Thursday, October 1, 2026
Once a workmanlike freshman finding his way in track and field, Baldwin senior Brandon Thweatt can look back on his high school career and say he reached the pinnacle. In an epic three-way battle at the New York State indoor track and field championship March 6, the ever-improving athlete sprung home to win the 55-meter hurdles by one-hundredth of a second.
From humble beginnings, Baldwin coach Mike Higgins described the tough path for Thweatt to take command in one of the state’s most competitive divisions.
“He wasn’t even our best ninth grader,” Higgins said. “But he just kept working and grinding, and now, if you look at his achievements and all the data, he's probably the best combo sprinter hurdler in Nassau County in quite a while.”
After qualifying with the third fastest time in preliminaries, Higgins said Thweatt was focused and prepared for a star-studded finals. He was joined by Copiague senior Nigel Harris and Wagner senior Alexander Acosta, among a litany of supremely talented hurdlers.
For weeks leading into the championship meet, Higgins told Thweatt that the winner of the race would likely be in front at the first hurdle. They worked exhaustively on the senior’s starts, trying to get him as sharp as possible.
“It’s just about being locked in,” Higgins said. “He just has a great ability to do that. He responds very well. He's gotten better and better over the years with his start.”
When his moment came, Thweatt burst off the line in a picture-perfect beginning, but Acosta was just as quick, and as they reached the first hurdle, Higgins conceded that the Wagner senior might have been in front by a hair. Thweatt was right alongside him with Harris surging too.
At the line, the top three finishers were separated by two-hundredths of a second, but with a final time of 7.26, Thweatt found just enough to pip Acosta and Harris for the victory. It was the race of his life, and it could not have been better timed.
Beyond track and field, Higgins described Thweatt as a highly serious student as well as one of his most hardworking athletes. He is studying to become a computer engineer, his priority while choosing between colleges.
“This is a guy that has a 102 average,” Higgins said. “He's the type of guy that has literally sat down and designed a sensor, put it together by soldering. That's where his mind is. Fantastic student, very locked in. He's looking at a couple of schools that will offer the opportunity for him to primarily study engineering and still run track and field.”
Elsewhere at the state championship meet, Baldwin senior Tyrell Holder, who Higgins called the “surprise of the year” ran in the 55-meter dash, setting a time of 6.72 seconds in preliminaries. Senior Patrick Appolon competed alongside Thweatt in the 55 hurdles and finished 15th in preliminaries, while senior Chinonso Ajomiwe finished 22nd in the triple jump.
