Baldwin's versatility wins AAA

Being able to compete in multiple events has been a key to Baldwin’s success.

Paced by first-place finishes in the 400-meter dash, the 400 hurdles, the discus and the 4x400, the Bruins won the Nassau County Class AAA title on Wednesday night with 96 points, in front of Massapequa (54) and Farmingdale (50).

Justin Mahoney, who won the 400 (49) and was part of the Bruins 4x400 team, had confident his squad could get it done.

“Most teams have a reputation for being a distance team, sprint team or a field team,” said the Lehigh-bound senior. “We have state-ranked people in the 400, high state-ranked people in the shot and discus and in the long and triple jump.”

Baldwin’s Ieshawn Johnson continued his great season, winning the discus (167) and taking second in the shot put (49-11), while teammate Jarrek Babb won the 400 hurdles (54.6). “We have a lot of athleticism and everybody works hard in practice,” said Johnson.

Having multiple state qualifying athletes isn’t out of the question for the Bruins. “We could send up maybe six or seven to the states,” said Mahoney.

Other Class AAA winners included East Meadow’s Chris Garzia who won the 110 hurdles (14.6), Long Beach’s Josh Trone with a first-place finish in the 100 (11) and Calhoun’s Tim Campbell in the 1,600 (4:23.1).

MacArthur’s Michael Camacho won the 200 (22.5) and Uniondale’s Glen Forsythe won the triple jump (46-3.5) and the long jump (22-00.25).

Valley Stream North, which won cross country and indoor titles, completed the three-season sweep winning the Class A championship with 123 points. Manhasset (62) was second and Mineola took third with 50 points.

The Spartans were led by Steven Barbuto with a first-place finish in the 400 hurdles (57.1) and Thomas Bardabelias in the 800 (1:58.6). Kendel Levy won the discus (136-6) and shot put (49-7.75) for Valley Stream North.

Other Class A standouts were Stephen Bourguet, who won the 3,000 steeplechase for second-place Manhasset in 10:17 and Roosevelt’s Donte Colter and Erin Parker, who won the 100 (10.9) and 200 (22.4), respectively. Colter and Parker were also part of Roosevelt’s winning 4x100 relay squad.

Seaford’s Matthew Savino won the 3,200 (9:45.6) and teammate Joseph Miller took the 800 in 2:05. Floral Park’s Justin Miller won the high jump in 6-8.

Westbury continued its dominance taking the Class AA title with 123.5 points, ahead of Hewlett (84) and Jericho (55). Owen Skeete led the way for the Green Dragons, taking the 1,600 (4:25.9), the 3,200 (9:36.1) and the 800 in 1:56.4.

The Green Dragons Hugh O’Brien won the discus (144-2) and the shot put (49-2.75), while Jourmel Castma won the long jump (21-8).
Hewlett had a strong day as Lamar Letts won the 400 hurdles (57.8) and Kevin Dehaney the triple jump (42-10.5). Sewanhaka also had multiple winners as Isaiah Pollack took the high jump (6-2) and Brian Wint the 100 in 11 seconds.