Tie extends VSN's title streak

Valley Stream North and North Shore were locked in a tie at 98 points apiece heading into the final event at the Nassau Class A boys’ track and field championships on May 23 at Cold Spring Harbor.

The 4x100 relay determined the county title, and the result was a shared crown as neither team was able to crack the top six and score. For VSN, it marked the fifth spring championship in a row and 10th in the last 12 years.

“On paper, based upon seeds, we knew it was going to be a tough battle and probably come down to the last event,” VSN coach Mike Frazer said. “It was pretty exciting. It’s so rare to tie for a county championship, but it was nice to see both teams line up and take pictures together.”

Seniors Tyler John and Nick Cason starred for the Spartans and combined to win four events and score in six. John repeated as Class A champion in the high jump and also won the long jump title, and was just a couple of inches shy of taking the triple jump. Cason ran to victory in the 3200m and 1600m, and also scored in the 800 with a fifth-place finish.

“Tyler’s had an outstanding season,” Frazer said of John, who is headed to the state meet this weekend at Union-Endicott after setting a new school record in the triple jump. “He’s a quiet leader who popped onto the radar last year. We depend on him all the time and he always came through with consistency.”

Cason finished the 1600 in 4-minutes, 28.89-seconds and later in the day ran to victory in the 3200 in 10:01.97, more than six seconds ahead of the runner-up. “Nick was All-County in cross-country, winter and spring track,” Frazer said.

Sophomore Jacob Schoenfeld (third in the 400m and fourth in the 400 hurdles) was North’s other individual All-County finisher at the Class A meet and was also part of the 4x400 that finished third. “All the fourth, fifth and sixth-place points we earned really added up,” Frazer said. “It shows the depth of the team.”

The Spartans racked up 7 points in the 3000 steeplechase, as junior Bryan Coquia, freshman Paolo Mejia and junior Pablo Hernandez placed fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. Junior Brandon James was fourth in the long jump, junior Shane Johnson was fourth in the 800 and part of the 4x400 and 4x800 relays, and junior Chrys Philemon was fourth in the 110 hurdles. 

Lady Spartans repeat as champs
Sophomore Jule Charles captured the shot put and discus titles and junior Dana Dipaoli placed second in the 400 run, third in the 400 hurdles and fourth in the 200 dash to help the VSN girls repeat in Class A. It was also their sixth county title since 2006.

“The girls had a great mix of seniors and newbies,” Frazer said.

Like on the boys side, the Lady Spartans and North Shore battled down to the final event and were separated by 8.5 points. Seniors Brianna Hackman, Tyesha Irving and Miracle Onuoja, and junior Brianna Williams (second in the 400 hurdles) were also instrumental in the outcome.