Coaches lined the railing with their stopwatches in hand, closely monitoring the futures of their respective teams.
And at the start of the day, no team's future was more in flux than that of the Garden City Trojans.
The team's top runner, Mike Gallagher, is graduating at the end of the year. Garden City's star hurdlers, Al Russo and Mike Trabold, are in their junior year. The Trojans' young runners needed to have a strong performance Thursday to calm the coaches' anxiousness towards the future.
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Consider their fears subdued.
"Almost everyone set a PR [personal record]. We also medaled in the freshman 400, high jump and discus," said Coach Bob Busch. "Things are looking pretty good for the future."
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Looking good is an understatement.
The Trojans brought only 20 or so runners to the sun-drenched athletic complex, and against all of their major conference competition, the team took home six medals.
Matt Trabold, younger brother of the aforementioned Mike Trabold, captured two. He took a gold in the freshman 100 meters, an event the Trojans are typically weak in, with an 0:11.8. He also nabbed a silver in the 200 meters, with a 0:24.5.
Another pleasant surprise was the performance of Neil Quigley in the mile. After a 2:26 split, running in fourth, he made a desperate push to capture first at the beginning of the final lap. He held the lead and took hold of gold with a 4:51.5.
By the time the 400 meter runners got on the track, the sun had faded. Cloudy skies and brisk wind dominated the atmosphere. Michael Padala, a consistent top performer for the Trojans, was undeterred.
Padala took to his lane and continued his success, placing second with a 0:54.5.
Distance runner Dan Finnegan was another Trojan who set a personal record Thursday, by making good on Kevin "The Guarantee" Patalano's promise of a sub-11 minute time. Finnegan finished fourth in the 3200 meters with a 10:56, nearly 10 seconds faster than his prior PR.
Jumper Tom Bulter leapt to a bronze in the sophomore high jump, clearing the 4'6" bar. This is especially encouraging, considering the Trojans have had trouble scoring in the field all season.
The future for the Trojans certainly is bright. The loss of Gallagher and his senior classmates may not be as crippling as it seemed only mere weeks ago. With Russo and the elder Trabold stepping into a leadership role, and the apparent talent of the younger runners, perhaps the boys can follow in the footsteps of their dominant female counterparts.
And that's something else I'm sure Kevin Patalano will guarantee.
(Editor's Note: The boys have a Division meet today at Wantagh High School at 4:30 p.m. To learn more about the boys varsity track team, visit http://gctf.shutterfly.com.)
