Mustangs have strong showing against Colonials
Albert Gallatin won four events, but Laurel Highlands swept most of the other 14 events for a convincing 122-28 Section 2-AAA victory Thursday at home. Matt Humbert provided 15 individual points and five relay points in the 1,600 relay to keep the Mustangs (5-0) atop the section standings with a 4-0 record. The senior did what he does best, sweeping the hurdles with a win in the 110 high (15.3) and 300 intermediate (41.7). He also edged teammate Tony Patitucci to win the javelin with a throw of 150 feet, eight inches on a sunny, yet very windy, afternoon.
“I wish I had better times, but the wind’s a factor. It messes you up mentally. It’s hard with no competition to run a fast time,” the California (Pa.) football recruit said. “I have a lot more in me in the javelin than 151-feet.”
Rob Sloan won the shot put (41-8) and Dan Garbutt took the discus (117-8) to give the Mustangs a first place sweep in the throws. Laurel Highlands also did well in the sprints taking 23 out of a possible 27 points.
Brandon Mahoney extended his record height in the pole vault by an inch with his winning vault of 14 feet, six inches.
The meet gave Laurel Highlands boys track and field coach Bob Costello an opportunity to improve his team’s depth with big section meets with Connellsville and Uniontown looming in the future in addition to the prizes at the end of the season in the county, WPIAL and PIAA meets.
“We want to improve our depth. The first place guys are good. We’ll need our second and third places down the road if we want to continue to be successful,” Costello said. “We can’t get short-sighted. You want to look what you can do in May.
“The first and last relay times are coming down, but there’s still room for improvement. The meet against Albert Gallatin gets us more acclimated to our own field. The Connellsville, Uniontown and county meets are all at home. We are definitely aimed for doing well in the last week of the season.”
The Colonials have a couple of shining stars, and the duo of Patrick Reagan and Vaughn Jones didn’t disappoint. Jones won the long jump (20-1/2) and triple jump (37-111/2) while Reagan continued his comeback from a foot injury with first places in the 1,600 (4:49) and 800 (2:12.8).
“I was off four or five months with a Jones’ fracture. I stepped in a hole while I was training,” Reagan explained. “I’m getting my stride back. I’m working pretty hard. I think I have enough time to catch up. I look for the times in the paper to see how everybody else is doing.”
While Albert Gallatin coach Jeff Rush was talking about building his program, he threw a plug about construction of another type to assist the development of the team.
“We’re getting better, but we still lack sprinting and hurdling. The lack of facilities hurts us,” Rush said, a sentiment echoed by Costello.
“The attitudes with the team are getting better. We’re still trying to move guys around a little bit to where they can help us the most. Jason Williams is coming along as a sprinter, and we know what Vaughn Jones and Patrick Reagan can do.”