Thursday, October 1, 2026
It was a highly successful spring for Long Beach’s boys’ track and field team, which captured a conference title in undefeated fashion and hosted the Nassau Class AAA championship meet for the first time.
“We had a strong senior crew and were well-rounded,” Marines coach Greg Milone said. “We had a lot of depth and some younger guys who really stepped up.”
The Conference 2 title was essentially won by a couple of points when Long Beach outlasted Calhoun and Mepham in the same meet. “We were tied at the relays,” Milone explained. “It was one of those things where you look back and see how every point counted. The kids really came through.”
One of the Marines who thrived under pressure was junior Brian Thurston, who in the biggest conference meet of the year shaved eight seconds off his time in the 1600 and finished second in an event usually dominated by Calhoun. Thurston went on to place second in the Division 2A meet with a time of 4 minutes, 33 seconds, and took fifth in the county meet (4:32.16) held May 25 at Long Beach Middle School.
“Brian runs year-round and puts all the work in,” Milone said of Thurston. “He’s a great teammate and one of our rising stars.”
Another junior, Scott Powers, is emerging as one of the top pole vaulters in the county, the coach said. Powers will be Long Beach’s lone representative in the state qualifier meet later this week after a second-place finish in Division 2A (12 feet, 6 inches) and a fifth-place showing in Class AAA. He was also a key contributor in the long jump and took second in the division with a best of 19 feet, 8 inches.
“Scott is a very talented athlete and I believe has the potential to be a county champ next year,” Milone said.
Senior Max Gottuso had a big spring and earned a division title in the high jump, clearing 5-10, and also anchored Long Beach’s top relay, the 4x400 which also included senior Tanner Owens, junior Tristan Groh and freshman Jack Palmer. Groh ran the leadoff leg of the foursome, which placed second in the division meet and helped key the conference title. Owens was also an integral part of the 4x800 along with Thurston.
“Max has been a big contributor the past two years,” Milone said of Gottuso. “He was tough to beat in the high jump.”
Gottuso, Tom Ryan (third in division, pole vault) and Dave Miller (fifth in 200) were all four-year members of the team. Senior Seamus McDonough scored regularly in jumping events.
Junior Mark Rivera (third in discus, fifth in shot put) led a throwing group that Milone said made tremendous strides as the season unfolded, while juniors Lucas Esformas and Asa Euster were the leading hurdlers. “We’ve done well in hurdles for quite a while,” Milone said. “Lucas and Asa put a lot of time in and improved every meet.”
