Last week, the Bonac boys track team improved to 5-0 with a crucial win at Harborfields. On May 14 — if weather allows — they’ll take on West Islip at home for the league championship. Both teams are undefeated, setting up an epic showdown on the Long Lane track.
“It’s going to be a heck of a meet. It will come down to the relays,” predicted Kevin Barry, East Hampton’s cross-country and winter track coach, who knows the Bonac runners and Sean Knight, their head coach, very well. “East Hampton has a tough task. West Islip was the indoor county champion this past season. The meet being in East Hampton is huge. They just have to do what they have been doing all season: compete and get better.”
Barry is also quite familiar with West Islip, having competed against the school in indoor track. He says the Lions are the favorite to win by 12 to 14 points. “They have a talented sprinter in Sebastian Niewinski in the 100 meters and 400 meters and a strong 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runner in Chase Miller, one of the best in the county, and excellent pole vaulters. West Islip may win a lot of events, but East Hampton will score well and keep close to the relays.”
Coach Knight knows this is a tough meet, but has some strategies of his own. “They have some really good guys, but we have more depth than they do, so if we can speed the meet up and wear out their best athletes, we’ll have a good shot,” he said. We’re going to start the meet off a little behind from discus and pole vault, but I think we can make our way back. Our guys really need to step up to make this happen.”
Looking back to May 4, Coach Knight called the Bonackers’ meet against Harborfields another “total team win, with some major step-ups when we needed them most.”
Watts Comly-Bolick, a sophomore, was the runner of the meet, winning the 1,600 meters, 3,200 meters, and also helping the 4-by-800-meter relay take first place.
Hudson Goulart also ran well, winning the 100 meters and the high jump, and tying Liam Knight for first in the 200 meters. Knight also won the 400 meters, and anchored the winning 4-by-400-meter relay. Juan Torres was a big factor in that relay as well, putting up a split of 53.66, which was a personal record.
East Hampton dominated the 800 meters, with Jasper Samuelson, Sean Perez, and Juan Torres taking first, second, and third.
In the field events, an injured Franco Palombino somehow managed to win the shot-put and place third in the discus. Adrian Bello won the triple jump, while Aaron Torres-Garcia put up an impressive final jump to capture third.
Zimmerman Levy finished third in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, while Gaige Eleazer took third in the high jump.
As for today’s scheduled meet, Barry thinks East Hampton is ready to compete. “Coach Knight, [Davin] Johnson, and [Thomas] Brierley have the boys in great shape and a good state of mind. The boys and coaches are looking forward to ending the 20-plus-year drought for a league championship for boys track, especially after going 1-5 last season.”
