As the Mineola Boy’s 2014-15 winter track team approaches the Conference Championship, they look back at a tremendous season, spearheaded by a core foundation of 11 seniors. The 70-man squad is led by six senior Captains Doug Demagistris, Rob Lang, Chris Mueller, Kyle Mularchuk, John Murray, and Andrew Pereira.
These six have been fighting the cold temperatures and harsh conditions all season as they lead by example with their irreplaceable work ethic and dedication. They have also achieved at a high level in several of the crossover competitions.
Lang started the season off right with his fifth-place finish in the 1000 meters at the team’s first crossover meet at St. Anthony’s High School. Lang posted an impressive seed time of 1:56.66 and continues to be one of the team’s most reliable mid-distance runners.
Equally impressive was Mueller’s 10:54 3200 meter performance, landing him ninth out of 31 athletes between two conferences. Later in the season, he hammered out a 4:45 mile, placing him 12th out of 46 competitors at another crossover meet.
John Murray is one of the most versatile athletes on the team. His talents this season have ranged from a second place finish out of 46, at the 1000 and a fifth place finish out of 80 in the 600.
Unlike most mid-distance runners, Murray is also one of the team’s best triple jumpers, boasting a personal best of 37 plus feet. Doug Demagistris has continued the Mineola distance runner’s lineage with his ferocious work ethic each and every day Doug’s sub five-minute mile performance this season landed him with a 18 place finish out of 46 individuals.
Holding down the field events is senior squad leader Tommy Farrell and senior captains Kyle Mularchuk and Andrew Pereira.
Farrell’s impressive 5-foot-6 inch high-jumping ability and Mularchuk’s 35-plus foot triple jumping skills will be instrumental in the upcoming Nassau Conference Championships. Pereira’s monster 40-foot shot putting talents will be another key piece to the teams hopeful third conference championship in the last four years.
As for the hurdling squad, Eric Lopez has been a key piece to the teams success over the last four years. His expertise and dedication to improvement will be sorely missed both on and off the track as the team starts to rebuild in the following years.
