Grady paces East Meadow track

East Meadow boys' indoor track and field coach Jim McGlynn has seen more than his fair share of close finishes in conference championship meets during 10 years with the team.

In fact, six team titles have been decided—win or lose—by two points or fewer. This winter? Very little was in doubt as the Jets steamrolled the competition, totaling 160 points at St. Anthony’s High School. To put that in perspective, second and third place Port Washington (87 points) and MacArthur (72) combined for 159 points. On Feb. 4, at the Nassau County Class A championships, the Jets placed third.

“Without a doubt that was our strongest performance ever,” McGlynn said, noting the fact it was the second consecutive Conference II title for his program. “This was our most confident group by far going in. We were the most comfortable, and there were no mistakes. These kids were on fire.”

Leading the way for East Meadow—which had 15 athletes earn All-Conference honors—were senior Michael Grady and junior Alex Wong, who combined for five individual victories and 58 of the team’s 160 points. Under the tutelage of distance coach Mike Ringhauser, Grady has hit new heights taking home individual titles at 1,000 meters (2:41), 1600m (4:36.8) and 3200m (9:50.5) a rare triple crown on the track. “I’ve only had one other kid do that,” McGlynn said. “That’s an extremely hard triple. Normally you don’t do that, but he’s a tough kid.

“He’s one of a kind. He can endure a lot of pain, and his work ethic is what puts him where he’s at,” he noted of Grady.

To his credit, Wong had his own pair of titles and a second place finish. He was first in the long jump (20 feet, 4 ½ inches) and triple jump (42 feet, ¼ inches) and second in the 55m (6.61 seconds). Junior Tim Gibson, who recently ran the fastest time in Nassau and Suffolk County in the 55m (6.54) was third in the event at the conference meet.

On top of the athletes expected to perform well, the Jets also had a few surprises on the track. Senior Jake Healy, seeded seventh among the runners at 300m blazed his way to first place (39.50), while senior Joe Puciloski, a similar longshot at 600m, also pulled off the upset for a championship, crossing the line in 1:29.40. 

The Jets also had a pair of relay teams—the 4x400 comprised of Puciloski and senior Peter Vo and juniors Dave Cedillo and Will Teneriello and 4x800 consisting of seniors Chris Delgado, Alberto Fernandes, Nick Stankes and sophomore Tim Euler—crowned champions. The 4x400 finished with a time of 3:43, while the 4x800 had a time of 8:46.

In the field events, junior Matt Mascia nearly had a title in the shot put, where his throw of 43 feet, 6.5 inches held up until the final thrower—and eventual champion, Joseph DeSantis—beat it was a heave of 45 feet, 2 inches. At the County Championships, Mascia finished fifth in the event with a throw of 45 feet, 11 inches. 

The 4x200m relay team of Healy, Gibson, and sophomores John Corea and Jose Fuentes was second, and sophomore Mike Hartcorn took third in the 55m hurdles (8.45s).

At the County meet, Grady earned titles in both the 1000m (2:37.75) and 1600m (4:31.56) and also ran a leg champion 4x800 relay team that took first and also included Delgado, Fernandes and Stankes. Gibson earned second in the 55m (6.65s), while junior Nick O’Malley took second in the high jump (5 feet, 10 inches.)