In field events, Molloy duo stands alone

The fourth annual Mayor’s Cup was a memorable afternoon for Molloy’s Dylan Dombrowski and Rebecca Power. The two had won track & field city championships before, earning their spot among the elite amongst the top runners from the other boroughs. But on a sunny Saturday at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island, the pair of Stanners shined in events they have not been proficient in.
For Dombrowski, he not only got by his personal pole vault nemesis, Monsignor Farrell’s Kyle Duggan, who had bested him in the last three city championships, but set a personal record by leaping 15 feet, helping the Stanners to a fifth-place finish.
“I wanted to do that since my freshman year,” said the UConn-bound senior from Breezy Point who is more known for his ability in the long jump and javelin throw, which he also won with a toss of 170 feet. “I’m real excited. I finally got it.”
The event, as expected, came down to Dombrowski and Duggan, with each failing to eclipse 15 feet on their first two tries. On his last attempt, Dombrowski cleared it and let out a primal scream of joy before slapping hands with his father and coach, Joe Dombrowski, a former Stanner who was also a city champion in his day.
“I stepped up today,” Dombrowski said.
As did Power. Like Dombrowski, she took part in her third-best event, although this was the javelin throw. A standout performer in the pole vault (she holds the school record) and the shot put, she tried her hand at the other, because teammates Anniella Vaccaro and Dylan Dombrowski’s sister, Brittany, were unable to attend. She responded with a throw of 110 feet and eight inches, easily eclipsing the rest of the field.
“It feels good,” she said. “It’s always nice to win something.”
Because Vaccaro also plays softball, Power knew she would be representing the school in the javelin. The two throwing events are very different, but Power, a 17-year-old junior from Bellerose who also ran for the Stanners in the 4x-100 meter relay, does not mind a change of pace. “It’s nice to do everything,” she said.
Elsewhere, the Townsend Harris 4×800-meter relay team of Susan Wasserman, Amina Smith, Devotia Moore, and Koma Ogaye exacted a bit of revenge against Brooklyn Tech, coming from behind to take out the team who upended them in the indoor city championship. “To beat them,” Townsend Harris Coach Tim Connor said, “is sweet.
The Hawks trailed by a large margin entering the third leg until Moore, one of the city’s top middle-distance runners, pushed them ahead, and Ogaye finished off the race. Because Ogaye, who usually is the second leg, came down sick, throwing up at one point during the day, Connor moved her to the last leg. Thanks to Moore, the move worked out.
“We were supposed to win the city championship.” Wasserman said. “One of our girls didn’t run a good leg. We just wanted to come out and give it our best.”