Uniondale, Awad, Caraciolo win titles
Joe Caraciolo of Massapequa won the long jump with a mark of 22'6 at the New York State Indoor Track & Field Championships held at Barton Hall, Cornell University. (March 3, 2012) Credit: Errol Anderson
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Uniondale coach Dennis Kornfield jokingly clutched his chest after his boys won the 4 x 200-meter relay in thrilling fashion.
"Man, my heart rate is really going right now," he said. "That was some race."
With as many close races as there were Saturday, you couldn't blame Kornfield for joking.
Narrow finishes were the order of the day for several Long Islanders in the boys state indoor track and field championships at Cornell. Uniondale held on at the line to win the 4 x 200, Chaminade's Thomas Awad used a last-gasp surge to take the Federation championship in the 1,600, and Joe Caraciolo of Massapequa won the long jump by less than an inch.
The Uniondale team of Derrick Ingram, Nyder Chardonette, Tresean Goodwin and Davon Henry held off a hard-charging Wilson Magnet team at the finish line to win the state 4 x 200 crown. The Knights won in 1:30.58, defeating Wilson Magnet (1:30.65) by .07 seconds.
"We knew we had a lot of competition," said Ingram, who also finished fifth in the 55 meters earlier in the day. "We just set our minds to it."
Ingram got the Knights out to a short 5-meter lead in the first leg of the relay. Chardonette and Goodwin were able to maintain the lead, and Henry was able to hold off a hard-charging Ismial El-Amin at the finish to seal the win.
"We knew that this event would be our breadwinner," Henry said. "I heard the other guy breathing, and I just kept pushing. I didn't want to let my guys down."
Earlier in the meet, Awad clocked a 4:21.26 to win the 1,600. The senior edged out Konrad Surkont of Stuyvesant (4:21.70) at the finish line by .44 seconds for his first Federation championship.
"I'm happy that I could come off the double and win the 1,600," said Awad, who finished third in the 3,200 earlier in the day. "I've finished second and third before, but I'd never won."
Awad took the lead with 600 to go, but Surkont overtook him as the field approached 200 meters to go and opened up a 25-meter lead.
"I felt like I was fading both physically and mentally," said Awad, who will be attending Penn next year. "I just tried to keep my pace comfortable and push with my form."
But Awad saw Surkont glance back on the back straightaway, and he immediately knew he still had a chance. The senior launched a frantic sprint with 100 meters to go, caught Surkont with about 10 meters to go, and passed him right at the line.
"I saw him look back, and I realized he was dying, too," Awad said. "So I told myself I was going to catch him."
In the field events, Caraciolo won the long jump title with a personal-best jump of 22 feet, 6 inches. The senior defeated Wilson Magnet's Donovan Wallace (22-5 1/2) by half an inch.
"I felt loose and pumped going into the finals," said Caraciolo, who recorded his winning jump on the first attempt of the finals. "For me to win on a personal best is awesome."
