South Side takes division title

A combined 10 first- and second-place finishes and plenty of depth points allowed South Side to run away with its first boys’ track and field division championship this spring.

The Cyclones took Division 2B in convincing fashion behind seniors Sherman Sawyer, Ryan O’Shea and Dan Sterns. They each took one event and totaled four runner-up finishes as South Side amassed 173 points and bested second-place Carey by 81 in the seven-school meet for its first division crown since 2005.

“We brought back a lot from last spring and avoided the injury bug this year,” coach Phil Onesto said. “We had a large team with about 80 kids, so I knew we’d be able to fill all the events and score pretty well.”

Sawyer, the team’s No. 1 sprinter, hadn’t competed in the long jump since the winter campaign but managed to finish at the top in the division meet with a leap of more than 20 feet. He also ran second in the 100 and 200 dashes. “Sherman was under 23 seconds in the 200 and under 11 [seconds] in the 100,” Onesto said. “When you have that type of speed, you’re a special athlete.”

O’Shea never competed in track and field prior to a few months ago, the coach explained, but backed up an All-County basketball season with an amazing feel-good story that’ll continue at the state meet. After finishing second in the division and Nassau Class AA meets in the high jump, O’Shea won the state qualifier last Friday at North Shore. He also won the triple jump at the division meet. “He’s got natural ability,” Onesto said. “He really started to get some form down midway through the season and all the stars aligned for him at the division meet. He keeps setting personal bests. It’s impressive.”

Sterns, a four-year varsity veteran, was second to Sawyer in the long jump and finished atop the leader board in the pole vault, an event he took up only recently when it became part of the upgraded facilities at South Side. “Dan put a lot of work in to pole vaulting and also helped in any of the jumping events we needed,” Onesto said.

Early season injuries to Luke Shannon and Michael Luvin made for some bumps in the road for the Cyclones in distance events, but junior Jack McGowan and fellow senior Jacob Grant stepped up. Eventually, with Shannon and Luvin healthy, the foursome steamrolled to victory in the 4x800 in the division meet. Luvin was also second in the 1600, with McGowan third.

South Side didn’t win the 110 hurdles but did the next-best thing, taking second, third and fourth with senior Liam Maliner and sophomores Brando Mateo and Mark Weber, respectively. Mateo was third, sophomore Eli Pullaro fourth, and Maliner sixth in the 400 hurdles. “Our young hurdlers made huge improvements during the year,” Onesto said.

Seniors Tygah Scott (second in shot put) and Colin Johnston (second in discus) led a solid group of throwers.