Dryden wins second straight Section IV Championship

It’s been as good of a first full year as possible for Dryden track and field head coach Karen Weaver, who took over for her brother, Lee Stuttle, after over two decades as an assistant. On May 25, the Dryden boys track and field team took home the outdoor track and field Section IV Class C Championship, following up its sectional title in indoor track earlier this year.

It’s the first outdoor track and field title for the Dryden boys since 2016. The seniors of this year’s team had their experiences in track and field greatly impacted by COVID-19, so this season was very meaningful for them.

“Especially for the outdoor season, the seniors really wanted it and they really wanted to pull through,” Weaver said. “I think after COVID and the 2020 season being canceled, even though they were 10th graders at the time, they just wanted to come out on top with a championship.”

Individual titles were won by seniors Aidan Kalousdian (200m) and Bryant DePaull (high jump), while both the 4×400 and 4×800 relay teams won for the Lions. Additionally, senior Michael Cavanagh placed second in the shot put, exemplifying the variety of specialties the team possesses. Weaver talked about what contributed to the success across events.

“Even though there’s myself and two other coaches — Neal McDowell and Eric Reisweber — it’s kind of hard to go around every day to certain events to help each athlete out,” Weaver said. “We try our best and we try to go around. To be honest, they help each other out when a coach isn’t around to help each other out there. They’re very good at coaching each other and critiquing each other. It’s a total team effort; that’s for sure.”

A team of athletes willing to help each other improve is a great asset to have as a head coach. The success is a bonus for Weaver.

“They are a great group of kids,” she said. “Even if we didn’t win the championship, they’re a great bunch of kids to be coaching. It just speaks volumes about them and their parents raising great kids to not only want to better themselves but to better their teammates along, then at the meets too, with the girls team cheering on the boys and the boys cheering on the girls team. It’s a really great community that we have going here at Dryden.”

Given the returning talent and progression from last year’s team, Weaver was confident that her team would be one of the best in the area ahead of the indoor season. With two Section IV Championships captured, the team has exceeded the high preseason expectations.

“I knew that we were going to be a competitive team,” Weaver said. “Going into some of these bigger meets and sometimes coming out on top of some of the Class A schools was a nice surprise too. I thought we would probably be a contender for the IAC Championship. We did that two weeks ago. I told the boys team this past week, ‘To be honest with you, I’m not sure what some of these other Class C schools have that we haven’t really seen this season. I can’t control them, but we’ll do what we’re supposed to do.’”

Weaver went on to tell her athletes that she predicted they would total 103 points at sectionals in the overall standings. She was almost right on the money, as Dryden topped the leaderboard with 101 points.

The boys track and field team won nine sectional titles during coach Stuttle’s tenure. Being able to continue the tradition of success established by her brother is meaningful for Weaver.

“It’s wonderful that we can carry on the track tradition that Dryden has,” Weaver said. “My brother has built the program for over 30 years that he was coaching them. Obviously, I’ve learned from the best for the last 21 years. I haven’t really changed too much around as far as workouts or how he goes about trying to win meets. It’s been great to be under his wing for 21 years. I think he’s pretty proud that the tradition is continuing on too.”

Next for Dryden, there be a large fleet of 20 athletes heading to State Qualifiers on Thursday at Union-Endicott High School. Both the aforementioned Kalousdian and eighth-grade high jumper Isabella Harmon have automatically qualified for the State Championships due to their outstanding performances during the season. How many teammates will join them at Cicero-North Syracuse High School on June 10 will be determined on Thursday.

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