V.S. North adds to title streak

Missing all but the opener of football season with a shoulder injury had Valley Stream North sophomore Ryan John even more fired up for winter track and field.

“He’s an excellent student-athlete to coach and it was hard for him to sit out almost the whole football season,” longtime Spartans coach Mike Frazer said. “He was raring to go for track.”

John, who competed at Nationals last spring and brought home the freshman title in the triple jump, led North to its seventh straight Nassau County indoor championship and ninth in 10 seasons by finishing first in all three jumping events Feb. 4 at St. Anthony’s High School.

“We knew he was a special athlete,” said Frazer, who noted Ryan’s older brother, Tyler, excelled in jumping events as well and helped the Spartans win multiple county titles. “Ryan is confident and self-motivated,” he added. “The high jump, triple jump and long jump are all kind of run consecutively during the meet, so it’s not easy for a kid to bounce back and forth like that. It’s really impressive.”

John repeated as Class C champ in the triple jump with a leap of 43-feet, 7 ¾ inches. The Spartans also won two relays (4x200 and 4x400) and had senior Matthew Foster capture the county title in the 55 hurdles with a personal best 8.02 seconds.

“Matt has been our go-to hurdler for the past few years and he’s also taken our younger kids under his wing,” Frazer said.

If not for some tough luck, Frazer said North could have swept all three relays. “We’re happy with winning the two,” he said. “We ran into some traffic problems in the 4 by 8.”

Seniors Ryan Williams and Justice St. Louis, sophomore Daniel Ellis, and eighth-grader Sedgeley Duperval comprised the 4x200. In the 4x400, it was senior Devonte Gordon joining forces with three sophomores — Calvin Williams, GuyAlden Chery and Jonathon Xavier.

Ryan Williams, Frazer said, turned his performances up a notch this winter and finished runner-up in the 55 dash. In the distance and middle-distance categories, seniors Christian Cicilia (second in the 1000m) and Matt Marrone (second in the 1600m, third in the 3200m) led the effort.

The Lady Spartans captured the Conference 5 title behind five individual first-place finishes, besting rival North Shore, but had to settle for a runner-up finish to the Lady Vikings in the county meet.

Junior Danielle Phillip led North at counties by capturing the 55 dash crown in 7.49 seconds. She was also the conference champ in the event. “Danielle beat a talented field in the county meet,” Frazer said.

Senior Jessica Tsu won the conference title in the 55 hurdles, senior Isabellah Paul took the long jump, and Oluwatobi Adebowale captured the shot put and weight throw. Adebowale, Sasha Smalls and Joline Viau, all juniors, finished second, third and fourth in Class C in the weight throw.

“Our girls didn’t back down from North Shore in the conference meet, but their depth was the difference at counties,” Frazer explained. “It’s a fun rivalry.”