Fast Company in 2022
Fast Company in 2022
Franklinville-Ellicottville Titans Track & Field Teams post up strong results
Franklinville-Ellicottville senior hurdler Mandy Hurlburt clears the final obstacle en route to a second-place finish in the 100m hurdles at the Olean Reid’s Food Barn Invitational, Saturday, April 23rd. Photo/Rich Rumfola
Now that the weather has finally freed local high school athletes from the stuffy old gym, the Franklinville-Ellicottville Titans Track and Field teams are back in the sunshine and posting up strong results in the early-going of the 2022 outdoor season.
Just a few weeks into the Spring schedule, the Lady Titans have emerged as one of the stronger teams in Western New York competition, while the boys squad has had representative team finishes with some impressive top-five and top-ten individual performances through the first big meets of the season.
Led by the Herman sisters, sophomore Tyyetta and senior Tarryn, the girls team came out strong in the first big competition of the season and won the Small Schools Division at the Olean Boosters Reid’s Food Barn Invitational, Saturday, April 23rd at Olean HS.
Tyyetta’s blazing fast speed provided for a pair of second place finishes (in the 200m and 400m dash events) and a fifth place finish in the 100m dash, while her older sister Tarryn used superior strength to finish fifth in the discus and sixth in the shot put.
A week later at the Falconer Golden Falcon Invitational on April 29th, the Herman sisters once again led the way for the Lady Titans, as the speedy Tyyetta had a day, taking home a win in the 400m dash and a second place finish in the long jump. She also came in third in the 200m dash and finished fourth in the 100m dash. The only reason she didn’t place in more than four events is because they only let you compete in four!
Older sister Tarryn took second place honors in both the shot put and the discus at Falconer, while junior hurdler Anna Slavinski cruised to her second, second-place finish of the season in the 400 meter hurdles - Anna also finished second in the same event at Olean.
In the 100m hurdles, the Hurlburt sisters look to be a force to be reckoned with this season, with senior sister Mandy claiming second place in Olean and sophomore Audrey powering to an impressive victory over a strong field of hurdlers at Falconer.
Junior distance runner Alyssa Williams also came up big at the Golden Falcon Invitational, as she navigated her way over the hurdles and through the water obstacle to a third-place finish in the 2000m steeplechase. She added another strong, third-place finish in the 800m run.
The Lady Titans took second overall of the 19 girls teams competing in the Falconer event; while the F-E Titans’ boys team finished in sixth place out of 16 teams.
The F-E Titans are coached by Derek Schunke (head coach, boys team) and Tyyetta Herman (head coach girls team; Tarryn and Tyyetta’s mom ) and assisted by Gwen Bush, Bill Weigel and Neil Shoemaker.
When asked about the idea of what it means to have a strong team in a sport driven almost entirely by individual performances, Bush explained, “Our combined team (Franklinville-Ellicottville) works so well together because the coaches really put in the time and effort to build the bonds between the two school systems. “That’s why our athletes get along so well, because they know we’re all pulling together as a team.”
On the boys side, the Titans have relied on senior power to consistently provide the top finishes for the team.
With the senior hurdlers leading the way, Cayden Hatch finished in second place in the 400m hurdles at both of the early-season meets, while Connor Terwilliger notched two top-10 finishes in the 110m hurdles. He finished second at Falconer and tenth at Olean.
At Falconer, Hatch also launched himself into a third place finish in the long jump and sprinted to fourth place in the 200m dash. He also took home a fifth-place finish in the 110m hurdles.
Senior high jumper Maddox Bush leaped into a pair of top-five finishes thus far, finishing tied for third at Falconer and fifth at Olean.
Pole Vaulter Wyatt Tinelli, also a senior, sprung into second place at Falconer and had a fourth-place effort in Olean.
Also worth noting, the future is now for 8th graders Grant Cornell and Bianca Bush, both of whom posted strong finishes at the Olean Invitational. Cornell, a distance runner, finished the 3,200m run (two miles) in seventh place and the 1600m run in 11th place, while Bush finished sixth in the high jump, right behind sophomore teammate Abby Chudy. She also ran a leg in the 4X800m relay and competed in the 800m run.
“They’re very young, but they decided to move up this year and it seems to be really working out for them,” Bush explained of the team’s youngest members. “Grant started running last fall for the Cross-Country team and had success. And Bianca, my daughter, is a very dynamic runner and fills in a lot of different roles on the team.”
Looking forward to the remainder of the season, the F-E Titans track and field teams travel to the Hornell Invitational on May 6th and two weeks later, they’ll travel back down the I-86 to Falconer for the CCAA Championships, Friday, May 20.
The athletes compete together as team for the last time in the Class D Championships at Randolph May 26th and from there, they will advance in their individual events only - for as long as they’re successful.