Thomas Jefferson’s boys’ track team bounced back from last year’s lackluster showing to reclaim the city title it earned two years ago — in part to prove wrong the doubters on its own side.
After winning the last crown two years ago, the seniors told the then-underclassmen that they doubted the Orange Wave’s new generation could live up to the legacy.
“They doubted us that we were going to actually win,” said Orange Wave senior shot putter Clinton Belle.
Jefferson scored up and down its roster to edge out Susan Wagner 52–40 for the Public School Athletic League Indoor boys track and field championships at the Armory last Sunday. This win was special, after the team struggled in the meet a year ago and felt the pressure from to get a crown of its own.
“It’s motivation, but it’s a way of tweaking them,” Jefferson coach Claudel Martin said. “You got to work. Tweaking them to understand we have a good tradition.”
Belle was a big reason why that tradition continued this year — he won the shot put with a personal-best throw of 50 feet, 7.75 inches. Belle also placed fourth in the weight throw with a toss of 47-09.
Travion Gilchrist took home the triple jump crown with a leap of 46-10.50, and Collis Cameron earned silver in the high jump with a mark of 6-04.
On the track, the Orange Wave got a big lift from its 4 x 800 meter relay team of Gairy Springer, Hakeem Alexander, Akeem Aaron and Alfred Serant which rallied for a second-place finish with a time of 8:19.47. Springer also placed second in the 1000 meters (2:35.52) behind Clara Barton’s Kareem Joseph (2:35.51). Freshman Nathaniel Francis scored in both the high jump and the triple jump.
“We want to teach the younger ones to keep training,” Cameron said. “Through hard work, you will be able to follow through.”
Jefferson took home the crown, but Paul Robeson’s Mergaran Poleon stole the show on his way to boys’ track most-valuable-player honors. The junior ran a personal-best time of 33.98 to beat Boys & Girls star Richard Rose. Poleon followed that up by holding off a late charge as the anchor leg in the 4 x 400 relay. Robeson won by nine hundredths of a second and earned the right to run in the state championships.
“It meant a lot,” Poleon said of the relay win. “We have a lot of seniors. We just wanted to go out with a bang and that is what we did — extend the track season.”
The Medgar Evers girls’ team wasn’t able to end its season with a championship like it did a year ago. It fell to rival Benjamin Cardozo.
Senior Brenessa Thompson was, however, able to take home three gold medals and girls’ track most-valuable-player honors. She won the 300 with a time of 38.43, the 600 in 1:32.01, and was a member of the winning 4 x 200 relay team. Thompson, who is considering Texas A&M and Florida next year, didn’t earn a personal best time in the 600, but did in the 300. She felt her team’s performance in the sprints sank it’s chances for another city title.
“We are the sprinting school and Cardozo is the distant school,” Thompson said. “We are suppose to rack up points in the sprinting event in order to win.”
