The Bonac boys 4-by-400 relay team — Hudson Goulart, Emmett Schumann, Jasper Samuelson, and Liam Knight — took down a 29-year-old school record at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Ore., on Sunday, finishing first in their heat and sixth overall with a time of 3:25.65. The previous record, 3:28.40, was set by Sean Knight, Brandon Hayes, Ryan Borowsky, and Keith Brabant back in 1997.
"I was not surprised that they did this well," said Sean Knight, who is now the head coach of the boys track team. His son, Liam, anchors the relay. "The atmosphere was contagious. We got to see some of the best high school athletes in the country competing. As I pulled them together for our last talk, I told them we traveled over 11 hours to get to this point. This is not about just participating in a big meet. This is about coming here and breaking this record and putting East Hampton on the map. Out of the 22 hours we're going to travel back and forth, I need 3 minutes and 25 seconds from you guys with everything you got. And of course, because they're amazing they gave it to me."
"It was the most exciting meet any of us have ever been to," said Samuelson, a sophomore.
In April, the foursome competed at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, where they finished in 3:32.46. At the time, Samuelson said they needed to work on their relay specifics -- things like handoffs and getting out off the line. On Sunday, they got it all right.
"Everything went just how we practiced," he said. "The handoffs were perfect and Hudson did an amazing job getting out of the blocks."
The relay team put in a lot of work in just the last few weeks to make the trip happen. First, they had to convince Coach Knight to take them, then they had to train on their own at the track after school, and finally they had to raise the money to get there.
"This was not going to be a cheap trip and I knew it was going to be tough for some of the families, so I told them that they had to raise at least $1,000 each and they raised the whole thing in about a week and a half," Coach Knight said. "That's how much they really wanted it, and they had some amazing support from their parents."
The team ran under the Old Montauk Athletic Club banner and received support from OMAC, the Kiwanis Club of East Hampton, and the Sag Harbor Booster Foundation, along with donations from family, friends, former teammates, and even coaches' former teammates, making the trip a true community effort.
Schumann, the lone freshman on the relay team, who goes to Pierson High School in Sag Harbor, attributed the team's success to their work ethic throughout the school year. "It is definitely a result of all of the hard work this year," he said. "I can't wait to see what our limits are and where we can take ourselves with this talent."
Last month, Goulart, a junior, predicted the boys would break the school record this year and then do it again next season. He showed the same confidence in Oregon. "Of course, I knew we would, and we all still plan on breaking our record next year."
If they break this record next spring, they'll do it without Liam Knight, a senior, who graduates this week and will be running track, and also swimming, at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island next year. Setting a new record in his last event for East Hampton High School was especially meaningful.
"As the last meet of the high school season, I wanted to end it off on a high note. That was all I was thinking about. When I saw the track I was just super excited and ready to perform on the biggest stage," he said. "Breaking my dad's record meant a lot to me. He has been my coach the past three years and this has been our goal, so to get the record on Father's Day with him here and at Nike Nationals, it just all came together at the perfect time."
Coach Knight agreed. "I felt pretty lucky today. Not many people get a chance to coach their kid at a level like this and get to see him step up at one of the biggest championships in the country and take down one of my records," he said. "I really couldn't have asked for a more perfect day."
