Rams on the right track

Junior Justin Boatwright earned All-County honors in two events and sophomore Tayvon Hall won the state qualifier in the Long Jump to lead West Hempstead’s boys’ track and field team this spring.

Hall, who was unable to attend the Nassau Class A championships the previous week, topped a talented state qualifier field at Westbury High School June 2 and will compete in the New York State championship meet this Friday and Saturday at Caledonia-Mumford High School. Hall also won the Division 3B title in the event last month.

“Tayvon is just a great athlete,” Rams coach Tim Doyle said. “He’s been jumping well all year and had a personal best of 23-feet, 7½-inches at the county meet. His technique improved and he’s just gotten better.”

Doyle credited assistant coach Rob Gewirtz and senior teammate Scott Leeb with helping Hall take his talents to another level this spring. “Rob deserves a lot of credit,” Doyle said. “He’s spent a lot of time working with Tayvon going back to last year.

“Scott was also instrumental and served as an excellent role model for Tayvon,” Doyle added. “Scott’s been with the program since seventh grade and had a great career.”

Leeb earned All-County in the Long Jump by finishing third in Class A with a leap of 19-4, which was 14 inches off his personal best set at the division meet. Leeb also competed in the Triple Jump, winning the division title with a 38-10, and anchored the winning 4 x 100 relay that included Boatwright, Hall and senior Kyle Garrett.

Boatwright improved his speed off the starting block and was All-County in two events this spring. He was third in the 100-meter dash (11.2 seconds) and runner-up in the 200 (23.3.) “Justin made the biggest improvement in one year,” Doyle said. “He had a great county meet. He’s a very hard-working, dedicated and dependable kid who does anything a coach asks.”

Garrett, who handled the second leg of the 4 x 100, missed All-County honors by an eyelash in the 400. He finished fourth in 52.4 seconds. Amir Lott of Floral Park was third in 52.3. “Kyle’s just a tremendous competitor,” Doyle said.

Like Hall, Jeisson Martinez is another talented sophomore with a lot to look forward to. Martinez chipped in 10 points for the Rams in the division meet by placing third in the 400 and fourth in the Long Jump. Doyle also noted the solid contributions of juniors Jason Steiner, Joe Cruz and George Jamalyh, and sophomores Cadeem and Kareem Harris.

“We had 25 kids this spring,” Doyle said. “We have a lot of promising underclassmen  and I’m thankful of the support we get from our Athletic Director [Chris Mistretta], school administration and the Board of Education.”