Newsday's All-Long Island boys track and field team 2026

Newsday Runner of the Year: Aidan Peterkin, Elmont, Sr.

He won four outdoor state championships, three of which were individual. He won the state title in the Class B 400 meters in 46.99 seconds, the top time in New York. He later won the Federation 400 in 47.36 and the Class B 200 in 21.42, which ranked second on Long Island and sixth in the state. He made for a dangerous anchor leg on the Spartans’ state Class B champion 4 x 400-meter relay team, as he finished in 46.93 to bring home the title in 3 minutes, 16.2 seconds.

He was projected for similar success during the indoor season, but he got sick in February, which ruined his progression. He was ranked atop the state leaderboard in the 300 at 33.89 for most of the winter, but that time ultimately ranked third in the state. 

Suffolk Runner of the Year: Anthony Anatol, Ward Melville, Sr.

Anatol is one of the best distance runners in the state.  He ran 9:01.3 in the 3,200 in May, good for fourth in the state, between the indoor and outdoor seasons. His 4:14.66 in the 1,600 was third on Long Island.

Newsday Field Athlete of the Year: Alex Molter, Connetquot, Sr.

He won the state Class A and Federation championships in the pole vault by clearing 16 feet, 3 inches, an all-time Suffolk record regardless of season. The No. 2 and No. 3 all-time spots also belong to him, as he cleared 16-1 to win the Suffolk Class B championship and 16-2 to win the Suffolk sectional championship. 

Nassau Field Athlete of the Year: Kenneth Ramdayal, Herricks, Sr.

He threw a state-best 189-1 to win the Nassau Class AAA discus championship. He also led the state in the weight throw, chucking it 80-6 at Nike Indoor Nationals. He was the state’s second-best shot putter during the outdoor season and third-best overall, throwing 59-11 ½ in April.

FIRST TEAM 

Michael Armendinger, Sachem East, Jr.

He had a big year, leading Long Island in the 55 at 6.38 and 100 at 10.62. Those times ranked fifth and tied for seventh in the state, respectively.

Leroy Barrett, Roosevelt, Sr.

He ranked fourth on Long Island in the 55 (6.43), second in the 100 (10.65) and third in the 200 (21.48). His 200 time ranked eighth in the state.

Joshua Buckley, Academy Charter, Soph.

He ranked fourth on Long Island in the 300 at 35.03 and led the 200 at 21.32. His 200 time won the Nassau AA championship and gave him the top spot in the state from May 18 - June 14. He also ranked ninth on Long Island in the 400 (49.5).

Evan Fraser, Patchogue-Medford, Sr.

The state Class A 400 champion won in 47.66 — the second-best time on Long Island and third-best mark in the state. He was also fourth on Long Island and 10th in the state in the 200 at 21.5.

Nigel Harris, Copiague, Sr.

Good sprinter, elite hurdler. He was second on Long Island and seventh in the state in the 55 (6.4), and sixth on LI in the 200 (21.87). However, in the 55 hurdles, he was second on Long Island and third in the state (7.27), while his 110 hurdles time (13.85) led the state. He was the Federation 110 hurdles champion in 14.08.

Aidan Hopkins, Kellenberg, Soph.

He won the CHSAA Intersectional championship in the 1,600, running 4:13.25. The mark ranked second on Long Island across the winter and spring. He also ranked fourth in the 3,200 at 9:20.03, which he ran indoors. 

Braeden Jackelow, Manhasset, Sr.

Indoors, he led Long Island in the 1,000 at 2:31.47. Outdoors, he won the state Class B title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a Long Island-best 9:23.51, the third-best mark in the state. He also ran the second leg of Manhasset's Class B and Federation champion 4 x 800-meter relay. As a solo runner in the 800, he ranked fourth on Long Island in 1:54.95.

Jonah Kim, Syosset, Sr.

He cleared 15-3 in the pole vault during the winter season, which ranked third in the state during the indoor season and sixth overall between the two. He cleared 15-1 ¾ during the spring, which was fifth in the state in the outdoor season.

Khadin Muhammad, West Babylon, Sr.

He held the top ranking in the state in the triple jump for most of the indoor season, and finished it ranked second at 49-6. Outdoors, he finally broke 50, flying 50-3 ½  as the runner-up at the state championships — again claiming the No. 2 ranking on the state leaderboard. His 50-3 ½ ranked third in the state overall between the two seasons.

Michael Muoio, Valley Stream North, Sr.

He won the state Class B pole vault championship at 14-6 — a number he reached in both seasons.

Zach Paggi, Kellenberg, Jr.

He was Long Island’s leader in the 600 during the indoor season (1:20.98) and the 800 outdoors (1:52.26). He ranked sixth in the state in the 600 and seventh in the 800. He was also a key piece of the Firebirds’ elite 4 x 800 squad, which ranked second in the state indoors at 7:50.91 and eighth outdoors at 7:52.22. That indoor time was sixth in the state between both seasons.

Jordan Peck, North Babylon, Sr.

He was the state’s best 400 hurdler for the second year in a row, running 52.4 to lead all athletes and winning his second consecutive Federation title in 52.89.

Anthony Pisciotta, Commack, Sr.

He ranked fourth on Long Island and sixth in the state in the weight throw (68-11) during the indoor season. He threw 171-2 to win the state Class A discus championship and finished the outdoor season with a best throw of 178-10 — second on Long Island and third in the state. He was also fifth on Long Island in the shot put at 55-1, the number hit during the indoor season.

Andrew Senf, Ward Melville, Jr.

He was Long Island’s best 1,600 runner at 4:12.21 and second-best 3,200 runner at 9:05.05. His 3,200 time ranked fifth in the state during the outdoor season and seventh in both seasons combined. 

Jonathan Szymanski, Chaminade, Sr.

He led the state during the indoor season with a throw of 61-9 ¼ in the shot put. That mark was the second-best in the state between the two seasons. He also ranked third on Long Island and fifth in the state in the weight throw (69-4 ¼) during the winter. He was Long Island’s fifth-best and the state’s 10th-best discus thrower (167-4).

Brandon Thweatt, Baldwin, Sr.

He won the indoor state title with a New York No. 1 time of 7.26 in the 55 hurdles. He later won the outdoor Class A state title in the 110 hurdles at 13.98, which was also a state-best time until Harris passed it.

Manhasset 4x800-meter relay (Luke Falco, Jr., Braeden Jackelow, Sr., Nic Katsoulis, Jr., Blake Sealy, Sr.)

The group had a down — albeit, still solid — winter season, losing its state championship victory streak. However, it more than made up for it with an elite spring, winning both the Class B and Federation titles in a state-best 7:44.77.

Long Island Coach of the Year: Shelby White, Connetquot

His program won both the Suffolk large schools team county championship indoors and the Suffolk Class B team championship outdoors for the second consecutive season. The T-Birds scored 56 points in the indoor victory while splitting the outdoor title with Northport at 139 points. His coaching helped produce a state and Federation champion pole vaulter in Molter. His team won three events at the indoor county meet and five at the outdoor county meet.

Nassau Coach of the Year: Dennis Kornfield, Uniondale

The Knights won the Nassau Class A team title during the indoor season with 99 points and won the Nassau Class AAA team title with 87 points during the outdoor season. They won five events at the indoor county meet and six at the outdoor county meet. Their 4 x 400-meter relay was ranked No. 1 in the state from May 16 - June 4 and finished the outdoor season seventh with a 3:16.78.