County championship for Clarke

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It was a special moment for the Clarke boys track and field program Feb. 8 as it took home the Nassau Class C championship at St. Anthony’s High School.

One of two seniors that the Rams saw win an event was Jayson Emile, who took first place in the 600 and 1000 meter runs. Emile is one of five captains for Clarke and has been a pleasure to watch not just this season, but throughout his high school career, coach Brian Doxey said.

“Jayson is one of the toughest competitors I’ve had on my team in many years,” Doxey said. “He’s someone you can depend on to get the job done and that’s why he’s one of our captains.”

The other senior on Clarke to win a county title in an event was Kelvin Wang as he took the top spot in the weight throw. Wang, another one of the Rams captains, also finished third in the shot put. “He’s really been helpful with getting the younger guys up to that next level,” Doxey said. “He stays and helps teach them how to throw properly. Aside from his ability to throw, he’s a very good team leader.”

Rounding out the captains for this year’s group are Cortland commit Andres Ventura, “JD” Azcona, and Joseph Partridge.

Junior Christian Hunter took part in three events on the night, placing second in all of them (55 meter hurdles, long jump, and pole vault), earning himself All-County honors. Despite not finishing on top, Doxey knew it was going to be a battle in each and has high hopes for Hunter next year.

“He was an all-around athlete for us last year,” Doxey said. “This year, we wanted to develop him in those same events again. For him to place second in all three of those events was outstanding.”

Along with Hunter, Clarke had three freshmen that placed throughout various events at the county championships. Runners James “JP” DeRose, Noah Saenz, and Michael Burriesci all made their mark during the evening and will look to use this experience in the years to come.

“It’s always great when freshmen can show that they have potential right off the bat, let alone score us points at a top-notch meet like the county championships,” Doxey said. “Those three right off the bat are going to be something special.”

As a team, the Rams finished third in both the 4x400 and 4x800 meter relays to score crucial points. Emile joined Ricky Wang, Andrew Ng, and Ethan He as the runners in the 4x400 while Ventura, Saenz, Constantine Pozapalidis, and Jacob Soriano took part in the 4x800.

Clarke will look to use its momentum from last week’s Class C championships at the state qualifiers in hopes of bringing more hardware home.

The state meet takes place March 4 at Staten Island’s Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex.