Katherine Lee races in the 1,000-meter run during the indoor track and field season. File photo by Bill Landon
Katherine Lee was off to the races at the Suffolk County track and field individual championship/state qualifier June 2 and 3 at Comsewogue High School and crossed her senior season finish lines in typical
Wildcats fashion — by winning the 1,500- and 3,000-meter runs. She finished first in the 1,500 in 4 minutes, 34.25 seconds and the 3,000 in 9:58.42.
Mount Sinai’s Kenneth Wei leaps over a hurdle during an earlier meet this season. File photo by Bill Landon
Lee said her result was not what she’d hoped, saying she’s been under the weather, but hopes to finish stronger when she competes with the other winners in the state championship at Cicero North Syracuse
High School June 8 and 9.
Mount Sinai sophomore Sarah Connelly came in third in the 1,500, crossing the finish line in 4:38.07. Connelly also came in second in the 3,000 in 9:59.99.
Mount Sinai freshman Kaitlyn Chandrika used a quick start to roll to a 6:57.97 victory in the 2,000 steeplechase. Teammate Noreen Guilfoyle, a senior, placed fourth in 7:13.59. Chandrika also raced to a third-place finish in the 800 with a 2:16.31 behind Ward Melville seniors Allyson Gaedje (2:14.82) and Sam Rutt (2:14.93). Mount Sinai junior Kayleigh Robinson ended up second in a photo finish in the 400 hurdles behind Sachem East’s Kaitlyn Famiglietti. The Flaming Arrows runner clocked in at 1:03.33 while Robinson finished in 1:03.34.
The Mustangs’ 4×800 relay team earned second place with a time of 9:27.52. Miller Place senior Jillian Patterson grabbed second in the pentathlon with a score of 3,059.
Mount Sinai’s Kenneth Wei (14.49 seconds) was just edged by Longwood’s Jaheim Dotson (14.35) in the 110 hurdles. Sophomore Justin Wei, his younger brother, finished fourth (15.67). Kenneth Wei also came in third in the long jump (21-11) and third in the triple jump (44-1).
Miller Place sophomore Tom Cirrito placed fourth in the 800, clocking in at 1:56.20. Mount Sinai senior Jack Pilon came in sixth (1:59.11).
Boys track and field team guarantees piece of second straight outdoor league title with win over Southampton. Junior Kenneth Wei breaks two school records.
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Junior Shane Bombace takes the baton from senior captain Brett Petralia during a 4x400-meter relay. Photo by Bill Landon
Sophomore Justin Rinck leaped a high jump personal best of 5-6. Photo by Bill Landon
Junior Kenneth Wei breaks the school's long jump record with a 21-10.75 jump. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior Edwin Hugh, a high hurdler and sprinter, leaps across the track. Photo by Bill Landon
Junior David Mazzella placed first in the discus. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior Anthony D'Angio cleared just over 30 feet in the triple jump. Photo by Bill Landon
Justin Wei, Kenneth Wei's younger brother, competes in the high hurdles. Photo by Bill Landon
Junior Ryan Wilson races down the track during a relay. Photo by Bill Landon
Junior lefty and first-year competitor Michael Acquafredda hurls the shot put. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior Nick Arciello leaps over a hurdle. Photo by Bill Landon
Sophomore Christopher Galli astonishes teammates as he clears 10 feet in the pole vault. Photo by Bill Landon
Junior Kenneth Wei leaps his way down the track in the 110-meter high hurdles. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai's boys track and field's senior class. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
These type of Mustangs like to be pushed.
The Mount Sinai track and field team feeds off the pressure in practice — touting it as one of the main reasons the boys have been able to stay undefeated.
“We just have guys that work hard every day,” Sean Higgins said. “The coaches push us, and push us hard. They push us until we’re great.”
The junior was off to the races in a 102-34 win over visiting Southampton May 2, coming first in the 800-meter run and 1,600, and placing second in the 3,200. He also competed in the 4×400 relay.
His top finish was 5 minutes, 20 seconds in the mile.
“It’s not my best,” he said. “So we’ve got to get back to work and train that much harder.”
Junior Kenneth Wei on the other hand had two bests. He broke the school record in the long jump with 21-10.75 jump and triple jump with a 43-10.5 leap. He also finished first in the 110 high hurdles.
Head coach Lee Markowitz said Wei, who is at the top of his class, is the most coachable athlete he’s ever worked with, and defines what a scholar athlete is.
“Like my coaches say, it’s who wants it more,” Wei said. “It’s the desire to compete — to go up against the best of the best. It’s what drives us to keep going.”
Markowitz said Ryan Wilson is another junior who helps round out a strong, dedicated All-County class. Wilson is noted by his coach for his versatility.
“Ryan is a gifted distance runner who is always willing to help the team,” the coach said. “He excels in both the 400 and 800 events and is always ready to jump into the 1,600 or relay event if it means securing a victory for the team.”
Jack Pilon, one of seven seniors on a roster of nearly 60, said his 5-0 Mustangs benefit greatly from having so many tools in the toolbox.
“We have the depth,” he said. “Our sixth, seventh and eighth milers, they’re the ones out here with us every day doing the same amount of work, so I think that when other teams compete with us it’s difficult to keep up. We’ve got 10 guys that can go under five minutes in the mile — it’s hard to [compete] with that.”
Wilson also flaunted his team’s dedication while backing up his coach’s claim of his thirst for competition.
“Everyone comes to work and they train hard every day — they’re coming for their own reasons, whether it’s to get ready for another sport or to improve their best times,” he said. “We’re all trying to build the best program we’ve ever had. We have a strong program, but we’re also building for the future.”
Mount Sinai, now 5-0, remains atop the League VII leaderboard with one meet remaining. With the win over Southampton, the Mustangs have repeated nabbing indoor and outdoor league titles for the second straight school year. Mount Sinai is currently one win ahead of Elwood-John Glenn (4-1) and faces its rival May 8 at 4 p.m. for sole possession of the crown.
Markowitz said the practice atmosphere is contagious, as old and young push one another to build the future Wilson was talking about.
“It’s the work ethic — there’s zero complaining,” he said. “When they’re successful, it confirms for them that when we work hard, we win. We have a group, particularly of juniors, who if we tell them ‘You’ve got to run through a brick wall,’ they’ll say, ‘Ok.’”
Mount Sinai’s boys’ indoor track and field team after winning the League V title.
By Desirée Keegan
To say a Mount Sinai senior sprinter overcame adversity to help his Mustangs capture a league title would be a colossal understatement.
Just days before the League V championship, Andrew Fiore tore his hip flexor.
The Mount Sinai track and field athlete was sidelined for several days and left his coaches thinking he’d be unable to compete. Come Jan. 22, the day of the competition, Fiore told his coaches he had to run.
“I knew it was a big deal for the whole team, and I didn’t want to let anybody down,” the runner said. “I wanted to help in any way I could, and the best way to do that was to compete.”
Despite the injury, the senior had the best showing of his six-year varsity career. For the first time since joining the team in seventh grade, he broke not one school record but two.
Matthew LaGatta, Andrew Fiore and Anthony Bosio show off their hardware.
Fiore placed first in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.84 seconds, edging out a 10-year record of 6.87. Soon after, he ran the first leg of the 4×200 relay that took first with a time of 1 minute, 37.79 seconds. The mark also eclipsed another school record that stood for more than a decade.
“To me, it really spoke of his character that regardless of being hurt, there was no way he wasn’t going to run — for himself, for me, for the team,” Mount Sinai head coach Lee Markowitz said. “He’s always been our go-to guy. He’s a team player and he’s a tough kid. He refused to not run. I was blown away.”
Fiore also finished second in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 3 inches. His performances helped put his team in a position to win, and the Mustangs took home Mount Sinai’s first indoor League V title in 12 years. Although he did not think about breaking records, he admitted it was an added bonus.
“It’s unreal — seeing my name in the record book is weird, but it’s awesome,” he said. “We were coming into the meet expecting to score points, but we did not expect to score as many as we did, and we even scored points in events that we didn’t expect to place in.”
Fiore’s senior teammates Anthony Bosio, Nick Cesario and Kevin Kelly helped break the 4×200 record. Cesario and Kelly also placed in the top four in the 55-meter dash. Kelly finished second in 6.96 and Cesario took fourth in 6.98.
“We’ve been a young team for a few years, so this season was interesting because we finally had a good core of seniors who really led by example,” Markowitz said. “The interesting thing is that at the league championship meet, every single player stepped up and had their personal best performances of the season. It all came together.”
The head coach highlighted sophomore Kenneth Wei, who took home the only other first-place finish for the team, finishing the 55 hurdles in 8.31.
The interesting thing is that at the league championship meet, every single player stepped up and had their personal best performances of the season. It all came together.”
—Lee Markowitz
“He is a very talented high hurdler and is also a gifted high jumper,” Markowitz said. “He really stepped it up with his effort.”
Mount Sinai, which finished with 105 points, almost doubled second-place Southampton’s score of 56.
Markowitz said although Mount Sinai never goes into the meet expecting to be a contender, he and his assistant coach Eric Giorlando, who he said the team would not have won the title without, realized the Mustangs had depth unlike they’d seen in past years.
Markowitz shared his pre-meet message to the team.
“These guys worked very hard, and some of them have been working for it for years,” he said. “I told them before the meet in my pregame speech that if we win, and no guarantees, I hope that a win would teach them that hard work pays off. And it certainly did. As their coach, it makes me so incredibly proud to see them come together, give their hearts, give it everything they had and come out on top.”
Fiore said although the magnitude of what occurred during the meet did not hit him until receiving praise the next day at school, he’s glad he made the decision to compete.
“It was a little nerve-racking coming in injured, and we want to make sure everyone remains healthy because we’re looking to win a league title in spring, too, but it was definitely worth it,” he said. “We all relied on each other to win, and my coaches have been so supportive. This sport helps you in other ways than simply athletics, and it’s made me a better person. This experience has meant a lot to me.”
