By:Angela Marshall
Nolan is the first South Side student to win an individual State championship in at least 30 years.
Next week, he will be awarded the Track and Field Athlete of the Year Award by the Nassau County Track and Field Officials Association. It is the first time they have honored a high-school athlete with the award in almost a decade. The last was Oceanside's Jay Feidler, now quarterback of the Miami Dolphins.
The pentathlon is a grueling five-event competition spanning two days. On the first day, Nolan's results were 16.8 seconds in the 110-meter high hurdles, 6' 1" in the high jump and 42' 4.5" in the shot put. On the second day, he had a 20' 4.5" long jump and finished the 1500-meter with 4:22.5.
Coming into the competition, Nolan knew what he expected of himself. At a dinner the night before, he found out what everyone else expected. The seating was assigned based on how the athlete was predicted to finish - Nolan was seated number one.
"If you don't win, that means you choked," he thought.
Nolan was third coming into the final competition - the hurdles always put him behind. But when he crossed the finish line of the 1500, he was back on top. "He won the event by a large margin, running the last lap all by himself and racing only the clock," said coach Ken Bohman.
Nolan earned a total of 3,400 points in the competition, 85 points more than the second-place finisher.
He wasn't trained as a distance runner, usually running the 400-meter. "He blew the field out running on pure talent," Bohman said.
In order to get to the states, Nolan won the Nassau County Class A championship in the 400 meters and the pentathlon and earned all-county designation in the long jump.
Earlier in the year, Nolan was named All County for his efforts on South Side's boys soccer team, which he captained. He was also awarded the Barish MVP award. And he was a starter on the varsity basketball team.
"Many coaches consider him the finest athlete to pass through South Side in a generation," said Bohman. The coaches named him the 2002 South Side High School John Smalls Coaches Award winner, which is the highest honor awarded to a varsity athlete at South Side.
"That's the best compliment that I could ever ask for," Nolan said.
He is a big follower of South Side sports and said he knows all the greats who have come before him.
When he was a freshman, Nolan looked up to then South Side track star Chuck Abbinati. Abbinati was one of the supporters cheering Nolan on at the states.
"Now I have the baton," Nolan said, knowing that there are some freshmen looking to him for advice and inspiration.
Nolan praised all the coaches who have helped him to develop as an athlete. "Bohman is possibly the nicest person that I've ever encountered," he said.
Bohman and fellow coach Dave Smith both made the trip to Rochester with Nolan and he called them his two biggest fans.
Soccer coach Alan Freeman helped Nolan apply for and get a soccer scholarship to SUNY Binghamton. "He was always very supportive," Nolan said. A technical coach, Freedman also stressed the need for a positive mind set.
When Nolan read the glowing reports Freeman sent to college recruiters, he was touched. "It just takes you back and you're in awe."
Nolan will never forget his first travel coach in the RVC Soccer Club, Steve Tighe. Tighe was killed in the World Trade Center attacks. Nolan said he hopes to give back to the community by coaching Rockville Centre's youth just like Tighe did. "This town is very special to me."
Nolan also plans to join the track team at college and said he will pursue sports as far as they will take him.
Bohman can't wait to see how Nolan responds to college training, saying he hasn't received the individualized attention he needs. "He has a lot of unfulfilled potential."
Nolan hasn't declared a major but is interested in business and the entertainment field. Nolan is just as passionate about acting, dancing and singing as sports. He showed many people his talent in these areas when he joined the Blue Team for the annual Red and Blue competition.
"We are just very, very proud of him and particularly of his versatility," said Joseph Nolan, his father. "He's just a joy to have as a son."
