Apr 24, 2002 By Jim Downey 4 min read

All that stood between the Laurel Highlands boys track team and a second consecutive undefeated Section 2-AAA season was the season finale at Uniontown. The Mustangs came through with flying colors Tuesday night, handily defeating the Red Raiders, 111-39, for the program’s first back-to-back undefeated seasons. The Mustangs were solid throughout the lineup, taking first place in all but one event. That consistency pleased boys coach Bob Costello, especially with the post-season looming in the near future.

“We had solid performances. Uniontown always runs well and is well-coached,” Costello said. “We had some improvement today. There were no big surprises.”

Costello likes where his squad is, but hopes there are still bigger and better days to come in the county meet, team playoffs, WPIAL and PIAA Championships.

“The kids have done everything the coaches have asked of them this season. I’m satisfied. They’ve done something that’s never been done with back-to-back undefeated seasons. That’s hard to do. I’m pleased with that.

“They’ve really come together in the last 10 days (with meets against Connellsville and Uniontown). We’re gaining momentum. I hope it continues.”

Jack Rose is one performer who seems to be gaining momentum as the season progresses. The speedster won the 100 (11.1) and 200 (23.2) in addition to running the anchor leg of the 400 relay with Brian Florkevich, Garret Brain and Corey Nesser. He had a tough day with the cold, damp weather, but was happy with his performances.

“I lost form in the 200 at the end. I think the cold was getting to me a little bit,” Rose said. “You have to keep your head in it with the cold. It’s all in your head. Every one-hundredth of a second counts.”

While Rose was sprinting around the track, teammate Jerry Powell was muscling his way to a pair of victories in the shot put (44-9) and discus (136-2). With the county meet only days away, Powell feels he’s ready to take on the county’s best.

“There are little things I have to do, but when the big meets come, we’ll fix it. It’s been there,” Powell said of his technique. “Connellsville has some good throwers. It’ll come down to who has the better day.”

Adam Shinsky had another strong performance on the track with first place finishes in the 1,600 (4:46) and 800 (2:03.7) in addition to running a strong third leg of the 3,200 relay with Larry Brink, Jeremiah Waltz and Steve Bobish. Matt Humbert won both hurdles with Nathan Forse taking the 400 and triple jump.

Tony Patitucci showed some versatility by winning the javelin and long jump. Brandon Mahoney hit the PIAA qualifying mark of 13-9 in the pole vault while Matt Hanzes took the high jump.

The lone first place finish for the Red Raiders (3-3, 4-4) was Dave Madison in the 3,200. More relaxed than he was against Connellsville, Madison used the meet as a chance to learn a little bit more for the county meet.

“Shinsky surprised me in the mile. He went out a lot faster than I thought he would,” Madison said of the 1,600. “I worried too much about Connellsville. Today, I went out and had fun. I was mentally prepared.

“I learned a lot about Connellsville and Laurel Highlands (in the last week). Hopefully, I’ll run smarter on Saturday.”

Uniontown boys coach Joe Everhart was pleased with what he saw, especially with the effort given by his younger runners.

“I was real pleased with our effort. Laurel Highlands is solid everywhere. Our sprinters have run better times. I was a little disappointed there, but we hung in there in the distance. I was pleased with our younger kids. I asked them to go after as many places as they could, and they did.”