GUILDERLAND — They took different paths to get there, but three Guilderland athletes will be representing the track team at the New York State Meet this weekend at St. Lawrence University.

Juniors Mark Domaracki and Brian Rhodes-Devey won their events — the 400- and 1,600-meter runs respectively — while senior Seth Dubois finished third in the 3,200 but had to wait on another competitor.
"We had great performances," said Guilderland Coach Pete Wachtel. "We got two school records and Seth Dubois is in the top four in Guilderland history."

But, those races were not the best performances by those three competitors.

Domaracki, Rhodes-Devey, and Dubois teammed up with Justin Wager to run an amazing time in the 4x800 relay, a race that was still the talk of the State Qualifier Meet that was held in Johnstown on Thursday and Friday.
"Eight teams fielded a 7:53 or faster," Wachtel said. "You needed a 8:03 to qualify for the state meet. We finished third in 7:48.50 which is a new school record that was around since 1978."

However, since the Dutch team finished third behind Shenendehowa and Shaker, they will not be heading to the state meet. The winner of the event and the next fastest time qualified for the meet even though the Dutchmen met the state-meet qualifying time.
"It was a phenomenal race," Wachtel said. "Dubois ran his best 800 ever in 2:01 and Wager ran a 1:56.12 and Domaracki, running it for the first time, ran 1:59.9. Then Brian ran a 1:51.15 at the end. It was a phenomenal effort."
"It’s disappointing that I didn’t make it with the 800," Domaracki said. "We had a great time. It was a big accomplishment for us."
"At first I was disappointed," Rhodes-Devey said. "I saw that I ran a 1:51.15 and I was telling everybody ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But it hit me that we ran a 7:48 and that was amazing. We annihilated the school record and everyone got a personal record. For our first time running together, that’s awesome."
"The race was ridiculous," Dubois said. "It was awesome. We just really clicked."

The runners were still excited about the race on Monday, even though they won’t get to show off their teamwork at states. Each member of the relay put up their names on the board — which is enclosed in a glass case — that hangs on the wall outside of the East Gym at the high school. The most excitement and talk was about that race, even though Domaracki and Rhodes-Devey earned new school records.

Another gear

Domaracki brought the first championship to the Dutchmen at the Section II meet. He blazed the track to finish the 400-meter run in 48.9 seconds.
"We set him up to do well," Wachtel said. "He went easy in the first 200 meters and then picked it up. At Hartford earlier in the year, he ran his best 200 in the beginning and then ran out of gas. This time he kept his arms down and he was not struggling. He got to the straightaway at the end and he kicked it into another gear and won, walking away in the last 50 to 70 meters."
"It’s really exciting," Domaracki said before practice on Monday. "It was a lot of hard work. It’s tough to get there."

Domaracki said that his coaches had come up with a good plan heading into the race and that he ran a more tactical race.
"I tried to be smarter," he said. "I just wanted to save it for the last 100 meters and I kicked it at the end. I knew I had it; I just hadn’t used it much this year. I was able to get a hold of it again."

But he wasn’t expecting to do everything he did on Thursday to qualify for his state meet.
"I expected to come out and run a good race," Domaracki said. "I did not expect to break the school record.
"It was amazing," Domaracki added. "Just everyone that runs at sectionals, they have all done great. To win is a special moment."

Domaracki wants to run track in college, though he has one more year to decide where and to play his other sport, basketball. He has been on the varsity squad for the past two years and will be one of the key players next season.

Basketball might have good and bad effects on Domaracki.
"It’s definitely a different type of training," he said. "It takes a little while to get into track form."

Because he doesn’t run track during the indoor season in the winter it might not prepare him well for the spring season.
"It does give me a little disadvantage," Domaracki said. "By the time the season begins, I’m probably not in top form."

But it also might save him from peaking too early in the season.
"It probably has that effect too," Domaracki said. "It keeps my mind in different places. I’m not always focusing on track."

Now his focus is just on the state meet and seeing what the atmosphere there is like.
"I’ll definitely build off this and get experience of the states this year," Domaracki said. "I want to get experience and next year come back and win it."

1,600 meters to states

Rhodes-Devey looked to be in charge of the 1,600-meter race at the state qualifier when he caught a glimpse of an old rival — Greg Kiley of Saratoga.
"People were yelling, ‘Kiley’s coming, Kiley’s coming,’" Rhodes-Devey said. "Greg Kiley caught up, but with about 100 meters to go, I made my move.
"I have to make the race exciting for the people watching," he said with a laugh.
"Brian won the 1,600 without working too hard," Wachtel said. "Kiley pulled up with him before the straightaway at the end. Then I saw a smile come on Brian’s face and he just took off."

Rhodes-Devey finished the race in 4:16.14 to break the school record. Kiley finished in 4:16.82.

After the state meet, Rhodes-Devey will get ready to go to the nationals in Greensboro, N.C., where he will run the mile and run the distance medley relay. He also plans a trip to Arizona.
"I’ll take two weeks off," Rhodes-Devey said. "Then I might go to Flagstaff to do some altitude training at the Olympic Center, and get some tests done."

Although he has one more year of high school, Rhodes-Devey has already sparked interest in a number of top universities.
"I made a trip to Michigan, which I liked," he said. "I’ve also heard from Oregon, Texas, Wisconsin, Arizona. I want to keep my options open. I like the idea of being able to go anywhere. I’m looking forward to being recruited."

He hasn’t decided what he would like to study while in college, but he knows his sport will keep him busy.
"I have no idea," Rhodes-Devey said. "I’ll find something, or I’ll just do liberal arts and minor in education. I’ll be majoring in running."

Waiting

Unlike Rhodes-Devey and Domaracki, Dubois had to wait to see if he would be going to the state meet.

Dubois finished third in the 3,200 in a time of 9:24.40, which set a personal record but put him behind Kiley and and Drew Houghtalen of Burnt Hills. But Kiley decided after qualifying in the 1,600 to run that race at the state meet and it opened a slot for Dubois.
"I was definitely nervous," Dubois said of waiting for Kiley’s decision. "I still had it in my mind that Kiley might not qualify in the 1,600. But he made it and I was relieved."
"I talked to the Saratoga coach and he said Kiley would go if he qualified in the mile," Wachtel said. "So that didn’t rule out the 3,200. Seth ran a personal record and was two seconds faster. He is on his way to getting better and better. He was disappointed. He knew he could’ve run better. He finished nice but he struggled a bit. But he held in there and got a personal record."

It will be Dubois’s first trip to the state meet for track, but he has been to the states for cross-country for the past two fall seasons.

Dubois will be heading to the nationals to run in the distance medley relay. He will then train for the summer to get ready to run in college.
"I’ll be going to Cortland and run all three seasons," he said. "I’m definitely excited to run there."

Running will give him something to do while he is not studying to get his degree in kinesiology, the study of muscles and the mechanics of human motion.

Good season

Jordan Bieber and Jarrel Gatterson also competed at the state qualifier.

Beiber ran 15.5 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles to set a personal record. He ran faster in the final than he did in the semifinals.

Gatterson competed in the triple jump and his longest leap was 41 feet, 8 inches.
"This has been a great year," Rhodes-Devey said. "We had a good record and everybody just stepped up and we were able to make some noise. It’s good for the team"It’ll be great to have a couple of other guys at states. It’s going to be a lot of fun."