Seaford dominates division meet

In 46 years of coaching track and field – and nearly half of that time spent at Seaford High School – Ed Trentowski has seen just about everything. And yet, his Seaford boys’ track team still racked up a series of accomplishments this spring that managed to surprise the veteran coach – in a very pleasant way.

Seaford picked up a Division 4B championship in dominant fashion on May 14, scoring in every event. The spectacular all-around performance netted Seaford a total of 206 points, more than doubling runner-up Oyster Bay, who had 98.

It was the most points that Seaford had ever scored in a division meet, Trentowski said. “Our success was really due to the fact that we are well balanced,” said the coach. “Kids performing well on track and in the field. There were few events that we were weak in.”

It was a big day for the squad’s sophomores, with Al Munro winning the high jump and triple jump, and Jason Linzer scoring 30 points by himself, finishing in first place in the 800-, 1600- and 3200- meters. Linzer will be one of seven Seaford boys to travel to Syracuse this Friday to participate in the state meet in three events: the 1600-meters, 3200-meters, and the 4x800-meter relay.

It will be Linzer’s third state meet of the year, after the fall and winter season. And having qualified for the state meet twice as a freshman, it means he has qualified for state level competition in five of his six possible seasons.

“His performances this year were amazing,” said Trentowski, who called Linzer a self-driven athlete whose work ethic on and off the field has rubbed off on his teammates. “These are kids his own age and even older, they see what success has done for his preparation and training, and they want to be in on that. That’s for sure.”

In the Class A county championship meet on May 24, Linzer finished in a dead heat in the 3200-meters with North Shore’s Jack Rosencrans. The runners crossed the finish line so closely together that even a literal photo finish couldn’t decipher a winner. “The picture of them finishing, you saw one body, that was it,” Trentowski said with a laugh, adding that while ties are fairly common in sprints, he’d never seen one in a two-mile run before.

“It was back and forth and then an all-out sprint to the finish from a few hundred yards out,” Linzer said.

Linzer will be running alongside senior teammates Nicholas Minerva, Anthony Cuchel and Matthew Mezzasalma in the 4x800-meter relay at Friday’s state meet. Also making the trip will be senior Sean Allen in the high jump, sophomore Dante Marzini in the 400-meter hurdles, and junior John Krzyminski in the steeplechase. On the girls’ side, freshman Stephanie Keane will be racing in the 1500- and 3000-meters.

“This was by far one of the most successful seasons,” Trentowski said. “Not only the amount of talent, but the personalities as well.”