Grady goes extra mile for Jets

Senior Sean Grady led the way for East Meadow’s boys’ track and field team this spring, finishing Nassau Class AAA runner-up and winning the State Qualifier meet in the 1600 meter run.

“Sean’s a great kid who’s been with the program since ninth grade,” Jets coach Jim McGlynn said. “He was shooting to make states in the mile and two-mile. It was a realistic goal, but he came up a little short in the 3200. He still had a great year. He was a tremendous mentor to the younger kids.”

Grady saved his best for last, McGlynn said, completing the 1600 in 4-minutes, 22-seconds at the state meet outside of Syracuse to set a new personal mark he’ll take to the University of Connecticut. Grady won the State Qualifier with a time of 4:26, and finished a respectable fifth in the 3200 in 9:44.30.

One of the underclassmen Grady took under his wing was younger brother Mike, a freshman who enjoyed some strong races and has a bright future, McGlynn said. Mike placed seventh in Class AAA in the 1600 and 10th in the 3200 to help the Jets (9-4 regular-season record) to a second-place finish behind Baldwin.

Like the soon-to-graduate Grady, the coach said Chris Garzia will be missed after being a key part of the program for years. Garzia won the Division 1-B Long Jump and 110 Hurdles title, finished fourth in Class AAA in the 110 HH, and anchored a third-place 4-x-100 relay that included Fai Lin, Grigory Vartonov and Tay-Sean Kidd. But he was hampered by a hamstring injury down the stretch and missed the State Qualifer. “Chris was another tremendous athlete and captain for us,” McGlynn said.

Junior Bradley Kaufman came up big in the 3000 Steeplechase, finishing second in Class AAA (9:59) and third in the State Qualifier, while junior Kyle Bettex starred in the decathlon.

Ashe paces Lady Jets
Sophomore Amanda Ashe’s win at 3000 meters in the State Qualifier meet capped a successful season for the Lady Jets. Ashe was second in the event in Nassau Class AAA, while eighth-grade teammate Alex Dagnell was the Division 1-B champion and fifth in the county. Ashe won the qualifier in 10:31.82.  

East Meadow finished second to MacArthur in the division meet. Senior Kayleigh Morein won the Discus and went on to place fifth in Class AAA, junior Karissa Stankes took the 1500 meter run, and the 4-x-100 relay consisting of Caitlin Langan, Alyssa Roberts, Dana Messina, and Hillary Augustin, topped the division rivals for coach Steve Josepher.

Other key contributors for the Lady Jets in the county meet included Anna Cantar, who was fifth in the Triple Jump, Jennifer Flores, who finished sixth in the 100 Hurdles, and Meghan Peysson, who placed sixth in 3000.