff Moller, Sean Reynolds, and Connor Devine finished with a time of 8:38.1 for the boys.

“We’ve been running so well in the relays this year,” said Swint. “The only time we didn’t get first place was at a Bethlehem meet.”

Devine chased down his Fonda opponent in the last stretch of the 3,200 relay to win the race.

“It was pretty exciting to catch him because I kept gaining and gaining,” said Devine. “You could say Fonda is a rival of ours, so it felt like the right time to beat them.”

The Bulldogs also took first place in the 400-meter and 1,600-meter relays for the boys. Tim David had a time of 11.2 to place first in the 100-meter sprint. Haverly took first place in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:08.1.

“I actually wrote second place down in the book for the 3,200 relay before it was over and I wish I hadn’t done that,” Scott Hannay said. “We beat one of the best relay teams around. It’s truly amazing.”

Tedeschi got first place in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 11:30.3 and Christina Bartonicek placed fourth in the 1,500-meter race at 5:31.1. Tedeschi and Bartonicek also finished second and third in the 2,000-meter steeplechase.

Josh Glick continued his excellent pole-vaulting for BKW and took first place almost uncontested after clearing 12 feet. Talyor Macci from Canajoharie couldn’t clear the bar and it left Glick all alone.

“I felt very relaxed today because I wasn’t under a lot of pressure,” said Glick, who just missed a 14-foot vault two weeks ago. “But, on the other hand, some serious competition might be nice to have.”

The boys’ discus competition was stacked with the “three best throwers in Section II,” according to Scott Hannay. Greg Hannay, Scott’s son, took third place with a toss of 137 feet, being one of the three his father mentioned.