Boys winter track preview

Longwood is the defending Suffolk Large School Champions, but have lost a large portion of their squad to graduation, leaving that section of the county wide open. Spencer Payton, a hurdler, returns. Payton went to the New York State Championships last March in Cornell. Kyle Watkins qualified for the spring New York State Championships in the 400 meters and will help the Lions score middle distance points.

Harriott speedy in 55

Lauterbach, Jordan. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 31 Jan 2015

“Where did that come from?,” Central Islip coach Chris Pisano exclaimed after Livingstone Harriott Jr. crossed the finish line a winner in the 55 meters in 6.58 seconds last night at the Suffolk Large School championships at Suffolk CC-Brentwood.

So where did it come from? Maybe it was frustration. After a 6.70 finish in the preliminaries, Harriott wasn’t exactly the favorite entering the finals. But as the junior showed, a less-than-desirable prelim time can be just the sort of motivation a county champion needs.

“In the prelims, I didn’t come out as aggressive as I wanted to,” Harriott said. “I talked to my coach and I talked to my father. They said to get up a little higher in the blocks and come out more explosive. I did just that. I kept it aggressive, I picked it up, and it just took me.”

Harriot, running from the sixth lane, outlasted Patchogue-Medford’s Dominick Cassella, who finished second in 6.67. The lane placement put Harriott at a big disadvantage. “You can’t see anybody,” he said. “I just had to run my race, focus on what I had to do, and that was it. When you’re in lane six, you just have to go. You can’t wait for anybody.”

Winners are seldom seen waiting for anyone. Longwood‘s Kyle Watkins, after falling in the 55 and finishing fifth, came back and won the 300 meters in 35.34 seconds.

“I was out in front of everybody, right on the blocks, I don’t know what happened but on my third step, I tripped up a little bit,” Watkins said of his 55 slip. “After that, I was really focused on the 300. In the trials, I went out fast to see what I could do and took it easy because I didn’t want to overwork myself for the rest of the meet.”

Watkins, along with Spencer Payton, Michael Linbrunner, and Haleem Abdul-Salaam, won the 4×400 relay in 3:32.11. The victories led Longwood to the team title, narrowly edging Bay Shore, 46-41. It is Longwood‘s second consecutive large school county title and fifth in the last six years.

“I really thought we could do this and, sure enough, we pulled out the win,” Watkins said. “Guys were doing stuff that I didn’t know they could do.”

With 200 meters left in the 1,000, Bay Shore’s Luciano Fiore knew that he wouldn’t have to wait any longer to win his first county title. Fiore won the event in 2:34.58.

In the county championship meet, runners occasionally hold back, sacrificing an individual victory for team points. For Fiore, the edict was clear. There would be none of that.

“Before the race, Coach [Kurt Langer] said, ‘go out and win it,'” Fiore said. “West Islip’s Charles Hetterich took it out fast. I stayed behind him and with 200 meters to go, I made my move. With 100 meters to go, I closed it.”

Smithtown East’s Matthew Whalen was second in 2:35.49. Hetterich was third in 2:35.80. Fiore also won the 1,600 in 4:27.28. Whitman’s Chad Maier won the 3,200 in 9:46.35. Maier’s teammate, Shamar Powell, won the 600 in 1:22.67.

Copiague’s Aaron McFadden won the 55 hurdles in 7.57 seconds. Smithtown East’s Daniel Claxton won the high jump, clearing 6 feet, 4 inches. Brentwood’s Malik Sainnoval won the long jump, going 23-1. His teammate, O’Brian Joslyn, won the shot put, tossing 55-7 1/2.

LONGWOOD ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT

WINTER SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

2014-2015

BOYS WINTER TRACK

League 1 Champions

Large School County Champions

All League: Kyle Watkins, Spencer Payton, Muhammed Haleem Abdul Salaam, Martin Johnson, Joseph Rehal, Nicholas Zeolla, Matthew Weiss, Jelani Greene, Thaj Clark, Jaquell Clark, Matthew Mayor, Nicholas Tanabe, Tristin DelVecchio.

All County: Spencer Payton, Kyle Watkins, Nicholas Zoella, Shawn Cornell-Schurig, Matthew Weiss, Michael Kinbrunner, Muhammed Haleem Abdul Salaam

All County Large School: Kyle Watkins, Tristin DelVecchio, Spencer Payton, Michael Linbrunner, Muhammed Haleem Abdul Salaam, Matthew Mayor, Jelani Greene, Matthew Weiss, Jaquell Clark

State Qualifiers: Kyle Watkins – 3rd Place in 330 m, 4th Place in State Federation,

Spencer Payton, Nicholas Zeolla

National Qualifiers: Kyle Watkins 200m and 4X400 with Michael Linbrunner, Spencer Payton, Muhammed Haleem Abdul Salaam

Longwood wins its 2nd consecutive winter track county championship. This is the 27th overall title for the boys track program. – Photo, Longwood’s Kyle Watkins just barely beats Half Hollow Hills West’s Kory Fitzgerald in the 300-meter dash in the Suffolk large school championships at Suffolk-CC Brentwood on Friday, Jan. 30, 2015. Photo Credit: George A. Faella

Winners are seldom seen waiting for anyone. Longwood’s Kyle Watkins, after falling in the 55 and finishing fifth, came back and won the 300 meters in 35.34 seconds.

“I was out in front of everybody, right on the blocks, I don’t know what happened but on my third step, I tripped up a little bit,” Watkins said of his 55 slip. “After that, I was really focused on the 300. In the trials, I went out fast to see what I could do and took it easy because I didn’t want to overwork myself for the rest of the meet.”

Watkins, along with Spencer Payton, Michael Linbrunner, and Haleem Abdul-Salaam, won the 4 x 400 relay in 3:32.11. The victories led Longwood to the team title, narrowly edging Bay Shore, 46-41. It is Longwood’s second consecutive large school county title and fifth in the last six years.

“I really thought we could do this and, sure enough, we pulled out the win,” Watkins said. “Guys were doing stuff that I didn’t know they could do.”