The Gray Bees threw down some fast times at New York Relays April 18; all together the team returned to the Hive with eight medals.

Freshman Ronald Kigen ran a fast time for the 3200-meter run. When the race began, Ronald stayed in contact with the pack. In the first mile, the group went through at 4:58. With 800m to go, a runner from Massapequa High School attempted to separate himself from the chase pack. In 400m, Ronald closed the gap and took the lead for the final lap. With no gas left in the tank, Ronald was caught in the last 200m by a runner from Danbury High School. Overall, Ronald finished second running 9 minutes and 37 seconds in the 3200m run.

Despite not walking away with a medal, UDII Juan Rosa ran the race of a lifetime. He set a personal best of 9:48 in the 3200m run, which is 19 seconds faster than his previous time. Juan placed seventh missing a medal by five seconds. At the moment, Ronald and Juan hold the fastest 3200m times in the state of New Jersey.

Senior Stephen Valvano and UDII Byron Simmons both went under 2 minutes in the 800-meter run. The two went out slowly, but closed fast.  In the first 400m, Stephen came through running 58 seconds, while Byron was just one second off him. With one lap to go, Stephen moved from eighth to fifth to secure a medal. Byron was unable to close fast enough, but he managed to go from 11th to seventh place.

“As a team we performed pretty well, but not to our capabilities,” Byron said. “Moving forward the goal is to stay fit and take care of our bodies, so we can move up in the rankings.”

The team achieved exactly what it set out to do because Stephen and Byron are currently leading the state of New Jersey in the 800m run.

The Gray Bee Sprinters were having a weekend as well. Senior Magnum Phelps and the 4x400m relay placed. Magnum ran the 400-meter hurdles. With 200m left in the race, Magnum found himself in last place. However, he did not quit; he closed the race winning heat two of the 400m hurdles. Magnum ran 55.94 seconds in the 400m hurdles to secure second place. His success did not stop on the track; on the field Magnum jumped 20-9.75 in the Boys Varsity Long Jump to secure third.

The 4×400-meter Relay consisting of UDI Kaylan DePas, Byron, Magnum and Stephen placed third finishing the race in 3 minutes and 23 seconds. Kaylan stepped up and ran a personal best in the 400m run; he ran a 51.5.

New York Relays gave the Gray Bees an opportunity to run against tough competitors in the tri-state era. Overall the meet was a step in the right direction as the team heads into Penn Relays and Championship Season

“Now it’s all about sharpening up for Penn Relays which is immediately followed by Essex County Relays, Loucks Games and Essex County Champs,” distance coach David Alfano said. “Championship season starts now and we will be ready.”