The Emmaus boys track and field program opened the 2023 season with wins in its first two meets.

The Hornets easily downed Freedom (130-20) and Hazleton (126-24) on March 22 and 24, respectively.

The sprint team had a lot to do with the win over Hazleton as Blaise Verrastro won the 100- and 400-meter dashes, while Damar Gilzeane took the 200.

Long distance runner Jared Petre ran a fine 800-meter race in claiming first place in 2:06.4. Tyler Finck looked strong in his 1,600-meter win in 4:43, while Conor Fisher won the 3,200. Hurdler Lucian Facchiano took the 110-meter race.

The Emmaus relay teams were outstanding. Marcus Puentes, Damar Gilzeane, Tylik Jarvis and Dylan Darville were quicker than mercury in taking the 4x100. Miles Cook, Richard Will, Brett Pevec and Finck earned the top spot in the 4x400, while Dominic Nunez, Nate Smeltz, Petre and Fisher won the 4x800.

The Hornets’ winning ways continued in the high jump thanks to Lucian Freeman, while Tyler Grabinski won the pole vault. Kyle Moore showed that he was the best long jumper on this day, while Moore also won the triple jump and Tyriq Smith won the javelin.

In the win over the Pates, Emmaus’ Donovan McCargo won the 100-meter dash, while distance runner Oscar Felegy got into the win column in the 1,600-meter run. Dylan Swartwood took the shot put competition. But the headline on this day was Moore, who broke a school record which had stood since 1992 in the triple jump when he sailed 45 feet, 4 inches. He also won the long jump against Freedom with a jump of 23-1 1/2.