St. Anthony's teammates run 8:55, 8:56 at Loucks Games

By Brian Towey of DyeStat

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- During free periods at St. Anthony's High on Long Island, members of the school's track team would congregate at the office of Brother Antonio Morena. They knew it to be a place of calm, with candy and cookies, a sanctum that detailed the rich history of their track and field program.

PHOTOS

"Our track and field moderator, Brother Antonio, who's the heart and soul of this team, has two books called The Gregorek Years," Mason Gatewood said. "They're a bunch of old newspaper clippings from when (Olympian) John Gregorek ran at St. Anthony's."   

A few months ago Brother Antonio underwent a double heart bypass surgery, which affected the St. Anthony's team deeply.

"I really think the team has come together because of that," Gatewood said. "A bunch of people went out to the hospital to see him.

"One of the things we do before a race is pray. We say, 'Brother Antonio, pray for us.' We want to do well for him because he's always been there for us."

On Friday evening at the Glenn D. Loucks Games, Gatewood and teammate Matthew Payamps added their contribution to Brother Antonio and the St. Anthony track and field legacy, charging through a star-packed boys 3,200 meters to finish 1-2 in 8:55.00 and 8:56.06

"Mason!" Payamps shouted, as the two embraced after the finish line after leading six runners under nine minutes.

"Matt and I really trust our traning," Gatewood said. "We have a joke on our team: Our coach (Tim Dearie) speaks things into being. This happened last year, when I was a 1:56/4:30 runner during indoor season. He told me, you're going to run 4:12/1:52 outdoors. Then it happened. ... And during cross country season, he told me, you're going to win the Manhattan College Invitational and run 12:16. I ran 12:17, and I won.

"When he says it, we try to make it happen."

After East Aurora NY's Ian Russ pushed the field through a 4:29 opening 1,600 meters, Saratoga Springs NY's Shea Weilbaker and Loudon Valley VA's Colton Bogucki sprang to the front. With 300 meters to go, Gatewood pushed to the lead, with Payamps and Northport NY's Isaiah Claiborne close. Rounding the final turn, Gatewood pulled away, raising his arms in triumph. He wasn't alone in his euphoria.

"8:58!" yelled Saratoga Springs NY boys coach Shane Zanetti at Weilbaker. Windham CT's Alexander Korczynski finished third in 8:56.39, Claiborne fourth in 8:58.33, Bogucki fifth in 8:58.78 and Weilbaker sixth in 8:59.46.

"I've been thinking about this all year," Weilbaker said. "Every since I started running, I said, 'I want to break nine minutes.' To do it, it's incredible."

Before Gatewood and Payamps ran Friday night at White Plains High, they ran into a familiar face: Johnny Gregorek, Jr., the son of St. Anthony's great John Gregorek. It was a fitting sequence given how things played out, and what was to come.

"We know our history and we are connected to it," Gatewood said.