DOVER – An ascendant star swept four events at the DIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, crawling across the finish line for one of them.
Sussex Tech’s Yougendy Mauricette was seconds away from a state record in the 300-meter hurdles when he tripped on the final hurdle. When the 6-foot-3 junior fell to the Dover High School track, the baked crowd gasped with concern.
Yet Mauricette was so far ahead that he could roll the last meters to the finish line. As with his victories in the high hurdles, long jump and a half-hour later in the 200, he was the day’s best in both divisions.
In a meet conducted in unprecedented heat, Salesianum (Division I) and Saint Mark’s (Division II) won the team titles. The Sals relied on the state’s deepest array of sprinters to win their third straight state title, 19th in school history.
The Spartans’ D-II title was a first in their 50-year varsity track history, led by Max DiOssi, who improved his shot put by 11 feet over last year to win the event, and Jabri White, who won the long jump on his first leap.
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Wary of the looming heat, officials advanced the start of the meet by two hours. Mauricette began the day with one of the fastest high hurdles performances (14.35) in state history.
“I don’t really think about the first hurdle,” he said. “I more think about the third hurdle. I practice the first hurdle so that instinct is how I go over it.”
Then Mauricette moved to the long jump pit, where he leapt 23-3½, more than a foot longer than anyone else.
“I always liked jumping as something fun, then I got good at it,” he said. “It’s something different than just running in a circle.
After several hours of rest, he launched his attack on the 300-meter intermediate hurdles on a pace to break Alonzo Wiggins’ 29-year-old state record of 37.23 seconds. He caught his leg on the 10th hurdle, then clawed his way to the finish line.
Mauricette quickly resolved to complete his four-event sweep in the 200, where he outlasted Salesianum’s Jasyn Truitt in 21.84.
Salesianum has become a sprint school. After a half-century of relying on power in the distances, weight events and pole vault, the Sals overwhelmed the field in the short distances.
Truitt, Amari Mathis, Vinny DelliCompagni, Bishop Lane and Michael Portale won the 4×100 and 4×200 relays.
“When I first got here, we didn’t really have a sprinting squad, to be honest,” Mathis said. “We now have a sprinting squad, a distance squad, the best of both worlds. We also have jumpers and throwers, too. It is constantly all of us coming together.”
DelliCompagni encouraged many of his Salesianum football teammates to join track.
“Playing another sport helps. It keeps you in shape,” said DelliCompagni, who like other running backs, joins summer workouts with the rest of the team.
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Mathis, Truitt, DelliCompagni and Michael Portale won the 4×200 in 1:27.77, the fastest ever in a state meet, and certainly the best ever in 96-degree weather.
Salesianum’s margin was swelled by Ryan Banko, who won the 3,200 (9:28), Chris Gulotti repeating in the shot put (54-3) and Matthew Klous topping all pole vaulters at 14-1¼.
Matt Gatune led runner-up Polytech with two victories. After winning the 1,600 in the morning, he rested at his home in Smyrna, then returned to win the 800.
“I felt like it was a new day,” said Gatune, who will attend Columbia this fall.
He was chased by Salesianum’s Matt Filliben in the 800.
“I chilled until the last 200, then in the last 100 I gave it all I had,” Gatune said.
Jakwon Kilby won the triple jump (48-0½) to lead third-place Dover. Fourth-place Smyrna’s Devin DeMoe had the day’s best high jump (6-5).
Julian Callaway led Cape Henlopen to victory in the 4×800 relay. Delcastle’s Shaheam Porter edged Middletown’s Tysean Baronette in the 400.
Saint Mark’s seven-point victory over A.I. du Pont was a feature of depth. Only four Spartans – DiOssi, White, and runner-up weight men Logan Klein and Vaughan Highland – finished first or second. Casey Winnington scored in three distance events.
White joined the track team after leading the Spartans within 15 seconds of defeating eventual state champion Tower Hill in the quarterfinal of the state basketball tournament.
Second team All-State in football, third team All-State in basketball, he long jumped 21-11 on his first try, fouled on his second try, then passed the rest of his jumps to win comfortably.
Darius Parker caught teammate Jalen Wright at the end of the 300-meter intermediate hurdles and Devon George won the 400 for A.I.’s victories. Wright anchored the Tigers’ win in the 4×400 relay.
Tatnall reached third place in Division II behind Nicholas Pizarro and André Latina, who finished first and second in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.
Jackson Bliey led Brandywine to fourth place, winning the discus and finishing second on fewer misses to Earl Downing of Lake Forest in the high jump. Lake’s Declan McGrellis won the pole vault (13-0).
Freshman Messai Maynor of Delaware Military Academy won the 100 and led a victory in the 4×100 relay.
Anchored by freshman Colby Twyman, Tower Hill won the 4×800 relay for the first time since 1999.
Indian River’s rising team, 5-1 in dual meets after its first winning season last year, saw Cole Brickman win the high hurdles (15.19).
“If you have a person running hard next to you, you’re probably going to run hard too,” said Brickman, who didn’t begin workouts until 10 weeks ago after breaking a collarbone in football.
Another resurgent team, Seaford, won the 4×200 behind Jazonte Levan, who also won the 200.
