How St. Anthony's Ward brought home state title in 4 x 800 meter relay
Jack Ward of St. Anthony's, left, races to victory in the boys 600 meter run during the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA indoor track and field championships at St. Anthony's on Jan. 29. Credit: James Escher
Salute To The Champs: St. Anthony’s 4 x 800 meter relay team of Jeremy Paredes, Collin McLaughlin, Sean Dearie, Jack Ward
Count Jack Ward as a believer. There were times, the senior said, when his confidence in himself wasn’t as strong as it should have been, especially given his track record of success. After running a dominant anchor leg to beat Monroe-Woodbury and local-rival Chaminade and bring a 4 x 800 title to South Huntington, Ward’s beginning to come around.
“Recently [coach Tim Dearie] has been telling me to believe in my heart,” Ward said. “Previously, I didn’t believe what was in my heart and what was in my head. But at all times, [Dearie] knew what it was. Honestly, there are times where I don’t think I have it 100%, but there’s not one coach that believes in his athletes more than Tim Dearie.”
The belief in himself, aided by his coach’s conviction, led Ward to make a statement move midway through the anchor leg. Surprisingly, no one went with him and the Friars cruised to victory in 7:52.67. Ward’s anchor was 1:56.69.
Jeremy Paredes (1:59.69) ran the first leg, followed by Sean Dearie (1:58.66) and Collin McLaughlin (1:57.61).
“That final lap, I was just focusing on really trying to hammer it home and get my team to that line,” Ward said. “I knew a title was at stake. I believed in my heart and believed in what I wanted.”
