Boys track
SUFFOLK LARGE SCHOOLS
Longwood has several versatile athletes to keep it in contention, including distance runner Barry Franklin and sprinters Chris Searles, Shawn Parrish and Rashawn Robinson. Brentwood will depend on sprinters Aaron Burt, Lowell Marcus and Robert Barnes, as well as shot putter Jordy Paulemon and Greg Mercado (triple and long jump). Bay Shore will be powered by Jarrett Scott in the high and long jump, John Dettori in the triple jump and distance runner Andrew Araujo. Whitman has a strong set of distance runners in Craig Diana and Justin Sheridan. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 23 Dec 2007:
St. John the Baptist’s Simon Mercado was second in the shot put with a toss of 49 feet, 7 inches and Longwood’s Vinny Gudia was third with a throw of 49- 3/4. Valley Stream Central’s Kevon Carter placed third in the two-mile race with a time of 9:33.80. Jan. 6
SUFFOLK BOYS TRACK & FIELD Aronis, Girolamo get their big finish
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 03 Feb 2008:
Alex Aronis and Anthony Girolamo thought they would be part of a 1-2 finish for Northport in an event.
They were. It just didn’t go exactly as planned.
Aronis and Girolamo raced to disappointing finishes in the 600 meters at the Suffolk Large Schools Indoor Track and Field championship Thursday at Suffolk CC-Brentwood. Girolamo, the top seed, placed sixth in 1:28.11, and Aronis was fourth in 1:27.43.
Still, a county title was in reach. “We had high hopes in the 600, we both wanted one and two,” Aronis said. “We put that energy into the relay. That 600 just fueled us even more to be better in the relay. That’s all we had left.”
Hoping to earn needed points, coach Jason Strom ran two teams in the 4×800, instead of one in the 4×400.
It paid off. Michael Lopizzo, Rob Fallon, Aronis and Girolamo won the race in 8:38.19. Teammates Colin Anderson Evan Bloomberg, Alex Haffner and D.J. Ronde placed second in 8:38.75.
“We didn’t expect to go one and two,” Aronis said. “We held each other’s pace. It became a fun competition between the A and the B team.”
The relay finishes helped seal the county championship for Northport. It is the team’s first title since 2001, according to Strom.
Northport scored 69 points to Longwood‘s 43. Bay Shore was third with 41 points.
The Tigers won without an individual finishing first. Their only other win was the 4×200 relay team of Djavid Amdi-Abram, Aronis, Girolamo and Ronde in 1:38.57.
“I haven’t seen this in awhile where we are county champions and we didn’t have one [individual] county champion,” Strom said. “It just showed great team depth and everyone pulling their end.”
Some hauled a bit more than others. Ronde was seeded 18th in the triple jump and placed fifth in 40-6. Steve Flynn, the 12th seed in the shot put, won in 45-10. Lopizzo also placed second in the 1,000 in 2:41.77.
Middle Country’s Miles Lewis won the 55 in 6.74 seconds and long jump at 21 feet. Barry Franklin of Longwood won the 3,200 in 9:37.66 and the 1,600 in 4:34.78.
BOYS TRACK AND FIELD Livingston third in 800
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 27 Feb 2008:
Terrance Livingston wasn’t happy. He took third in the 800 meters at the Eastern States Invitational at the Armory in Manhattan yesterday. But third place was not acceptable.
“I was tripped up twice during the race,” the Great Neck South junior said. “My mind wasn’t right and I was angry.”
In addition to what happened during the race, Livingston said there was a bit of a controversy about him even being in the race. Livingston said he almost was kicked out before the event because meet officials couldn’t find any qualifying times. “I ran a 48.6 in the 400 just last week,” Livingston said. “I should have definitely been in the race.”
Livingston pointed to his victories in the 1,000 and 600 races at the Nassau County indoor championships as proof that he belonged.
Livingston said he allowed his emotions to get the best of him, particularly at the start of his heat as he let the competition dictate the pace. “I tried to run inside, but I let some of the other runners get inside of me,” Livingston said. “It definitely wasn’t my best race.”
Livingston kept up a decent pace the first two laps and maintained second place. But he was in third place by the time the group began the final lap. Livingston said he is used to living dangerously and was confident he would finish first.
“I’m used to trailing and turning it on in the last 100 to 150 meters,” he said. “And I knew I was faster than everyone in that race.”
Livingston was true to his word as he turned it on in the final 300 meters and overtook three runners for a first-place finish in his heat. But his time of 1:56.74 was only third overall as the top two runners of the second heat had faster times. Nevertheless, he said he was happy to show the track officials what he could do.
“It wasn’t my best race, but I was happy to show them I belonged,” said Livingston, who was hoping to run a sub 1:53. “I had beaten some of those runners before.”
Other Long Island top-five finishers included Amire Solomon of St. John the Baptist, who took third in the triple jump at 46-3 1/4, and Westhampton Beach’s Jared Nilsson, who finished fifth in the 55-meter hurdles in 7.54. Jordy Pauleman of Brentwood took sixth in the shot put (53-6 1/2) and Barry Franklin of Longwood took fifth in the mile (4:24.33).