Thursday, October 1, 2026
Long Beach enjoyed a breakthrough this spring in track and field, following up a 10-3 regular season with impressive showings in the Division 2A and Nassau Class AAA championship meets.
“The commitment of the kids was the biggest reason for our success,” Marines coach Greg Milone said. “There’s a buzz surrounding the program. We finished the season with almost 50 kids. It’s great.”
The 4 x 100 relay consisting of seniors Kierre Jefferson and Lamont Maxwell and juniors Josh Trone and Jaymen Teemer broke a school record in May and couldn’t have come closer to taking the county title. The Marines were part of a blanket three-way finish with Baldwin and Uniondale May 25 at Mitchel Athletic Complex, but the result didn’t go their way. Long Beach was third in 43.4 seconds. “It was probably the most exciting moment of the season,” Milone said. “As soon as the kids crossed the line, I thought we had it. Hearing the official outcome was tough, but if we’re nose to nose with Baldwin and Uniondale, we’re doing something right.”
With senior Mike Mallazzo spelling Maxwell at the division meet, the Marines won the sprint relay handily in 44.3 seconds. “All the boys are fast,” Milone said of the relay group. “It was just a matter of developing chemistry in the exchange zone. They really fed off one another.”
Trone has emerged as one of the top sprinters in the county. At the state qualifier meet June 3 at Westbury High School, he placed fourth in the 100 meter dash in 11.35 seconds. Nine days earlier, he finished Class AAA runner-up in 11.2 seconds. “He’s tall, lean and explosive,” Milone said.
Teemer, in his first track season of any kind, finished fifth in the state qualifier in the 100 (11.49) and fifth in the county meet as well. Jefferson, meanwhile, became the first athlete under Milone to score in three different events in the county meet. In addition to the relay, he tied for fourth in the High Jump (5-feet, 8-inches) and was sixth in the 200.
Mallazzo captured the division title in the 800 with a 2:01.8 finish and was in the top 10 in Class AAA at the distance. A four-year member of the program, he also competed in relays and the 400 Intermediate Hurdles. He teamed with seniors Matteo Mesiouris and Dequan Simmons and sophomore Brant Scott to form the 4 x 400 relay. “Mike was a consistent contributor and someone we can always count on to score points,” Milone said.
An abundance of underclassmen showed potential, Milone said. Sophomores Eric Abasolo and Peter Morelli led the charge for a young long-distance group. Scott (fifth in 400 IH, sixth in the 400 in Division 2A), fellow sophomore David Henry (third in Triple Jump, fourth in Long Jump), and freshman John Anfossi (fifth in Long Jump) were big reasons for the team’s 74 points in the division meet.
