EMHS boys’ winter track captures conference title

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The East Meadow High School boys’ winter track and field team finished in first place in the Nassau County Conference II championships on Jan. 15, outperforming eight other schools. The team accumulated 105.5. points across a variety of events, finishing 6.5 points ahead of runner-up Port Washington.

East Meadow coach Jim McGlynn said it was a combination of the squad’s sprint and distance runners that paved the way to victory, especially praising junior Michael Grady and sophomore Tim Gibson.

East Meadow was neck-and-neck with Port Washington during the meet, said McGlynn — even trailing at one point — until the relays. “It was very tight,” he said. “It was quite a battle with Port Washington.”

The Jets won the 4-x-800-meter relay — a foursome of Grady, junior Chris Delgado, senior Andrew Brusca and senior Eric Gershoff — and the 4-x-200-meter relay, featuring Gibson, senior Jay Robinson, senior Justin Hatzelman and sophomore Alex Wong. In the latter race, McGlynn said they were trailing Port Washington until Robinson pulled ahead in the final leg. “It was a very exciting race,” McGlynn said. “The kids were going crazy in the stands.”

Grady also finished first in the 1000-meters, at 2 minutes and 41 seconds, and earned top honors in the one-mile-run at 4 minutes and 40 seconds.

Gibson set a new school record in the 55-meter dash, despite finishing second, in what McGlynn described as a “photo finish,” at 6.69 seconds — a tenth-of-a-second behind Long Beach High School’s Josh Linster. He also finished fourth in the 300-meter dash at 38.3 seconds. Hatzelman placed sixth in the same race, at 38.7 seconds.

Rui Cunha placed fifth in the 600-meters at 1 minute, 31 seconds — tying the school’s indoor record — and won the pole vault by jumping 11 feet.

Other high-placers included junior Christian Torres in second place in the long jump, sophomore Alex Wong in third in the triple jump, junior Peter Vo in third place in the 55-meter hurdles, senior Mike Walsh in a tie for fifth in the high jump, and Delgado in sixth place in the 1000-meters. Freshman Tim Euler also finished fifth in the mile at 4 minutes, 51 seconds. “It was a great effort from him,” said McGlynn of Euler.

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