Kennedy’s Cummings Nabs First In New York State Pentathlon

After a standout four-year athletic career, John F. Kennedy High School senior Ryan Cummings recently took first place at the New York State Track and Field Championships in the pentathlon.

The pentathlon consists of five events: long jump, high jump, 110m high hurdles, shot put and the 1500m run.

Cummings has been running track since the spring of his freshman year. As a ninth grader, he was a standout hurdler in the 110m high hurdles. In his sophomore year, he began competing in the long and triple jump as well as the hurdles where he was a standout in all three events. He was a county finalist in the hurdles as a sophomore.

After a successful sophomore year, the thought was that, based on Cummings’ athleticism and outstanding ability, he would compete in the pentathlon his junior year, explained coach Chris Baker. He competed in the pentathlon as a junior, where he was the county champion in the pentathlon and earned All-State honors.

"During the season, we focused on exposing him to all of the events that he would do in the pentathlon at each league meet," said Baker. "Ryan is a standout in the high hurdles, the long and the triple jump. He was division champion in these events and All-County in them as well."

Cummings competed at the prestigious Loucks Games, where he was on the podium for the pentathlon and then he won the pentathlon at the Bulldog invitational.

"At the state qualifier meet, Ryan was the man to beat and two athletes met the state standard for the pentathlon providing Ryan with the push he needed to improve his pent score," Baker said. "At the state meet, he was seeded as one of the top athletes going in and came out the victor in the end."

Photo: Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District