Banner spring for Long Beach

Long Beach’s boys’ track and field program has been closing ground on the competition for years, and this spring the Marines flew by their Division 2A rivals and also placed fourth in Nassau Class AAA.

“We’ve had a special year,” coach Greg Milone said. “It has been so long since Long Beach last won a division championship, there’s no banner in the gym for it. We know it’s well over 20 years. It’s great. Everyone had the same goal and worked hard to make it happen.”

The Marines followed a 12-2 regular season with a lights-out performance in the Division 2A championship meet, held at their new facility at Long Beach Middle School May 16. They had 13 first- or second-place finishes and totaled 149 points, edging Calhoun by 10.

“Once the score was official, the kids celebrated by rushing the field and dumping water on me,” Milone said. “We geared up for that meet all spring and all of the kids delivered.”

Junior David Henry won division titles in the Long Jump and Triple Jump, senior Josh Trone took the 100-meter dash and was runner-up in the High Jump, junior David Poretz won the Pole Vault, freshman Tariq Cole captured the Shot Put, senior Jaymen Teemer was second in the 100 and 200, junior Brant Scott was second in the 400 and 400 Intermediate Hurdles, junior Dylan Palacio was second in the 3,200, and sophomore Kyle Mosely was second in the 110 High Hurdles to lead the way.

Milone said scoring 17 points in the Pole Vault — sophomore John Delahantey tied for second — and placing third in the 4 x 100 relay without Trone or Teemer, were two of the biggest reasons for victory. “I thought we’d get some points, but not 17,” Milone said of the Pole Vault. 

The sprint relay consisted of Henry, senior Shazam Juman, junior Ikiel Williams and freshman Stefan Pitts. “Considering they didn’t have much time to practice handoffs, they did great,” Milone said.