By ANDREW McCLURE
Among those are sprinter Dianna Adkins and, of course, Derrick Adkins who won the gold medal in the 400 meter hurdles at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Well, 2008 was another good year for the Mules, as Malverne sent 10 participants to the New York State Federation track and field championships last weekend at the University of Buffalo. While none of the orange and blue came out victorious upstate, the Mules had an impressive spring season. Led by sprinter Xavier Brooks, Malverne finished in fifth place in Nassau County competing against 18 Class A schools.
Coach Colbert Britt was very pleased with the results turned in by his team. "We did very well in many events and had some strong performances in the county meet," Britt said. "To have 10 qualify for the state meet is very impressive. The kids did a great job."
Brooks appears to be on the path to greatness. The fleet-footed sophomore finished first in the county in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.9 seconds. Brooks nearly pulled of a sweep in the two short-distance events, but finished second in 200 meters. Senior Brandon Jones finished sixth in the 200.
In the field events, senior Brandon Hector finished in second place in the triple jump with an impressive 42-feet, 3-inches. Hector, Jones and Brooks joined freshman Aalique Grahame in the 4 x 100 meter relay. The foursome finished in second place at the county meet.
Malverne totaled 35 points in the event won by Valley Stream North with 100 points. Roosevelt was second, North Shore third and Manhasset fourth.
Malverne's girls' team was paced by senior Ayanna Kelly who finished third in 200 meters and also participated in the relays. Kelly joined junior Brittany Jenkins, senior Ashley William and freshman Britney Baptiste to win the 4 x 100 relay in 51 seconds flat. The foursome finished a half-second ahead of Roosevelt in a thrilling finish. The 4 x 400 meter relay team of Kelly, William, Baptiste and junior Tammy Saunders finished second in the county behind Valley Stream South with a solid time of 4:16.9. Junior Francine Orekoya was the county champ in the shot put with 32-1 feet.
The Lady Mules amassed 34 points to finish eighth in Class A. Like on the boys' side, Valley Stream North took home the title with 76 points.
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