Congratulations to Ward Melville track runners Anthony Anatol, Luke Jantzen, Jon Seyfert, and Andrew Senf, who ran at the New Balance Nationals in Boston and shattered the school record in the 4xMile with a blazing time of 17:51 (the previous record was 18:25)!
Have a milestone from your school or program that you would like to share? Email SectionXIMilestones@gmail.com.
Longtime Port Jeff track and cross country coach Rod Cawley passed away recently. Section XI is sad about the loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with Rod’s family and friends.
Cawley coached from 1981 through 2021 in various capacities: Port Jefferson Boys Cross Country (1994-2020), Port Jefferson Girls Winter Track (1987-1989), Boys Winter Track (1990-2021), and Port Jefferson Boys Spring Track (1987-2021).
In his 30-plus years of coaching, Cawley had successfully kept the long tradition of Port Jefferson excellence alive on both the track and the cross-country fields.
As a cross-country coach, Cawley’s teams were 142-18, resulting in 18 League championship titles, 6 Division/Conference titles, and 16 County Class titles.
While coaching at Port Jefferson, Cawley’s individual runners also experienced success. In 1999, Eric Fleckstein was an overall County Champion; in 2001, Brendan Sullivan was a Footlocker National finalist. Winter track teams recorded seven league titles and three Small School County Championships. James Burke was a standout runner for Cawley, setting county records in the 1000m (2:26.75) and the mile (4:08.48) in his senior year (2015).
Spring Track teams under Coach Cawley were 195- 34- 1 in dual meet competition and earned 19 League titles. They also won five County/Division titles during this time. In 2001, “small school” Port Jefferson was crowned Long Island Team Champions by winning an end-of-the-year meeting consisting of the top five schools from Nassau County and the top five schools from Suffolk County. Quality prevailed over quantity there.
Cawley was named League Coach of the Year 44 times and County Coach of the Year 24 times. For his Long Island Championship in 2001, he was named Overall County Coach of the Year for his efforts.
While Cawley was busy running his own team, he found time to help promote track and field overall in Suffolk County. As head coach, Port Jefferson High School was the site of the Section XI State Qualifier Meet for 17 years. Being in charge of running a 1,000-plus-athlete meet for two days while coaching your own team is an overwhelming task. Cawley did it successfully and was always a great host to all participants, coaches, and spectators.
For many people, the marinated steak sandwiches prepared by PJ Track Parents were an annual delight to purchase after their events or while watching the meet on Friday evenings.
The memories of the meetings at Port Jefferson were very special and will live on for all those who attended.
One athlete who returned year after year to the State Qual Meet said it was like going to a game at Yankee Stadium and being in that atmosphere was special in itself.
So, just in case we did not say it enough over the years, thank you, Coach Cawley, for hosting all those great meets.
Tony Toro was a constant presence in Suffolk County track and field for more than 60 years. We lost the coaching and track visionary in early January. He was 77.
As an athlete, he was a two-time Suffolk County Class A champion in the mile in 1965 and 1966. He also set a county record in the 1,600 at 4:26 in 1965 at the county championship.
As a coach, he led Longwood to 15 league titles and six county championships across three decades. He later coached at St. Anthony’s.
In 1999 he te developed Just-In-Time Racing to track athlete times at events and publish them on a website that revolutionized the statistical analysis and record-keeping for the sport, especially on a local level.
He was also the Section XI cross-country and track and field coordinator for more than 20 years.
Tony is survived by his wife, Lynn, and his daughter-in-law, Krystina.
Section XI is debuting a new “Athletes of the Week” program where each week during the school year we will honor a top male and female athlete.
Nominees are submitted by school district athletic directors.
This week we’re honoring Jared Trefney from Half Hollow Hills East High School, and Nicole Leslie from Huntington High School.
Female Athlete of the Week: Nicole Leslie, Huntington
Leslie recorded a double-double in a win over Centereach and a loss against North Babylon.
She had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 5 steals against Centereach, and 17 points, 13 rebounds and 4 steals against the Bulldogs.
Leslie has worked extremely hard over the past few years to reach this personal best and has grown into a strong leader for Huntington hoops.
Male Athlete of the Week: Jared Trefney, Hills East
Just days after spraining his ankle, Trefney won the 55-meter race at the Millrose Games Trials in 6.53 seconds.
This win officially qualified for him for Millrose Games on February 3 at The Armory.
