Four Shaker Boys Go to 2008 Outdoor Track State Meet
Craig Weiss, Jaquell Chandler
RJ Sniffen, Matt Conti
Led by Craig Weiss's 3000M Steeplechase victory in a new school record time of 9:37.99, Shaker will be sending four athletes to next week’s New York State Meet in Buffalo. He broke the record that has been held by Justin Corelli for the past eight years. The other first place finisher was Jaquell Chandler who won the large school 400m Hurdle race. Joining those two on the trip to Buffalo will be RJ Sniffen and Matt Conti. RJ finished second in a career best of 4:19.2 in the 1600m which qualified him for the State meet. Matt Conti, who had previously run a time that qualified him for the State meet was nipped at the line and finished third in the qualifier. When the first place finisher, declined his spot in order to focus on the Shen Relay team, Matt automatically moved up to the State meet.
There were several other notable performances from Shaker athletes at the State Qualifier including the return from injuries of athletes like Prince Abban who nearly qualified with his second place finish in the triple jump. Freshman Tim Derocher improved his grade record in the Pole Vault with a leap of 12 feet while Mike Libruk ran the fastest reported 3200M of all 8th graders in New York State this year.
It was also the last meet for several graduating seniors who will be missed next year for their talent and their leadership. Among those graduating are Mike McCloskey, Frank Tan, John Canfield, Kevin Conti, Brian Maloy, Devon Sedgwick, Jeff Corelli and Chris Manico. The future remains bright with solid performances at the State Qualifier from athletes like Chris Herman, Mike Ofosu, Robert Johnson, Alvin Porter, Ryan Egan, Eric Young, Matt Dustin, Ruben Feinman, Andrew Boldish, and Jesse Boice. They are expected to return next year along with injured runners such as Ebube Abara and Bryan Letourneau and a group of young athletes who led the JV team to a 10-1 dual meet season in the Suburban Council.