Boys track and field spotlight: Chaminade's Dan Egan takes advantage of field change to win 1,000 at Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA championships
Daniel Egan from Chaminade strides to victory in the 1,000-meter run at the CHSAA indoor track and field championships at St. Anthony's on Jan. 26. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
According to the seed sheet, none of what took place in the boys 1,000 meters at the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA championships last Sunday was supposed to happen. Atop the list of those unexpected results was Chaminade junior Dan Egan.
Egan’s classmate, Sean Loggie, was projected to win the championship , but he was out sick. Loggie’s absence opened the door for St. Anthony’s senior Regan Macpherson — the No. 2 seed — to win it, but he did not race either. So, it became a duel between third-seeded Egan and fourth-seeded Nicholas Caroddo — a junior from St. Anthony’s.
The two passed each other on multiple occasions but, in the final 100 meters, Egan took the lead for good and finished in 2 minutes, 41.47 seconds to become a league champion. He finished just 0.19 seconds ahead of Caroddo.
“I ran the same race last year and it wasn’t my best race, so to come back and win it feels really good,” Egan said. “I knew that, when it came down to the 1,000, that I could get it. And I was prepared to do that. Towards the end, I knew I wasn’t going to let anyone beat me.”
Holy Trinity's Josey earns first title
Jalen Josey of Holy Trinity celebrates his victory in the 55-meter dash at the CHSAA indoor track and field championships at St. Anthony's on Jan. 26. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
Another first-time winner at the NSCHSAA championships was Holy Trinity junior Jalen Josey, who had long desired to stand on the first-place step of the podium. After finishing second in the 55 at last year’s league championships, he spent a lot of his time visualizing how it was going to go the next time he got his opportunity.
This time around, it went exactly as Josey had planned. He ran 6.54 to beat Kellenberg sophomore Damion Gordon Jr. by 0.06 seconds and claim his first title. Upon crossing the finish line, Josey roared in excitement.
“I pictured this exact moment,” he said. “On the ride here, I was watching videos of [Olympian] Christian Coleman and 60-meter specialists. I was just visualizing myself winning this race for the past two weeks. It was close, but towards the end … I knew I was going to win, so I just let it all out then.”
Record-setters
Several Nassau County records were broken in January.
Roslyn senior Zachary Davidson broke the county pole-vault mark when he cleared 15 feet, 3 inches at the Hispanic Games at the Armory in Manhattan, surpassing Massapequa's Nick Bianco’s 2020 mark by 1 ¾ inches.
Elmont’s boys 4x200 relay team finished in 1:29.09 at the Officials Hall of Fame Invitational at the Armory, breaking Uniondale’s 2018 record by 0.03 seconds.
Elmont’s record-breaking team consisted of junior Aidan Peterkin and seniors Dominic Collins, R’Len Richards and Caleb Harris. Though the quartet’s time together is almost up, Elmont coach Mike Graham believes the best is yet to come.
“The record is very cool because we strive for excellence and to do the best that we can,” Graham said. “We’re not just looking at what we can do in high school, we’re looking [at] how to move on from high school - how to be better citizens, how to be better students in college, how to be better athletes in college. And that’s my focus for them: it’s not just the here and now, but also what’s coming.”
East Meadow junior Zaria Hall ran a 2:49 flat in the 1,000 at the Armory's Dr. Sander Scorcher meet, breaking the 2:49.86 mark set by Clarke's Irene Rupoli in 1989.
