By Bill Landon
A Northport junior raced to the head of his class in the League II boys track and field finals, and he never looked back.
Thomas Fodor was the first to cross the line in both the 600 and 1,000-meter events Jan. 19 at Suffolk County Community College’s Brentwood campus. Fodor’s winning times were 1 minute 26.51 seconds, and 2:37.57, respectively.
Finishing behind Fodor for a one-two finish in the 600 race was senior Kiernan Weaver, who clocked in at 1:28.09.
Northport senior Sean Ryan tripped the clock at 2:38.48 for second place in the 1,000 race. He also rose to the top of the field at the 1,600 distance with a time of 4:28.89.
In the grueling 3,200 distance, Northport Tigers claimed two top spots on the podium. Senior Jason Gibbons placed second, clocking in at 10:13.41. A bright spot in the freshman-sophomore class (Section 2) was Northport ninth-grader Wyeth Semo who won 1,600 race with a time of 4:54.65.
Pictured, clockwise from top left: Freshman Michael Perrino competes in the long jump event covering a distance of 15-6; Weaver races second place in the 600; Ryan leads the way winning the 1,600 race followed by teammate Aidar Matthews in bib no. 4641 who finished in fifth; junior Luke Cacic finished first in the League 2 shot put eclipsing his personal best by 3 feet throwing 44-5; and Semo took first in the 1,600 for Section 2 (freshman-sophomore division).
The Tigers will be back at the Brentwood campus Feb. 11 for the state qualifiers.