Promising signs for South Side

Though 2012 was a rebuilding year for South Side boys’ track and field program, it still managed to post a winning record and gave coach Ken Bohman plenty of reasons to be excited for the future.

“It was an encouraging season,” said Bohman, noting many underclassmen exceeded expectations and helped the Cyclones to a mark of 8-5 as well as a third-place finish in the Division 3A championships. “We had a bunch of ninth-graders make an impact and post times and distances well above the freshman average,” he added. “We have a lot to look forward to.”

Every grade level was represented on South Side’s division-winning 4-x-100 relay, which finished in 46-seconds flat. Bohman teamed senior Ben Sellitto, junior Evan Chernack, sophomore Nick Marasco, and freshman Alex Boss, and kept the foursome together for the Nassau Class A championships and it finished a solid third in 45.5 seconds.

Chernack, a third-year runner, enjoyed a breakout spring. Chernack was third in the division in the 100-meter dash (11.2 seconds) and third in a blanket three-way finish in the 200 (23.2.) “Evan is an excellent worker and broke through to a new level,” Bohman said. “He keeps getting bigger and stronger.”

While Boss didn’t crack the scoresheet in the division meet, his times in the 100 (11.7) and 200 (24.1) are above par for his grade level. “Alex can run anything from the 100 to the 800, and he’s also a capable jumper,” Bohman said.

Freshman John O’Shea was one of South Side’s top jumpers along with senior Storm Marshall. O’Shea placed second in the division meet and sixth in the county in the High Jump, while Marshall picked up fourth in the division to go along with sixth place in the Triple Jump. Freshman Kieran McCarthy, who finished sixth in the division meet in the 800 (2:17), is another up-and-coming talent. “The benchmark for a ninth-grader in the mile is five minutes, and Kieran broke that by 10 seconds,” Bohman said.

Junior Harry Dantona took third place in the division and fifth in Class AA in the Discus, and senior James Ryan was fourth in the division 800 race and keyed the Cyclones’ third-place 4-x-400 relay that included senior Erik Albertsen, junior Drew O’Neill, and sophomore Brian Marckesano. 

Relays lead Lady Cyclones
Finishing first (4-x-800), second (4-x-100) and third (4-x-400) in all three relays helped South Side’s girls’ track and field team to a third-place finish in the Division 3A championships after a 7-6 regular season.

Senior Cathryn Ryan, juniors Katie Lomuto and Alannah O’Rourke, and sophomore Lauren McDonough comprised the winning relay, and McDonough led the team individual scoring by earning second place in the 1500 and third in the 3000. “It was the first time we were able to get those four girls together,” first-year coach Fallon Hearst said of the 4-x-800. “They ran a big race.”

Sophomore Lindsey Haynes was second in the 400, and classmate Casey Petrone scored in the Shot Put and Discus. Junior Charnae Jenkins led the sprint relay and captured fifth in Class AA in the 100 Hurdles. 

“We had such a young team, and to finish in third place as a team was a good accomplishment,” Hearst said.