Thursday, October 1, 2026
If it were a boxing match, the Nassau Class C boys track and field championship meet would’ve been stopped early Feb. 2 with Valley Stream North winning by knockout.
The Spartans crushed the 20-team field by an astounding 90 points over their closest competitor (Wheatley) and captured first or second place in 10 events, including all three relays en route to racking up 141 points on the way to repeating as winter county champs at St. Anthony’s High School.
“We cover every event really well and one of the best things about this team is we have a lot of underclassmen,” VSN coach Mike Frazer said. “The kids did a fantastic job all around.”
Senior A.J. Strojan (shot put) and juniors Max Estrada (pole vault) and Evan Troung (1000 meters) earned individual county championships for the Spartans, which also took home the crown in a thrilling 4x800 relay with Troung making up 12 seconds on ground as the anchor leg.
“Evan’s a true competitor and what he did in the relay, after already winning the 1000, was awesome,” Frazer said of Troung, who followed seniors Ryan Carra and Matthew Gangi, and freshman Gavin Trusty.
Strojan set a personal best in the shot put with a heave of 42 feet, becoming the program’s 29 th throwing county champion in the past 10 years. “He wasn’t going to be denied,” Frazer said. “We’re fortunate to have a long line of talented throwers and all those kids take a lot of pride in what they do.”
Junior Dominick Rios was also instrumental in the runaway victory, earning second place in the 55-meter hurdles and the 300-meter dash, and teaming with junior Adebayo Kayode and sophomores Sebastian Madruga and Dario Joseph for a runner-up finish in the 4x200 relay.
“Dominick set PRs in both of his individual events and bettered the state standards,” Frazer said of Rios. “He’s the best athlete on our team and that’s saying something. He’s a tireless worker with excellent sprint and middle distance speed.”
Senior Satveer Thind keyed the 4x400 relay that placed second and was also runner-up in the 600. That relay included seniors Jack Dusel and Nigel Monrose, as well as junior Lorenzo Yegros. Sophomore Mathew Anthraper was second behind Estrada (11-feet, 1-inch) in the pole vault.
Additional All-County (top 3 in each event) performances for VSN were Trustey (1600m) and fellow freshman Kyle Farina (3200m), senior Thierry Bennett (1000m), Dusel (55 hurdles) and Kayode (long jump.)
“Usually seasoned distance runners get All-County in those 1600 and 3200 races, but Gavin and Kyle were both cross country scorers for us in the fall and did tremendous jobs,” Frazer said.
It marked the 12th winter title in 16 seasons for the Spartans, who also secured a 20th straight conference championship.
