Saline Relays Teams Capture Three Events on Opening Day

The boys track and field team opened the season in fine form at the 56th annual Kermit Ambrose Huron Relays on Saturday at Eastern Michigan University.

The Hornets took second in the 25-team indoor meet in the Bowen Fieldhouse. Ann Arbor Pioneer finished first.

Saline started and ended the meet with victories and had several highlights in between.

The coaching staff chose Garrick Roemer and Matt Elms as the runners of the meet. Roemer scored in four events, and his 51.1 split in the 1,600-relay turned heads. Elms was part of three winning Saline relay teams, passing a Mumford runner on his final lap to help Saline win the sprint medley.

Saline captured the opening 3,200-meter relay event when Jonathan Parker, Andrew Barnett, Spencer Bishop and Elms finished the race in 8:13.40, nearly 20 seconds faster than second-place Ann Arbor Pioneer.

The Hornets closed the meet by winning the 800-meter relay. This time it was Elms, Mitch Osadchuk, Payton Hardy and Matt Goeman finishing in 3:34.04 to tie Detroit Mumford.

Saline's other relay championship came in the sprint medley relay, where Roemer, Hardy, Goeman and Elms finished in 3:40.3 to edge Mumford.

In all, Saline medaled in five of six relays. The 800-meter relay team of Roel Galinato, Roemer, Hardy and Goeman was second by Mumford. The distance medley relay team of Parker, Grant Fraschan, Terrell McGee and Osadchuk was second to Detroit Catholic Central.

Individually, the Hornets performed well in the 1,600-meter run, where Andrew Barnett (4:29.22) and Nick Renberg (4:31.57) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. In the 3,200, David Dolsen and Sean Dew were 12th and 13th, with Dew breaking his personal best by more than a minute. In the 60-yard sprint, Hardy finished 13th (7.42), and Galinato was 15th (7.52).

In the field, Rocky Schilke was fifth in pole vault (13-06). Roemer took eighth in high jump (6-0), and Steven Bastien was 10th in long jump (19-04.25).

Saline returns to action Wednesday at the Eastern Michigan University Invitational.