Northport and Smithtown East square off in dual track meet
By Steven Zaitz
Northport and Smithtown East met in a dual boys track meet on April 16 and the visiting Tigers came out on top 76-42.
There were impressive performances on both sides as the athletes participated in the broad gamut of track and field events.
Sprinter Vito LaRosa blazed his way to an 11.0 second win in the 100-meter dash for the Tigers and his teammate Duke Sarnataro earned second at 11.6 seconds.
In the 400-meter race, Northport placed first, second, and third. Gabe Ko led the pack with a time of 52.8, followed by LaRosa and Brayan Negoescu.
Northport also swept the shot put with Mason Hecht hurling the heavy ball 44’ 9”. Matt Lugo was second with a throw of 42’ 11” and Declan Semo was third with a toss of 39’ 8”. Hecht and Semo went one-two in the discus with Matt Swist finishing third in a dominating throwing competition by the Tigers. Hecht’s leaden-frisbee went over 149 feet.
Alex Toran ran an impressive 2:02 flat in the 800-meter to win. Tim Kropp breezed his way to a victory in the 3200-meter in under 11 minutes. Finn Sweeney won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 65.2 seconds.
For the Bulls, nationals qualifier in the high jump, Braden McCormick, tried his hand – and his feet – in the triple jump and won with a measurement of 40’ 7.5”. His teammate, Kaelan Suekamling, took second place. Suekamling won gold in the long jump with a leap of over 19 feet.
Dester Cuomo won the 100-meter race in a speedy 4:48 and was second in the 400-meter hurdles as well.
Many of these fine athletes will be participating in the Coaches Invitational meet with participants from across Suffolk County. The meet will be held at Commack High School on Saturday, April 20.
