Pearl River Set to Pursue Section Track Titles at Home

The Pearl River Girls Track and Field team will look to continue its dominance in sectional competition and they will do it on familiar turf.

The Pirates will compete in the Section 1 Class B Track and Field Championships 1 p.m. Friday at Pearl River High School.

The Pearl River girls team has won 24 of the last 26 section titles, including the last five in a row. They also won the Class B indoor championship this winter. Coach Tom Doherty has said this team may not be as deep as it was in years past, with Margaret Moore, Kelly Hayes and Molly Shine carrying a heavy part of the load. That could be a challenge for the Pirates in a one-day meet.

The Pearl River girls won the League 4B Meet and finished third in last week's Rockland County Championships.

Pirates boys track and field coach Gilby Hawkins has said that this is the strongest team he has coached in eight years at Pearl River. They won the League 4B championship and took second to North Rockland in the county meet.

Pearl River has two standouts in the pole vault in seniors Chris Spadaccini and Francis DePinto. Spadaccini took first and DePinto was second at the county meet. Junior runners Tom Bonaro and Kieran Brennan have also had strong seasons. Junior Hans Lueders won the 400-meter hurdles and took second in the 110 hurdles at the county championships.

Pearl River's toughest competition is likely to come from Harrison, which won the Section 1 Class B indoor team championship.