By Kenny Varner

BELLEFONTE – Let the spring season begin!

The Bellefonte and Jersey Shore track and field teams renewed rivalries Tuesday in a beautiful spring like weather conditions that saw temperatures tap out at the high 50’s with nothing but sun.

It was ideal weather for the local athletes as they started off their season officially.

“First all, the weather was beautiful, so we can’t ask for anything better than that. For mid-March we’ll take that,” said Bellefonte coach Seth Miller. ““Overall from a coaches perspective there was a lot of first meet jitters, making sure everything runs smoothly. It’s been 10 months since we’ve been out here. But I’m pleased with the kids efforts for sure.”

The meet was held at Rogers Stadium and the competition was fierce as the two teams opened their season.

In the end, the Bulldogs swept the young Red Raiders 93- 57 on the girls side and 94-52 on the boys.

“We had some outstanding performances on both the boys and girls side of the meet especially considering it is the third week of track and we are still in April.  We have some outstanding boys in the field events led by Peter Bellomo who won all 3 throwing events and threw over state qualifying in the javelin.  His 49+ foot shot put throw was over a 5 foot personal best and he did it twice,” said Jersey Shore coach Robert Fox. “Freshman Max Meyers triple jumped 43′ 1″ and that is 10 inches off of our school record.  The Bellomo twins had a competition in the long jump with Nick edging out Pete by 4 inches.”

In the boys field events, the Bulldogs got strong wins throughout.

Jersey Shore’s Carter Stackhouse won the high jump with a leap of 5’ 6”. Stackhouse also took the top spot in the pole vault with a launch of 10’0”. Teammate Silas Crouch finished second with the same mark.

In the long jump, the Bulldogs took the contest with a first place leap of 20’ 2 1/2”.

Jersey Shore’s Max Meyers kept the Bulldogs winning going in the triple jump as he won the triple jump with a top distance of 43’ 1”.

In the shot put, the Bulldogs’ Peter Bellomo took top honors with a heave of 49’ 8 1/2”.

Bellomo also notched a first place finish in the discus with a throw of 114’ 11 1/2”.

Finally in the javelin, the Bulldogs made a sweep of the field events as Bellomo did it once again, placing first with a throw of 179’ 9”.

On the track, things were a little more evened out.

Bellefonte started the afternoon with a win in the 4×800 – meter relay with a top time of 9:04.40.

Sherman Lowry made it 2-for-2 as he took top spot in the 110-meter hurdles with a posting of 16.98.

Jersey Shore’s Elijah Jordan won the 100-meter dash with a finishing time of 11.67.

In the 1600-meter run, the Red Raiders we’re back in the first spot when Alexander Crist won with a mark of 4:49.67.

Jersey Shore took the second relay race of the day, the 4×100 with a time of 45.97.

Teammate Peyton Welshans took the 400-meter run with a finishing mark of 52.95.

Max Engle made it three in a row as he took the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 47.60.

Bellefonte bounced back to take first in the 800-meter posting a winning time of 2:12.11.

“There’s a lot to be learned. That’s sort of the takeaway from this meet early in the season,” said Miller. “But I’m pleased with the kids’ efforts. I think having nice weather helped with those efforts. I’m pleased with where we are at and we’ll see where progress leads us throughout the league part of the season.”

Bulldog Brodie Herr took his spot on top of the 200-meter run with a time of 24.21.

In the grueling 3200-meter run, Jersey Shore once again took top honors with a time of 12:48.28.

The Bulldogs rounded out their day at the track with a win in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:42.20.

Leading off the girls field event was Jersey Shore’s Peyton Dincher’s win in the high jump with a beat jump of 4’ 8”.

Bellefonte’s Victoria Shellenberger reached the top spot in the pole vault with a 7’ 6” top performance.

Shellenberger also took top honors in the javelin finishing with a top toss of 110’ 1”.

Sara Proctor had a strong performance in the long jump with a leap of 16’ 8 1/2”.

In the triple jump, Proctor’s teammate Josie Underwood also landed a win posting a top launch of 31’ 9 1/2 “.

Nina Steppe of Jersey Shore finished the shot put with a winning heave of 30’ 8 1/2”.

Alison Bilbay gave Jersey Shore five more first place points as she won the discus with a throw of 89’ 7”.

On the track side, Jersey Shore opened with a win in the 4×800 with a mark of 10:42.57.

Bellefonte bounced back to take the 100-meter hurdles when Ruthann Smoyer finished first with a time of 19.50.

She also took top honors in the 300-hurdles finishing tops with a mark of 56.93.

In the 100, the Bulldogs were paced by a first place nod by Abigail Corson. Corson finished with a time of 13.59.

Corson was also a winner in the 200-meter with a top finishing mark of 28.23.

Back came Jersey Shore in the 1600 when Cailyn Scholl muscled out a finish of 6:04.51.

The Red Raiders 4×100 team picked up the win as they reached the finish line with a time of 57.76.

Anna Sick took the 400 with a top finish of 1:05.16.

Jersey Shore continued its winning ways into the 800, when Rahal Hartman won with a mark of 2:38.92.

Jersey Shore’s Birtukan Hartman finished first with a time of 13:27.16 to win the 3200.

Rounding out the events on the evening was the 4×800 relay which was won by the Bulldogs.

Overall, our kids put forth 100% effort today and I was very proud of them for that,” said Fox. “This gives us a good starting point and I look forward to seeing all of their improvements throughout the season.”