Boys Track

The score couldn’t have been much closer for the team title last season among Longwood (66), Middle Country (64) and Smithtown (63). This season may not be any different.

Longwood has a 1-2 punch in 300 runners Casey Wall and Slamon Sawari, 55 dasher Dakwan Hardy, long jumper Chris Curate, high jumper Mike Pellicci and pole vaulters James Bresnahan and Tom Corso. Middle Country has high jumper Dan Van Horn, distance runners Joe LaPerla and Kristian Jorgensen, shot-putter Derick Okvist and sprinter Jermaine Hendrickson. Smithtown has distance runner Greg Toomey, long jumper Tom Skrivanek, half-miler Mike LaRocca and hurdler Jon Taylor. Dec. 27

Track

Longwood‘s boys mile relay of Slamone Sarwari, Marley Watkins, Chris Curate and Casey Wall finished first (3:32.45) at the Suffolk Time Trial at the University at Stony Brook on Wednesday night. The win qualified Longwood for the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 4. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 07 Jan 2000:

SUFFOLK COACHES WINTER RELAYS

At SUNY-Stony Brook-Friday

All events in meters

BOYS: 4 x 400-1. Longwood (Sarwari, Watkins, Curate, Wall), 3:32.5; 2. Half Hollow Hills East, 3:35.3; 3. Glenn, 3:39.4. 3 x 55 Hurdles-1. Amityville (Fowler, Matos, Alston), 25.5; 2. Bayport-Blue Point, 26.7; 3. Longwood, 27.8. Distance Medley-1. Commack (Walsh, Sinisgalli, Muchin, Martin), 10:53.6; 2. Bay Shore, 10:54.3; 3. Port Jefferson, 11:11.8. 3 x 55-1. Port Jefferson (McKeeman, Uhll, Cerosimo), 20.2; 2. Longwood A, 20.3; Longwood B, 21. 4 x 800-1. Half Hollow Hills East A (Okolie, Simone, Loccisano, Hatwood), 8:49; 2. East Hampton, 8:53.2; 3. Sachem, 8:58.9. 4 x 200-1. Longwood A (Hardy, Sarwari, Pellicci, Wall), 1:36.8; 2. Riverhead, 1:37.5; 3. Longwood B, 1:38.4. Sprint Medley-1. Middle Country (Van Horn, Hendrickson, Gilmartin, Cottet), 3:51.4; 2. Half Hollow Hills West, 3:52.9; 3. Bay Shore, 3:55.9. Mile Relay-1. Commack, 3:46.5; 2. Bellport 3:47.1; 3. Half Hollow Hills

East, 3:52.6. 4 x 1600-1. Sayville (Dalpiaz , McGarry, Mourino, Barrett), 19:44; 2. Middle Country, 19:59.8; 3. Ward Melville, 20:10.4. Long Jump Relay-1. Longwood(Curate, Pellicci), 40-2; 2. Riverhead, 39-1/2; 3. Sachem, 38-53/4. Triple Jump Relay-1. Amityville (Marsh, Colbart), 80-51/2; 2. Middle Country 77-81/2; 3. Glenn 76-43/4. High Jump Relay-East Islip (Millard, Kenney), 11-8; 2. Floyd 11-4; 3. Smithtown, 11. Shot Put Relay-1. Commack (Cardinale, Lamotta), 93-91/2; 2. Middle Country 92-4; 3. Middle Country B, 86- 9. Jan.9

ZEITLER RELAYS

At SUNY-Stony Brook-Thursday

All events in meters

GIRLS: 4 x 800 Relay: (League I) 1. Smithtown, 10:04.8 (Romano, Root, Mihalick, Roberto); 2. Half Hollow Hills, 10:20.0; 3. Floyd, 10:25.5. (League II) 1. Bay Shore, 10:02.6 (Ali, Walker, Staton, Castro); 2. Bay Shore, 10:30.3; 3. Northport 10:51.0. 4×200 Relay: League I. 1. Longwood, 1:53.4 (Gordon, Ramsey, Donadoni, Imperiale); 2. Smithtown, 1:57.7; 3. Sachem, 1:58.6. (League II) 1. Ward Melville, 1:56.9 (Studin, DeGregoria, Floria, Casino); 2. Ward Melville, 1:57.9; 3. Connetquot, 1:58.1. Hurdle Relay: (League I) 1. Brentwood, 19.5 (Malcoln, Mealing). 2. Half Hollow Hills, 20.3; Smithtown, 20.3. (League II) 1. Connetquot, 19.9 (Grasso, Pecorella); 2.

Commack, 21.0; 3. Walt Whitman, 21.1. 4 x 400 Relay: (League I) 1. Half Hollow Hills, 4:20.4 (Kishel, Donovan, Reinhart, Offor); 2. Longwood, 4:23.4; 3. Patchogue-Medford, 4:33.5. 4 x 400 Relay: (League II) 1. Bay Shore, 4:15.4 (Walker, Ali, Castro, Staton). 2. Ward Melville, 4:25.5; 3. Northport 4:33.5. Walk Relay: (League I) 1. Brentwood, 16:22.3 (Parasram, Sanchez); 2. Sachem, 16:53.4, 3. Smithtown 17:09.3. (League II) 1. Connetquot, 17:29 (Gray, Jones); 2. Northport, 17:51.7; 3. Commack, 18:09.6. High Jump Relay: (League I) 1. Sachem, 9-6

(Hannigan, Genoino); 2. Smithtown, 9-2; 3. Half Hollow Hills, 8- 8. (League II) 1. Connetquot, 8-10 (Grasso, Cenrelli); 2. Whitman, 8- 10; 3. Northport, 8-8. Shot Put Relay: (League I) 1. Longwood, 59-11 (Wachter, Fanning); 2. Longwood, 57-43/4; 3. Sachem, 56-2. (League II) 1. Lindenhurst, 66-13/4 (Eidenweil, Pary); 2. Ward Melville, 56- 11/2; 3. Bay Shore, 55-11/2. Long Jump Relay (League I) Half Hollow Hills, 29-2 (Wyn, Adee); 2. Smithtown, 28-2; 3. Half Hollow Hills, 25- 103/4.

(League II) 1. Northport, 27-11.50 (Sukowski, Burr); 2. Central Islip, 14-4; 3. Connetquot, 14.31/2. Triple Jump Relay (League I) 1. Brentwood, 65-61/4 (Mealing, Malcolm); 2. Smithtown, 59-101/4; 3. Sachem, 59-8. (League II) 1. Connetquot, 61 (Sprance, Bridgewood); 2. Whitman, 60-81/4; 3. Whitman, 60-51/2. Jan. 9

COACHES CLASSIC

At Stony Brook-Tuesday

Events in meters

55-1. Racine Hudson (Deer Park); David Owen (John Glenn); Steven Davis (Central Islip); Casey Wall (Longwood), 6.5. 55 HH-1. Greg Santiago (Brentwood), 7.9; 2. Fowler (Amityville); Pendelton (Southampton), 8.1. 1600-1. Eric Fleckenstein (Port Jefferson), 4:34.0; 2.Miltenberg (JG), 4:38.7; 3.Lobos (William Floyd), 4:41.8. 3200-1. Brian Dalpiaz (Sayville), 9:54.4; 2.Sullivan (PJ), 10:00.2.; 3. Sinnott (Center Moriches), 10:01.8. High Jump-1. Peter Hansen (WF), 6’06”; 2. Millard (East Islip), 6’04”; 3. Santiago (Bre), 6’02”. Long Jump-1. Shan France (CI), 21’05.5″; 2. Eyosi (Commack); Saccente (Sachem), 19’03”; Triple Jump-1. Phillip Marsh (Ami), 42’06.5″; 2. Curate (Longwood), 41’05”; 3. Eyosi (Com), 39’09.25″. Shot Put-1. Joe Cardinalle (Com), 50’00.75″; 2. Okvist (Middle Country), 46’07.75″; 3. Rucci (MC), 45’05.5″. 4×200-1. Longwood, 1:36.2; 2. Central Islip, 1:36.8; 3. Longwood “B”, 1:39.7. 4×400-1. Half Hollow Hills

East, 3:36.7; 2. Brentwood, 3:40.5; 3. Port Jefferson, 3:41.8. 4×800-1. Commack, 8:32.1; 2. Ward Melville, 8:41.1; 3. Middle Country, 8:53.8.

GRAND PRIX OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

At SUNY-Stony Brook-Thursday

BOYS: 50-1.DaQuan Hardy (Longwood), 5.9; 2. McKeenan (Port Jefferson), 5.9; 3. Hudson (Deer Park), 5.9. 200-1. Brett Hatwood (Half Hollow Hills), 24.0; 2. Hudson (DP), 24.0; 3. Brooks (Amityville), 24.4. 300-1. Casey Wall (L), 36.2; 2. Owen (Glenn), 36.2; 3. Oklolie (HHH), 36.2. 400-1. Patrick Bonawandt (HHH), 53.7; 2. Adaszewski (Harborfields), 54.8; 3. Pflug (Sachem), 55.4. 600-1. Paul Ciurlys (Whitman), 1:22.1; 2. Santiago (Brentwood), 1:24.9; 3. Walker (Bayshore), 1:26.4. 800-1. Palermo (BS), 2:05.8; 2. Germano (BS), 2:06.0; Walker (Bellport), 2:06.9. 1000-1. Martin (Commack), 2:37.9; 2. Miltenberg (G), 2:40.1. 3. Cunniff (Hauppague), 2:42.6. 1600-1. Walsh (Com), 4:28.1; 2. Dalpiaz (Sayville), 4:28.4; 3. Fleckenstein (PJ), 4:29.8. 3200-1. Frank Malipigli (BS), 9:39.0; 2. Sullivan (PJ), 9:56.7; 3. Mayo

(W), 10:06.1. 50HH-1. Greg Santiago (Br), 6.8; 2. VanHorn (Middle Country), 7.0; 3. Fowler (A), 7.0. 4×200-1. Longwood (DaQuan Hardy, Chris Curate, Slamon Sarwari, Casey Wall), 1:35.1; 2. HHHW, 1:38.7; 3. MC, 1:39.0. 4×400-1. PJ (Ken Uall, Patrick Sullivan, John McKeeman, Pat LaPointe), 3:38.5; 2. Brentwood, 3:44.2; 3. Commack, 3:45.6. 4×800-1. Rocky Point (Billy Lewis, Asaf Hanish, Jack Nelson, Brian Agostin), 8:38.9; 2. Commack, 8:40.6; 3. Bellport, 8:42.2. High Jump-1. Jason Millard (EI), 6-06.00; 2. Hansen (Floyd), 6-04; Carter (HHH), 6-0. Long Jump-1. Jason Pigliuolo (Cop), 20-01; Cersosimo (PJ), 19.11.25; 3. Robsinson (Riverhead), 19-08. Triple Jump 1. Philip Marsh (A), 43-05.25; 2. Curate (L), 42-11.50; 3. McCoy (R), 41- 07.25. Shot Put-1. Derick Okvist (MC), 50-01.50; 2. Cardinalle (Com), 49-01; 3. Rucci (MC); 47-07.50. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 18 Jan 2000:

Track

Connetquot’s Aubrey Gray won the 1,500-meter walk (7:16.9) and set a meet record at the Suffern Invitational

at Rockland CC Monday. The old meet record was 7:17.3, set in 1997.

Longwood‘s 4×400-meter relay team of Casey Wall, Slamon Sarwari, Marley Watkins and Chris Curate finished

first (3:29.68) at the Yale Invitational Saturday. Smithtown’s Christina Roberto finished third in the

3,000 (10:24.3) . . . Amy Linnen of Mt. Sinai won the girls pole vault in 12-6 . . . Christina Roberto

placed third in the 3,000 in 10:24.3. Jan. 19

SUFFOLK BOYS TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS

At the University at Stony Brook

(All Events in Meters)

LEAGUE I

55:1. Casey Wall (Longwood) 6; 1. Hardy (Longwood) 6; 1. Sarwari (Longwood) 6. 300:1. Casey Wall (Longwood) 36.1; 2. Sarwari (Longwood) 36.7; 3. Curate (Longwood) 36.9. 600:1. Greg Santiago (Brentwood) 1:25.3; 2. Catania (Ward Melville) 1:26.5; 3. Cottet (Middle Count) 1:27.6. 1,000: 1. DiCalogero (Ward Melville) 1:27.6; 2. Pflug (Sachem) 2:37.3; 3. LaRocco (Smithtown) 2:37.4. 1,600:1. Brian Farrell (Patchogue-Medford) 4:40.9; 2. Jorgenson (MC) 4:41; 3. Lobos (Floyd), 4:43.8. 3,200:1. Gregory Toomey (Smithtown), 10:05.3; 2. Jorgenson (Middle Country) 10:09.3; 3. Cabezas (Sachem) 10:16.4. High Hurdles:1. Dan VanHorn (Middle Country) 7.1; 2. Santiago (Brentwood) 7.1; 3. Riley (Longwood) 7.1; 4×200:1. Longwood (DeQuan Hardy, Slamon Sarwari, Jawon Wilson, James Besnaham) 1:35.8; 2. Middle Country 1:39.4; 3. Sachem 1:42.5. 4×400:1. Longwood (Marley Watkins, Tom Corso, Matt Babb, Casey Wall) 3:37.6; 2. Brentwood 3:38.8; 3. Smithtown 3:42.5.

4×800:1. Smithtown (Sean Kelly, Daniel Borbet, Gregory Toomey, Michael LaRocco) 8:45.6; 2. Patchogue/Medford 8:50.5; 3. Sachem 8:52.3. High Jump:1. Peter Hansen (Floyd) 6-2; 2. VanHorn (Middle Country) 6; 3. Downing (Smithtown) 5-6. Long Jump:1. Chris Curate (Longwood)21-1 1/2; Skrivanek (Smithtown) 20-11 1/4; 3. Saccente (Sachem) 19-11. Triple Jump:1. Chris Curate (Longwood) 41-7 1/2; 2. Sblendorio (Patchogue-Medford) 40-6 1/2; 3. James Bellew (Sachem) 40- 3; Shot Put:1. Vinny Rucci (Middle Country) 48-8 1/2; 2. Rizzo (Middle Country) 48-4 1/2; 3. Smagin (Ward Melville) 47-3 3/4. TEAM SCORES: 1. Longwood 118, 2. Middle Country 88, 3, Smithtown, 4. Sachem 48, 5. Brentwood 39, 6. Patchogue/Medford 32, 7. Ward Melville 31, 8. Floyd 19. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 01 Feb 2000:

Ciurlys Sets Suffolk Record: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]

Jason Molinet. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 22 Feb 2000:

Paul Ciurlys has an uncommon drive to succeed whenever he steps foot on the track.

Though the Whitman senior had never been to the state indoor track and field championship before, simply qualifying was not good enough. So the Suffolk record holder in the 1,000 meters had to outdo himself.

He posted the nation’s third-fastest time in the 1,000 this season at 2 minutes, 29.72 seconds, and set a new county record in the event to highlight yesterday’s Suffolk boys indoor track and field state qualifier at the 168th Street Armory in Washington Heights.

“I had a lot left at the end,” said Ciurlys, who recently gave a verbal commitment to Pittsburgh. “I could have taken off a little faster. I knew I was going to win. I was just trying to get a really fast time.”

If all goes according to form, Ciurlys will compete in the best field of 1,000 runners in recent memory at the state meet March 4 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. Damion Drummond of Robeson (Brooklyn) and Paul Joyce of Clarkstown South (Section I) hold the nation’s two fastest times in the event.

And Ciurlys knows he can beat Drummond because the two ran a thrilling 800 at the Chase New York Hispanic Games in January, with Drummond edging the Long Islander by five-hundreths of a second. “The three fastest guys in the nation should be upstate, and it should be the best field in the 1,000 in a couple of years,” Ciurlys said. “I really haven’t been pushed that hard this year, so I’m looking forward to the competition.”

The big winner was Longwood and coach Joe Reilly, who will send 11 athletes upstate in six events. “We had a big meet,” Reilly said.

Leading the way was senior Da’Quan Hardy, a standout football player who just missed qualifying for the state meet at 55 meters last year. Hardy placed second at the county meet in the 55 in each of the last two seasons, but yesterday broke through with a 6.59- second finish to become the surprise winner.

“Some of the guys have been upstate before and I’m kind of tired of hearing their stories,” Hardy said. “Now I get to go and see for myself.”

Clearing the way for Hardy was bad timing-literally-by Suffolk Small Schools champ John McKeeman of Port Jefferson, who was disqualified for his false start. “That was one less competitor I had to worry about,” said Hardy, who also ran the third leg of Longwod’s winning 4×200 relay (1:30.97). “I anticipated the gun, so for a second I thought I had also false started.”

Another unexpected winner was Glenn’s David Owen, who took the 300 in 34.96 seconds one week after placing second in the Small Schools meet.

SUFFOLK BOYS STATE QUALIFIER

At 168th Street Armory (Running events in meters)

Winners and qualifiers

55 – 1. Da’Quan Hardy (Longwood), 6.59; 2. Racine Hudson (Deer Park), 6.63; 3. David Owen (Glenn), 6.67. 300 – 1. David Owen (Glenn), 34.96; 2. Godwin Oklolie (Half Hollow Hills East), 35.11; 3. Casey Wall (Longwood), 35.61; 4. Fred Pratt (Bayport-Blue Point), 37.77. 600 – 1. Greg Santiago (Brentwood), 1:21.99; 2. Keldon Walker (Bay Shore), 1:23.53; 3. Patrick Bonawandt (Half Holow Hills West), 1:24.95; 4. Brett Hatwood (Half Hollow Hills East), 1:24.95. 1,000 – 1. Paul Ciurlys (Whitman), 2:29.72*; 2. John DiCalogero (Ward Melville), 2:33.27; 3. Michael LaRocco (Smihtown), 2:33.68; 4. Matthew Miltenberg (Glenn), 2:34.46. 1,600 – 1. Brendan Sullivan (Port Jefferson), 4:23.89; 2. Tom Martin (Commack), 4:27.1; 3. Mike Cunniff (Hauppauge), 4:27.83; 4. Tom Walsh (Commack), 4:29.68. 3,200 – 1. Frank Malpigli (Bay Shore), 9:25.81; 2. Brian Dalpiaz (Sayville), 9:27.5. 55 High Hurdles – 1. Daniel Fowler (Amityville), 7.85; 2. Greg Santiago (Brentwood), 7.86; 3. Rickman Riley

(Longwood), 8.14. Long Jump – 1. Shan France (Central Islip), 22- 51/4; 2. Trumane Pendelton (Southampton), 22-1/4; 3. Chris Curate (Longwood), 21-53/4. Pole Vault – 1. Jeremy Delgado (Middle Country), 12-9; 2. Brett Vitarelli (Mount Sinai), 12-6. Shot Put – 1. Joe Cardinalle (Commack), 50-91/4; 2. Chris Rizzo (Middle Country), 48- 101/4. High Jump – 1. Jason Millard (East Islip), 6-6; 2. Peter Hansen (Floyd), 6-2. Triple Jump – 1. Godwin Oklolie (Half Hollow Hills East), 46-1/2; 2. Trumane Pendelton (Southampton), 45-101/2; 3. Phillip Marsh (Amityville), 45-4. 4×200 Relay – 1. Longwood (Casey

Wall, Slamon Sarwari, Da’Quan Hardy, Chris Curate), 1:30.97. 4×400 Relay – 1. Longwood (Tom Corso, Marley Watkins, Jim Bresnahan, Matt Babb), 3:26.55. 4×800 Relay – 1. Bay Shore (Frank Malpigli, Keldon Walker, Billy Germano, Ed Palermo), 8:05.66.

* denotes county record

Longwood Repeats as Champ: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]

Jim Baumbach. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 14 Feb 2000

Chris Curate was a fifth-grader at Coram Elementary School when he first learned of the long jump. During the annual field day in June, Curate spent the entire day in the long jump pit while his classmates were going from sport to sport.

“I’ve always loved jumping,” said Curate, now a senior at Longwood. “I spent the whole time in the pit that day, and I was jumping maybe 12 feet, 5 inches by the end. It’s just something I’ve always done.”

Much like his fifth-grade field day, Curate spent a good portion of yesterday in or around the pit. That meant trouble for his competitors at the Suffolk boys track large schools team championships at the University at Stony Brook.

Curate finished first in the triple jump (42-2) and second in the long jump (21-51/2) and 300-meter dash (36.7 seconds), leading Longwood to its second straight title with 108 points. The 6-4, 190- pound senior was part of the Longwood spring track team the past two seasons, but never competed in the winter because of a busy schedule consisting of school and work.

“This season Chris has realized his potential in track,” coach Joe Reilly said. “He’s become a true college prospect.”

Other Longwood athletes who excelled included Casey Wall, who successfully defended his indoor title in the 300, finishing first in 36.3. He also took fourth in the 55 (6.8) and was part of the first- place 4 x 400 relay team (3:35.2). Slamon Sarwari was third in the 55 (6.8) and 300 (36.8) and part of the first-place 4 x 200 relay team (1:36.3).

Longwood wins protest, relay

Meet officials at the state Federation Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday in Syracuse ended the day with a rare mea culpa.

The Longwood boys 4 x 200-meter relay team ran the event in 1 minute, 31.24 seconds to place second in the Federation meet to Brooklyn’s Poly Prep (1:30.65) and win the public schools title. But the Lions’ foursome of seniors Casey Wall, Slamon Sawari, Da’Quan Hardy and Chris Curate were disqualified for using a tactic officials claimed was against meet rules: Lions runner Sawari used an 11-yard acceleration zone to take the handoff from Wall at full speed.

Longwood coach Joe Reilly protested the disqualification. Reilly said he was following the rules spelled out by the National Federation of High Schools. There are no printed guidelines for the state meet.

“We were following the rules, and if you’re following the rules, how can you be denied?” Reilly said. “I felt bad for the kids. They were in limbo. They thought they won the public schools title one minute, and then they were not even listed. They ran their butts off.”

Because the state quidelines are not written, Reilly and Longwood won the protest Saturday. Now it was Uniondale’s turn to feel sick. The Knights, the defending public schools relay champ, were third overall and second in the state. They were temporarily awarded the title. March 9

Attention high school boys: Ever want a medal? Try race-walking in the winter.

Centereach’s Daniel Gurick does and he was in the final of the one- mile walk at the New Balance National Scholastic Championships yesterday at the 168th Street Armory in Manhattan.

He had no one to pace against, and walked an admittedly horrible race, finishing in 7:50.97.

Still, call Gurick the 2000 national champion.

“Nobody wants to walk in the winter,” Gurick said of his sport, which is not even contested at the state level in New York. “The talent is there, but we need to get more guys interested in competing.”

There was one other boy in the race, but Bellport’s Craig Brown was disqualified.

Most of the day consisted of heats for today’s finals, which begin at 11:30 a.m.

Natasha Hastings, 13, a Uniondale resident from St. Catherine’s of Siena Middle School in Franklin Square, was the highest qualifier among Long Islanders, posting the fourth-best time in the 200 meters (24.54 seconds).

Hastings was visibly disappointed by her performance.

“I am going to try to relax more, and I can do much better,” Hastings said. “I’ve been training the whole season for tomorrow.”

Sanya Williams of Pembroke Pines, Fla., posted the top time in the 200 with a 24.24.

Oceanside’s Alex McClean qualified 14th (8.32 seconds) for the 60 hurdles semifinals. The 16 remaining hurdlers will be reduced to eight in two heats. McClean also sees room to improve.

“I need to get a better start, but I was good over the hurdles,” McClean said.

He will be chasing top seed Jacob Garlic (8.05) of West Jordan, Utah.

Longwood‘s 4×200 relay of Casey Well, Slamon Sarwasi, Chris Curate and Da’Quan Hardy secured the sixth and final qualifying spot with a time of 1:30.97. March 12