Josh Trone put the finishing touch on a memorable spring for himself and the Long Beach boys’ track program June 11 at the New York State championships at Caledonia-Mumford High School outside of Rochester.
The senior blazed to the state Federation 100-meter dash title with a time of 10.84 seconds. He entered the meet ranked 12th in Division I (out of 21) in an event stacked with talent.
Based on research conducted by Marines coach Greg Milone, Athletic Director Arnold Epstein and others, Trone could be the first state track and field champion in school history. “We don’t know for certain if he’s the first, but either way it’s awesome,” Milone said. “Josh just changed gears at the end and it was all over. He has tremendous closing ability.”
In the preliminary round race, Trone finished second in 10.94 and turned the table on top-seeded Jaquan Smith of Elmont. Smith, who was the No. 1 seed and won the state qualifier race June 1 at Westbury, didn’t reach the final heat. Trone was also runner-up in the Division I state final in 10.86.
“At that point, I really felt like he could win the Fed,” Milone said. “I knew he’d be successful up there. I just didn’t know how successful. He elevated his game on the biggest stage and ran great all weekend.”
Trone, who began competing in track and field at the middle school level, said he was focused upstate and had no jitters.
His personal-best of 10.6 in the event came May 16 at the Nassau Division 2A championships and was hand-timed. The electronic timing used at the state meet couldn’t be more accurate, Milone said, and stands up equal to or faster than the hand time.
“I wanted to go to states last year and came up short,” Trone said. “I told coach back then I was going to states this year. I trained more and wanted it badly.”
Trone won the Nassau Class AAA title in the 100 by a stride over senior teammate Jaymen Teemer, who qualified for the state meet in the 200. Trone also finished second in the county in the high jump.
“Josh really came on strong this year and matured as a person and a teammate,” Milone said. “He committed to training and competed with intensity and confidence. Now he’s looking into college options. It’s a great story.”
