Teachey Jr., Reyes lead Malverne

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Last fall, Maurice Teachey Jr. was once again a leader for the Malverne football team, putting together an All-County season. This spring, the senior had the opportunity to lead a Mules’ athletic program one last time, playing a key role on the school’s boys’ track and field squad.

Malverne’s 4x400 relay team of Teachey Jr., freshman Rashard Teachey, sophomore Donovan Ishmael and senior Amari Reyes finished in first place in varsity D2 finals at last Friday’s state qualifying event. Their time of 3:27.44 was over 12 seconds better than the second-place finishing Mineola squad. Teachey Jr. also finished in first place at qualifiers in the Varsity D2 400 Meters event, with a time of 49.33.

Kito Lockwood, who coaches both the Mules’ football and track and field team, has seen Teachey Jr. excel plenty over the past few years, and believes his work ethic is largely responsible for his success.

“I’ve never seen the kid take a day off,” Lockwood said. “He’s very motivated by competition. He just wants to be the best, and is willing to put in the work and the time to do so. He has the speed, and is always in the best condition he can be in. I’m sure that has everything to do with his success.”

While one Teachey is leaving Malverne this spring, another Teachey is just getting started for the school. At state qualifiers, Rashard Teachey took second place in the 400 Meters event, finishing just a few seconds behind big brother Maurice.

“He’s just a younger version of Maurice,” Lockwood said. “He’s going to be real special.”

The Mules convinced another one of their football stars to transition from the gridiron to the track this year. Reyes turned out to be one of the squad’s top performers, taking first place at the state qualifying Varsity D2 100 Meters race with a time of 11.26.

“We knew he was capable of competing in the 100 meters and 200 meters dashes,” Lockwood said. “We’ve been trying to get him to participate since he’s been in ninth grade, and now that we finally got him, he’s done really well for us in winter track and spring track.”

Ishmael took third place in 400 meters race at state qualifiers, giving Malverne the top three finishers in the event.

The 4x400 team of Teachey Jr., Teachey, Reyes and Ishmael has been a strong performing unit all season long for the Mules. The group saved one of its best efforts for the county finals, where they posted a personal best time of 3:24.

Also excelling throughout the spring season for Malverne was senior Phillip Adeyeye and junior Radea Teachey, who both competed in the shot put and discus events.

While the school’s football stars helped lead the way for the Mules’ spring track and field team, Lockwood was left pleased with the effort he got from the entire club.         

“We did a lot this year and went to a lot of invitations,” he said. “We had a lot of kids improved, a lot of kids excel. It’s been a very good season.”