The Hamilton High West boys’ track and field team had to wait 42 years to be in position to win another Mercer County Tournament championship. What’s another two days to seal the deal?
In winning its first county title since Mike Brady’s 1972 team, Hamilton was put into a unique situation that could have been tough to deal with.
The meet was held on Saturday, May 10 at Steinert. But in the middle of the 3,200-meter run, thunder and rains arrived, suspending the meet until Monday. With Hamilton trailing Allentown by 1.33 points, all that remained was the 3,200 and the 4×400 relay.
That left the Hornet foursome of Davison Celidor, Marvin Ashmore, Deonte Noncent and Efrain Garcia all day Sunday and Monday to think about what had to be done. It could have led to a lot of nerves, knowing a county crown hung in the balance.
The funny thing was, their anchor barely thought about it.
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” said Garcia, who picked off a runner at the end to allow Hamilton to take second in a school record time of 3:25.1 “I just came out and did my best and ran my race.”
Leadoff man Celidor had a little different take on it.
“When you know it comes down to the four by 400 and that could decide whether team wins or loses, we were kind of nervous,” he said. “We’re going against great teams like Nottingham, Trenton and other great teams known for being fast. We were nervous, but we were thinking, ‘You know what just go out there and give it all we’ve got, we can do it.”
The situation came down to Hamilton needing a fourth-place after Allentown’s Connor Murphy finished fifth in the 3,200.
“We knew that to win it, wherever Murphy finished, we had to finish one place higher in the relay,” coach Gerry Van Slooten said. “The year before his times were like 10:30, and this year he had a 9:30 or something, so that kind of scared me. I was worried he was like one of those kids that was starting to get it and was just getting better and better.”
If Murphy won the race, it would have clinched the meet for Allentown. As it was, his finish took a little less pressure off the Hornets foursome. But they still had to perform, and it fell to Celidor to get things started.
“That was in my head, the pressure to do well and how great it would be if I win (the MCT title) my first year of running track,” Celidor said. “I just said I’m going to give it all I’ve got. I had to give us a good start, a lot could depend on me so I just ran as hard as I could.”
After the meet, no one was quite sure when the last time Hamilton had won the title. It was generally assumed that it happened in the 1970s under Brady, who went on to be a successful college coach. Van Slooten got his answer that Tuesday.
“I walked into the library, and a girl was sitting at the table smiling and said ‘I know when the last time was they won the championship,’” Van Slooten said.
The girl was field hockey/swimmer/lacrosse player Maddie Uram, whose father was on the 1972 champs.
“They won counties, sectionals and groups that year, and a lot of them still hang out together all the time,” Van Slooten said. “I’d like to have Maddie’s dad or someone from that team talk to our team before states and talk about what it all means. They still get together and talk about it and create a great memory for it. This isn’t something that happens very often so I want them to enjoy it.”
The Hornets knew they had a shot to win it going in thanks high flying jumpers Tyree Adams and Darryl Hardee.
On Saturday, Adams won the long jump and amassed 22.5 team points, and Hardee won the triple jump and had 15 points. Distance runners Jeff Meckel, Austin Jenkins and Sebastian Cwalina also chipped in with key points along with sprinter Malik Snead. But it would all be for naught if the relay didn’t come through.
Van Slooten got a little concerned when Princeton ran a 3:27 in the first heat, considering the Hornets would have to run a personal best to beat that. But Ewing provided a good a good push for Hamilton as the Blue Devils ran a 3:20.4. With the Hornets trying to keep pace, they set the school mark.
“We started out right in the mix, and Efrain in the fourth leg was behind Trenton and Ewing,” Van Slooten said. “We were in third; coming around at the end, and it was obvious we were going to get the top four we needed. And Efrain ran past the Trenton kid, so we could break the school record.
“Efrain is an interesting kid. He’s been here four years and as a freshman, we didn’t have any kids who wanted to run the 400 so he did it to help us out. He’s just a stone cold assassin. I was asking him if he was nervous, he was like ‘For what?’ He just had the utmost confidence. It didn’t scare him at all.”
Celidor is also an interesting story, as this was his first and last year of running track.
“I’m going to play soccer at Mercer, and I wanted to keep in shape because I know the next level is gonna be competitive and hard,” he said. “I wanted to stay in shape over the summer but I figured it might be tough if I tried to do it myself. I needed something to push me. I said ‘You know what, why not just do track?’ It was probably the best thing for me.”
It got even better once the final point total said Hamilton was the champ.
“My freshman year when I came on board it was a little rough, we weren’t really winning,” said Garcia, who has enlisted in the Marines. “We’re so much better since then. It actually means a lot knowing that we won it for the first time in 40 years. It gives a lot of joy to us and makes us happy.”
“It’s amazing, it’s like right now I’m speechless, I don’t know what to say,” said Celidor a week after the big event occurred. “We hadn’t won it 40 years. To be the first to get it, it’s amazing.
“When I heard we won, I didn’t know what to say. I started crying and everything, it was amazing, it was unbelievable.”
Despite the fact that the relay was the only group competing along with a few girls, Van Slooten got two buses full of track athletes to come support the boys’ team.
“I kind of encouraged the kids to come,” the coach said. “It made a big difference with all those teammates around cheering them on.”
It was reflective of how the culture of the program has changed under Van Slooten; girls’ coach Justin Kloc and a bevy of quality assistants that include Erin Folger, Matthew Minder, Canaan Johnson, Lauren Baldasari, Danielle Grady and Matt Williams.
The athletes themselves have made a huge impact on each other.
“All the seniors have been awesome,” Van Slooten said. “Tyree Adams came out as a junior and just loves track. He brings a passion for it. A lot of times when I first took over, track was a kid’s third sport and when things got difficult they were like ‘ahhh whatever.’ These guys were always excited.
“Darryl Hardee loves it. He wrote a story in English class, saying he wanted to fly and loves basketball, but now he realizes he loves track. (Pole vaulter) Derycks Miranda is a senior; he was at the freshman sophomore county meet helping out the pole vaulters. It’s nice to have kids that track is important to them.”
The Hamilton High West 4×400 meter relay team of Deonte Noncent, Davidson Celidor, Marvin Ashmore and Efrain Garcia set a school record May 12, 2014 at the Mercer County championship at Steinert. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.),
