Wilson relay, Palisades’ Smigo run into history at Colonial League boys track

In the scrum that occurs when trying to jam relay teams onto the medal podium, it's easy to be in the wrong spot.

Especially if, as Wilson senior Jayden Fields said as he tried to find the right path to receive his gold medal for the 400-meter relay at Wednesday's second day of the Colonial League track and field championships, "I’d never won before!"

Thomas Smigo could have showed him the way.

The Warrior relay and the Palisades senior both raced into unforgettable league lore Wednesday.

The Wilson quartet of junior RJ Bronson, frosh Gigi Durandisse, Fields, and junior Marcel Days lived some history – every league title in the 400 relay since 2016 has gone to the Warriors.

"We wanted to keep that history going," Bronson said.

‘Smigo, meanwhile, closed the book on his (strictly) Colonial League history by winning four golds at the meet. On Wednesday, he won the 800 and 1,600-meter runs, and anchored the 1,600 relay to first to go with his 3,200-meter win from Tuesday.

That gave him 10 league championship track and field wins on his career. Throw in cross country and the number is 14.

"Once you hand the baton to Thomas, you don't worry, you know you’re winning," said relay teammate senior Hugh Salva.

Or another way to say it - once you see Smigo as a foe in your race, you know you’re losing.

While Wilson and Palisades offered perhaps the grandest thrills of the second day of the league meet, there were lots of other notable finishes, including a freshman sprint champion, a new senior sprint champion, some sartorial splashes in the field, and more. Their stories follow.

Maybe the Colonial League should just retire the boys 400-meter relay race and let Wilson keep the permanent trophy.

If there ever was a year for that streak to break, this seemed like it, as all four of the sprinters who led Wilson to league, district and state championships in 2022 graduated.

It was a whole new team – indeed two of the four, freshman "Call me Gigi" Durandisse and senior Fields, were new to varsity running and in Fields’ case, new to the sport.

And the team struggled to find the right order to run in.

"We had an order, then we changed it, and then we just went back to the original order just a week or so ago," Bronson said.

And the handoffs, well.

"At first, it was pretty difficult," Durandisse said. "I bobbled a handoff in a meet and we dropped the baton in a race."

Watching them Wednesday, you’d never know any of that happened. The Warriors ran an elegantly clean race. The handoffs were art in action, superb at speed. Days’ surging anchor swept away Southern Lehigh and Palisades to win in a season-best 43.67 to the Spartans’ 43.95. The power Days ran with radiated for some distance off the track – you could almost feel his speed.

"Once we perfected the handoffs, we got it done," Durandisse said.

Maybe the biggest achievement was putting together the team.

"Me and Marcel and Justin ran together in indoor season," Bronson said. "Then we came up with Gigi, a freshman, in the spring. But we didn't know how good we were going to be or if we could repeat."

Fields may have been a senior, but he was no tested veteran, as he admitted – this year is his first as a track runner.

"I was so focused on football," Fields said." But I thought I’d do indoor to keep training hard, and that helped me, so I thought I’d do outdoor track. Coach DeReinzi asked me every day if I’d run outdoor track, I did, and I love it."

Wilson's attempt to return to states will run into some major challenges at next week's District 11 3A championship. Six D-11 teams have run faster, including Parkland (3A state-best of 41.94) and Emmaus (42.28, third-best in PIAA 3A), though one of them is Southern Lehigh. So, more history?

"There's always room for improvement," Bronson said.

And for another 400-meter gold in the Wilson trophy case.

We’ll have more on Smigo's efforts in the 1,600 relay, and that of his teammates (seniors Bryce Guthier, Gianluca LeBlanc and Hugh Salva) in a later piece - check back at lehighvalleylive soon.

But before the relay – the meet's closing event – Smigo established his second league meet record by winning the 1,600-meter run in 4 minutes, 17.13 seconds, breaking the previous mark of 4:19.3 by Wilson's state champion Joe Espinal in 2015. The 4:17 ranks No. 2 in PIAA 2A, behind only the 4:15.33 run by East Juniata's Logan Strawser in April, and is No. 1 in the lehighvalleylive region this spring.

"I was most happy with the 1,600 of my races," Smigo said. "To be able to run that race, run a 4:17, kind of on my own, boosted my confidence for districts and states."

Smigo was being kind of when he said "kind of" on his own. He won by over 13 seconds, ahead over Northwestern Lehigh's Matthew Santana.

Imagine if he had been pushed.

"I’d been running 4:30, 4:40 in the 1,600," Smigo said. "I was wondering if this was my year. But 4:17 is a huge confidence booster. My goal now is sub-4:10. That's still do-able on a good day."

Smigo also won the 800 Wednesday but the margin was a lot smaller, 1:58.67 to 2:01.04 by Northwestern's Samuel Bower and 2:01.76 from Notre Dame's AJ Sasso. Smigo had to use all his talent and speed to secure that race. It may be the last time he runs an 800 in high school, as Smigo may focus on the 1,600, 3,200 and the relay at D-11 2A.

Smigo will leave Palisades as the league record holder in the 1,600 and 3,200 – he set the latter in 2022 at 9:27.9.

Gianluca LeBlanc figured out track and field just in time.

The Palisades senior won the Colonial League 200-meter dash Wednesday in a blazing race. His 22.97 edged out Salisbury's Jacob Gibbons, who finished in 22.99.

And LeBlanc came close to two championships, as he was second in the 100.

Pretty good for someone whose impact on Colonial League track had been, to be charitable, limited before 2023.

"I didn't take track seriously," LeBlanc said. "Originally, I was just doing it to do a third sport, after soccer and basketball. This year, I finally took it seriously. I actually went to sprinting practice and did something instead of going to jumping practice and doing nothing."

This was some kind of something.

LeBlanc came well-motivated in the 200. Earlier, he finished second in the 100 in 11.32 after posting the top qualifying time Tuesday at 11.25.

"What happened in the 100 was that I did not get out well," LeBlanc said. "I got to the 200, I wanted to get redemption. I was angry about the 100. I got out better in the 200."

In other words, LeBlanc figured it all out again – at the best time, too.

On Tuesday, Gian Greggo offered up a new look as he won the discus.

Wednesday, the Pen Argyl senior made some adjustments to his kit – and did even better.

"A head band and an arm wrap, works every single time," Greggo said.

It sure did.

Not only did Greggo win the shot put, he set the league meet record at 56 feet, 5 inches, breaking the previous mark of 55-3½ set by Bangor's Bryan Pearson in 2013.

"I threw the 56 on the final throw of the first round," said Greggo, who won the league in 2022 as well. "I had the best series I had all year. I felt so locked in. Some other meets, my mind was wandering everywhere. Not here."

Greggo was not the only Green Knight to set a record.

Senior Taylor LaBarre's 15-1 pole vault broke the second-oldest record in the league boys’ list, 15-0 by Catasauqua's Kyle Miller in 2008. LaBarre also won the triple jump in 44-7¾; he was PIAA 2A champ in the triple in 2022.

Alec Miner's first season of track hit an immediate bump.

"I had my appendix out and missed the first two meets," the Notre Dame junior said.

Miner has made up for lost time splendidly.

The Crusader won the 400-meter dash Wednesday in 50.87 seconds, ahead of Salisbury's Gibbons in 51.38.

"I didn't get the opportunity to run many 800s with my injury so I have been just doing 400s in our regular meets," said Miner, who also plays midfield in soccer for the Crusaders.

None of that stopped Crusader coach Art Corrigan from tossing Miner into the 3,200-meter relay Tuesday where all Miner, a Nazareth resident, did was lead off for the league championship relay.

"I was definitely happy with that relay," Miner said.

Miner's second league gold came a bit harder Wednesday.

"I have decent speed, but I didn't do great in the 400," he said. "I held my own. I stepped it up ahead of the final turn, because I know I have a big kick at the end. I have been doing a lot of reps in practice. I think our track helps – we have a gravel track, and you really have to push at the end."

Miner is good at make the most of the less ideal situation.

"Winning the league (in the 400) was always the goal, but I had those two to three weeks out," Miner said. "I did lose five pounds because I couldn't eat. That might have helped me."

Perhaps not a training regimen for everybody, but, hey, whatever works, right?

Exceeding (his own) expectations

Kamal Crockett didn't quite what to expect at the Colonial League meet.

The Bangor freshman sprinter was making his first appearance, of course, at the championship.

"I was just thinking of placing," he said. "I didn't think about being first. I just wanted to be on the podium."

After the 100-meter dash final, Crockett surely was on the podium – in first.

His 11.27 second clocking topped Palisades’ LeBlanc at 11.32. Crockett had only had the third-best qualifying time at 11.36, and there were four more runners with 9/100 of a second, but the Slater was fastest when it mattered.

"I had raced some of these people before, but I kind of felt nervous," he said. "I get really nervous before a race. I just focus on what's coming up for me. It was important for me to get off to a good start."

Crockett had the No. 4 qualifying time in the 200 but suffered a false start and did not run in the final.

Joseph Phillips knew what lesson to take away from the 110-meter high hurdle final.

"I sure know what to work on now," said the Notre Dame junior, who was District 11 3A champion in the highs in 2022, about what he must improve to defend his title.

So, he came in, say, fourth, in the league meet? Tough race? Bad day?

Not quite.

Phillips won the league meet in 15.20 seconds, reversing the qualifiers when he ran second to Southern Lehigh's Jack Inglis, 15.07 to 15.37. Inglis ran 15.29 in the final.

"I was happy to win," Phillips said.

But.

"I know my start was not the best," he said. "I did not attack the first two hurdles like I should have. That put me in a position where I had to make up time."

That's a dangerous spot to be in a race with people like Inglis and Palmerton's Bryson Walters, but Phillips dug it out.

"I love running against these guys," he said. "They push me the most."

Palmerton proved the best team at the meet, winning the team title with 121 points to Palisades’ 105. Southern Lehigh was third at 84 and Notre Dame fourth at 82.

The Blue Bombers showed off their depth – they won the championship with only one first-place finisher. Junior Bryson Walters won the 300 intermediate hurdles.

Colonial League boys

Colonial League girls

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