Farmer tops Holland in photo finish at Long Island Invitational

With so many of the Island's top athletes in attendance at the annual Long Island Invitational at St. Anthony's Saturday, it would have been easy to miss a great race, jump or vault.

The boys 300-meter dash was certainly a race that should not have been missed.

St. Anthony's Patrick Farmer, who burst on the scene in December when he set two Suffolk records, ran to a first-place finish in 34.86, edging Bellport's Jaquan Holland (34.89) in a photo finish.

"Everyone was talking about this," Farmer said. "You had to come with your best."

Taking second place is usually no solace, but Holland had positive feelings about it.

"The race was intense," Holland said. "He brought it and I brought it. It gives me confidence, because at states I definitely know what I have to do."

Farmer's plan was to make an early move on Holland. That plan deteriorated quickly.

SEE PHOTOSHigh school sports -- February

"I wanted to pass him on the second turn, but I didn't expect him to get out that fast," Farmer said. "This win is great for my confidence. It gives me something to build on."

Riverhead's Sasha Schafer can be added to the list of top performers. The senior set a school indoor and outdoor record in the pole vault with a height of 14 feet, 3 inches.

"My hope was actually to come in and clear 13-6, because that's my season best," Schafer said. "14-3 is a surprise . . . It was an amazing feeling."

Schafer attributed some of his success to the surface.

"I've had good luck with this track," he said. "It's one of the best for winter track."

In addition to hosting the event, St. Anthony's also came away a winner in team scoring, as it beat Westbury, 52-42.

The day started with Friars distance runner Kenneth Walshak, who took first in the 3,200 in 9:36.39.

"I wanted to win not just for me, but for my team. This a team sport," Walshak said.

Walshak, who beat Westbury's Owen Skeete (9:51.64), chalked up his win to proper preparation.

"My coach told me [Skeete] was going to come out fast," Walshak said. "So I was ready for it and stuck to my game plan."

St. Anthony's also had a first-place finish in the weight throw as Bentley Whitfield II won it with a toss of 50 feet, 8 inches.

Another big time performance came from MacArthur's Matt Granata, who won the 600 in a personal-best time of 1:21.6.

Granata's victory was especially uplifting because his previous best time was 1:24.71.

"The bar is a lot higher for me now," Granata said.

Other individual winners included Ward Melville's Quinn Raseman, who won the 1,000 in 2:33.91. Dan Denis of Bayport-Blue Point won the 1,600 in 4:23.95 and Westbury's Darnelle Mickens took the 55 (6.6).

Amityville's won the 55 hurdles in 7.59. Wheatley's Josh Haghighi took the shot put (61-1), Longwood's Walter Miles won the long jump (21-111/2) and Westbury's Jair Edwards took first in the triple jump in 44-10.

Half Hollow Hills West's Abdias Mytril, Damarr Aultman, Justin Connor and Dan McCord continued their fine season with a first-place finish in the 4 x 200 (1:31.33).

St. John the Baptist's 4 x 400 relay team of Michael DuPlessis, Joe Micheels, Azeem Boyce and Seitu Solomon won in 3:26.43, while Kellenberg's 4 x 800 team of David Bransfield, Michael Cook, Quesnel Senatus and James Agati had a surprise first-place finish in 8:04.62.