Track and Field

NORWICH – Sidney’s boys and B-G/Afton’s girls played the foils to Norwich narrowly edging the host Tornado for the team championships at Friday’s REK Invitational.

Sidney accumulated 97.5 points to the runner-up Tornado’s 93.5. The girls’ side was even tighter. The Bears’ ladies scored 85.5 points eking out a win over Norwich my just half a point.

“The team scores among the top teams stayed close throughout the meet,” said Norwich coach Shaun Horan. “We really had some great individual performances.”

At the top of the list for NHS – as has been the norm the past three seasons - was most outstanding male athlete, junior Matt Murray. Murray went a perfect 4-for-4 on the evening winning the 200, 400, and 800 meters, and he capped his unblemished day winning the pole vault on criteria. Murray tied for the highest height cleared in the vault, but was given the victory based on fewer misses.

Murray was a heavy favorite in the 400- and 800-meter races, and didn’t disappoint timing 50 seconds even in the former, and 2:02.3 in the latter event. The 200, more of an all-out sprint, pitted Murray against 2012 sectional place-winner Eddie Ray Cotton of G-MU.

Cotton had already breezed to the 100-meter title with a time of 11.1 seconds. Murray denied the G-MU senior a daily double timing a season-low 22.7 seconds to best Cotton by .4 seconds.