Ward Melville's Raseman dominates 3,200

Ward Melville's Quinn Raseman sat on the infield of the St. Anthony's track, two cuts oozing blood from his left ankle.

He failed to look down at the abrasions, which are just one of the occupational hazards of the long distance runner.

"I didn't even notice when I got those," he said.

That's how it went Saturday for one of Suffolk's standout distance runners. Raseman won the 3,200 meters at the St. Anthony's Invitational, outpacing the field with a time of 9 minutes, 35 seconds. There was only one question that could be asked after such an emphatic victory: Was it as easy as it looked? "It felt like a jog in the park," Raseman said with a trace of sarcasm.

Raseman hopes to break the 9-minute barrier later in the season. For now, he and his coaches are subscribing to the less-is-more philosophy. He doesn't race twice a week like some of his competitors. Instead, a tight training base has been employed to maximize Raseman's performance when it matters most.

"We're putting in the solid training and not racing every weekend," Raseman said. "When you do pop those races in, it feels easy."

It sure looked easy, as Raseman never appeared in danger of falling behind. As the leader, though, he did commit one of track's cardinal sins.

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"I might have looked back at my competition a couple of times," Raseman said. "Coach is going to make me do pushups for that one."

In other action, Copiague high jump standout Tyrek English took first with a jump of 6 feet, 4 inches. Just one week prior, at the Bob Pratt Invitational, English broke the 7-foot barrier. At St. Anthony's, English couldn't repeat that staggering jump.

With his hamstring acting up and fatigue building from his performances in the long and triple jumps, English could not clear the 6-6 plateau.

After the 7-foot jump, English became one of the darlings of high school track. When you break a magic number, great expectations come with the territory.

"It's a lot of pressure, and I try not to listen to all the hype," English said. "You just try not to listen to the outside influences."

English talked about his new existence in the halls of Copiague High School, where he is no longer known by his name. He has a new title.

"It's 'What's going on, 7-foot jumper?' It is always in my head."

"It is a little bit embarrassing. But I'm proud of it at the same time."

Evans also placed second in the triple jump at 48-5 ¾.

Riverhead senior Michael Smith won the shot put with a throw of 57-10. Wheatley's Joshua Haghigi threw 57-2 to take second place.

A photo finish decided the 800, with MacArthur senior Matthew Granata (1:54.25) nipping St. Anthony's Payton Hazzard (1:54.26) at the tape.