Andrew Rosenblatt's win in 1,600 gives Commack first indoor track county championship
Commack's Andrew Rosenblatt wins the 1600-meter run during the Suffolk large school boys indoor track and field championships on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, at Suffolk CC-Brentwood. Credit: Bob Sorensen
Andrew Rosenblatt was tired as he approached the final turn of the 1,600 meters Saturday. But the Commack senior didn’t care. He was chasing more than a victory. He was helping to chase history, and that was more than enough.
Rosenblatt, who spent a lot of the 1,600 comfortably in third place, sprinted hard towards the finish line, overtook the field, and clipped Bay Shore’s Dylan Beggins at the line, winning in four minutes, 30 seconds flat at the Suffolk Large School indoor track and field championships Saturday at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood.
His win helped Commack win the team championship with 78.5 points, their first indoor county title in school district history, coach Steve Lurie said.
"We worked really hard this year, especially through COVID," Rosenblatt said. "We lost a lot of seniors last year, so we were a really young group. I’m really proud of the way that we ran today…Our coach was preaching synergy all year and, working out together, I think it really came together today. We had a lot of tough workouts and I was really proud of the guys."
Coming off the 3,200 earlier in the meet (where he finished second to Northport’s Wyeth Semo), Rosenblatt said he decided to go for broke in the 1,600 when Smithtown West’s Tyler Nagosky took the lead late.
"At that point, I was feeling a little tired, but I knew I still had a lot in me," Rosenblatt said. "I was feeling comfortable. With 100 [meters] left to go, I knew I had to give it all I had. When it came to the last 55, I was neck and neck with [Beggins] and I didn’t want to lose. I knew that we had a team championship on the line and I was really thinking about the guys."
Losing? Rosenblatt just refused.
"I’ve been working really hard and I wasn’t going to take second," he said.
Beggins was second in 4:30.14. Nagosky was third in 4:32.43.
Rosenblatt’s teammate Brett Atkin won the 55-meter hurdles in 7.83 seconds. Commack’s Max Sereda threw 46 feet, 7 ½ inches to win the shot put.
Elsewhere, Floyd’s Eddy Vu won the 55 in 6.36 seconds, tying his mark from last weekend’s Millrose Games, currently the second-fastest time in the state, according to milesplit.com. Patchogue-Medford’s Niko Ferrante won the 1,000 in 2:38.33.
Huntington’s Julio Martinez won the 300 in 35.38 seconds, edging out Vu, who was second in 35.60.
"I knew that if I didn’t run that last 100 [meters] all out, that I wouldn’t have won," Martinez said. "Eddy [Vu] is really fast and if you don’t give it your all, he’s going to get you."
Martinez held off Vu again in the final lap of the 4X200 meter relay. Huntington’s 4X2 team, composed of Martinez, Christian Delgado, Andy Suazo, and Jahmar Francis, in 1:34.87. Francis also won the 600 from the unseeded section in 1:25.66.
In the field, Central Islip’s Ryan Antwi won the triple jump with a 46 foot flight, currently the second-best in the state, according to MileSplit.
It's the great NewsdayTV Thanksgiving special! Grateful, giving back and gathering with friends and family for a feast: NewsdayTV's team takes a look at how Long Islanders are celebrating Thanksgiving
It's the great NewsdayTV Thanksgiving special! Grateful, giving back and gathering with friends and family for a feast: NewsdayTV's team takes a look at how Long Islanders are celebrating Thanksgiving
