Spartans capture track title

Two down, one to go.

Valley Stream North’s quest for the Triple Crown — county championships in cross-country, winter track, spring track — is very much alive after the Spartans captured their first-ever Nassau Class B winter title, narrowly edging Manhasset at St. Anthony’s High School.

“The boys didn’t have such a great spring and it left a sour taste in their mouths,” coach Tim Boyens said. “They’ve worked extremely hard. We went to the state meet in cross-country and winning the indoor title is a big deal. When you compete against half the county, it’s difficult.”

The Spartans finished with 80 points, five ahead of Manhasset. Hewlett (34) was a distant third.

North had three individual county champs and also scored in all three relays. Junior Thomas Bardabelias rallied on the final lap to capture the 1,000 meter title, sophomore Joe Cafaro was an upset winner in the 55 High Hurdles, and senior Chris Edouard took the 600. Bardabelias, Edouard, and senior Kendel Levy (shot put) all qualified for the New York State meet this weekend at Cornell University.

“Every point was big,” Boyens said.

Bardabelias got past nemesis Nuno Tinoco of Mineola to win the Class B race by the slimmest of margins. The winning time was 2:37.99, and Tinoco was just six one-hundreths of a second off. “Thomas has developed tremendous willpower,” Boyens said. “He refuses to lose. He lost the lead with a lap to go and then battled back.”

Cafaro was one of North’s pleasant surprises. He also turned the table on a major rival, edging Zachary Zieniewicz of Seaford, 8.25 to 8.39, in the 55 HH final. “It’s tough to train in hurdles in the winter, but Joe has been getting better and better,” Boyens said. 

Edouard was no surprise in the 600. He finished in 1:26.70 to take the county title and came back with a strong performance in the state qualifier, finishing third. Senior Joe Rossi was third in Class B in the event. “Chris built up his strength during cross-country season and is in great shape,” Boyens said. “He probably put in 500 miles of training over the summer and it paid off huge.”