Sprint relays lead Baldwin track

Posted

Baldwin’s track teams both stormed to victory in the 4x200 relay events to highlight their top 5 finishes in the Nassau Class A championships Feb. 9 at St. Anthony’s High School.
The boys’ squad produced nine All-County efforts with champions in a pair of jumps and took third behind Freeport and Massapequa, while the Lady Bruins took fifth overall behind sprint champion Sariah Doresca.
Doresca, a sophomore who captured the 55-meter dash in 7.09 seconds, was also All-County in the 300m (third place) and ran the leadoff leg of a youth-filled winning sprint relay that included classmates Jahzara Emeli and Jillian Rickford, and freshman Breanne Barnett. Uniondale was a distance second, more than five seconds off Baldwin’s winning time of 1-minute, 45.06-seconds.
“The girls have been running together for years and have great cohesion,” Baldwin first-year indoor coach Karen Barnes said. “They all have outstanding starts and they know how to adjust to each other. The goal now is to keep shaving off more time and getting to the state meet.”
Barnes said the order of the relay has fluctuated but has primarily been Doresca-Barnett-Emeli-Rickford. The foursome is the top-ranked sprint relay in the state and has a best time of 1:41.42. “They’re aiming to beat 1:40,” Barnes said.

Barnett was runner-up in the 300m and Rickford placed right behind Doresca in fourth.
On the boys’ side, Baldwin’s foursome of seniors Daniel Concepcion, Anthony Byron and Andrew Jean-Charles, and junior Tristan Brown held off Mepham in the sprint relay, coach Mike Higgins said. The winning time was 1:33.41, with the winning margin 1.12 seconds.
“Freeport had the early lead in the relay and we didn’t get the lead until the anchor leg,” Higgins said. “Mepham closed strong for second but we weren’t in danger of losing.”
Jean-Charles also took home an individual county championship in the long jump with a best of 20-feet, 8-inches. Senior teammate Jabari Higgins, the coach’s son, was All-County (third) in the event covering a shade under 20’.
“It was Andrew’s birthday so it was really significant that he won the long jump,” coach Higgins said of Jean-Charles, the class Salutatorian. “He set a PR in his first jump.”
Baldwin also finished 1-2 in the high jump with seniors Kenneth Bobb and Kevin Levy separated by the narrowest of margins. Both cleared 6’ but Bobb earned the county title by virtue of fewer number of misses.
Senior Jalen George led the Bruins’ throwing crew and was All-County in the weight throw, placing second, and also finished among the top 10 in Class A in the shot put. “Jalen broke the school record in the weight throw of 57 feet,” the coach noted.
Brown was All-County (third) in the 55 hurdles, and senior Tyler Means had an All-County effort in the 600m, running second in 1:26.58, and also scored in the 300m, taking sixth. “Tyler is the backbone of our team,” coach Higgins said. “Whatever we need him to do, he does it.”
The state meet is Saturday, March 4 at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island.