Rams and Lady Rams T&F team race against time, look good in the Somers Lions Club Invitational

May 8, 2024 at 9:46 p.m.

The one sure thing in Track & Field is that you can't coach speed, you either have it or you don't. But you can coach a fast runner to run faster and the farther you go, the faster you can become. That is, if you put in the time and effort to build the power in your legs. Because if you do that, the ground-gulping stride will come. And so will the results.

That is part of what the times tell you as recorded by the Port Chester Rams and Lady Rams T&F team in their latest multi-team meet, the Somers Joe Wynne Lions Club Invitational last Saturday (5/4).

Time tells tale

That Lions Club tale begins with the 100 meters, basically an all-out short distance sprint.

And the rule of thumb starts with a basic premise: 12 seconds indicates a fast runner, 11 seconds a faster runner and if you break 11 and dip into the high 10-second category, you are going to medal every time.

By those standards, junior Marc Dorsainvil, a football running back, is the Rams’ fastest sprinter because he clocked 11:94 in the 100 meters and finished sixth in Class A in the Somers meet.

Moving up ladder

And as has been the case throughout the spring season so far, Ramaul Morgan, an All-Section soccer hotshot, and Jaycee Rodriguez were close behind with times of 12:05 and 12:50.

By moving up in distance, 25 seconds for the 200 meters is fast, 24 seconds is faster and breaking 24 edges into the medalist category.

This time Anderson Duran, who has run the distance in the high 23s as has Dorsainvil, clocked 24:82 as the fastest Ram over the 200-meter distance.

Put any combination of those four runners together in a group that also includes senior running back John Delcid as the lead-off leg who can fight his way through traffic going into the first turn and you have the makings of a solid 4x200-meter relay.

That's what the Rams did, with Morgan sitting it out this time around and the Rams finishing fifth in Class A in the 4x200 meters while clocking 1:38.75 in that event running with a lineup that included Delcid, Dorsainvil, Rodriguez and Duran.

Middle distance tests

What those times also tell you if you follow T&F is that those runners can run fast for longer runs, not quite distance, more like middle distance.

And sure enough, with each runner racing the metric equivalent of a quarter miler, there was Delcid and Morgan running the first two legs on the 4x400-meter relay with Rodriguez, another of the Rams’ better sprinters, running anchor and regular quarter miler Joseantonio Velasquez striding through the third leg. They finished in the time of 3:58:52 which means they all broke a well-conditioned 60 seconds for the quarter mile, not spectacular but good enough to finish third in the event—the Rams’ best relay showing on the day.

Solid Ram performances

Other solid Ram performances included the continuing improvement of sophomore Santiago Marquez, the triathlon-running transfer from Venezuela who is also a mountain biker, ocean swimmer and already the best swimmer in Ram history. Marquez ran the 800 meters in 2:11.64, a time that indicates strong potential as a middle distance runner because he has already clocked under 5:10 for the mile and was the only Ram to make the All-League cross-country team. That means if he continues distance training and builds up his speed, he could very well be college athletic scholarship material in T&F.

The Rams also showed strength in the field events such as the shot put and discus with Alejandro Velasquez throwing the shot 28:2 while hurling the discus 64:09 and Miguel Valdovinos came through with throws of 28:5 and 63:13:11. Nicholas Wolff, a sprinter, continued to impress with a long jump of 16:10, less than his best but still good enough on what was an off day for him.

All in all, Port Chester continues to get better under new Ram head coach Greg Domestico and his veteran sidekick Nick Mancuso.

The leading ladies 

Lady Rams head coach Danny Alvarado also saw good results in the performance of Liz (Elle) Cruz, Mia Pagnotta and Casey Schutz, who finished fifth, seventh and ninth in the 200 meters in the respective times of 27:07, 29:09 and 29:47. Cruz and Pagnotta came back to run the 400 meters with Cruz clocking 1:05.48 and Pagnotta hitting 1:07.6. Alexa Aguiriano ran the distance in 1:1:11.15. And Juliana Castillo and Andrea Barajas sprinted the 100 meters in 14:34 and 14:74 while Alexandra (Alee) Cruz strode through the 800 meters in 2:53.69.

That group provided the nucleus of the relay teams that did well in the relays.

Pagnotta, Liz Cruz, Aguiriano and Alexandra Cruz, for example, teamed up to finish third in the 4x400-meter relay in a time of 4:40.67. Castillo, Schultz, Pagnotta and Liz Cruz raced to a fifth place finish in the 4x200-meter relay while clocking 1:54.65.

Castillo was also among the leading Lady Rams in the field events with a 14:10 leap in the long jump that vaulted her into a seventh place finish. And Kimberly Maldonado and Maria Garcia showed prowess in the shot put and discus with Maldonado recording throws of 21:01 and 48:07 while Garcia hurled 20:10 and 41:00.

On the run again

Those performances add up to the fact that the Rams and Lady Rams have their collective eye on still more improvements in the upcoming Doc Rasbeck Relays Saturday (5/11) at 9:30 a.m. in Irvington as a tune-up for the League Championships Monday and Tuesday (5/13/14) at Horace Greeley and Fox Lane respectively, both at 4:30 p.m.

That should provide a good test of how the T&F team shapes up against the area's best.