Ekaidat Scores 10 Points at NEC Meet

Jordan Ekaidat scored 10 points to pace the Winthrop High boys track team at Saturday’s Northeastern Conference All- League Meet.

The versatile senior took second place in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet- 4.25 inches and fifth in the 400 dash in 53.84 seconds. Jordan qualified for the State Divisional Meet tomorrow (Friday) in both the 400 and the long jump.

Other Vikings who competed in the NEC Meet were: Dave Gallo with a ninth place in the discus with a toss of 106-5, which was the sophomore’s best throw of the season; Matt Stasio with a 14th place in the discus with a twirl of 93-6; Jimmy Barker with an 11th in the javelin with a throw of 122-10; Pat Brogan with a 17th in the mile in 5:28; Brian Manning with a 5:32 in the mile, good for 20th place, which was a personal record (PR) for Brian; and Rob Ascolillo in the 400 low hurdles with a 14th place finish in 70.10.

In addition, the Viking 4 x 400 relay quartet of Mike Caputo, Ekaidat, Brogan, and Barker finished in eighth place in a time of 3:53, their fastest clocking of the year.

“We are excited that Jordan will be representing Winthrop at the state divisional meet,” said WHS head coach Dennis Floyd. Floyd noted that the Vikings will be saying good bye to seniors Ekaidat, Chris Batts, and Caputo.

Returning Viking tracksters are Captains Brogan and Stasio, Barker, Gallo, Manning, Nick Floyd, and Rob Ascolillo, all of whom figure to be major factors in the rebuilding of Winthrop track and field in the years to come.

“We have developed a strong nucleus of talented athletes who are very dedicated,” said Floyd. “These athletes are excited to put Winthrop back on top of the NEC. In one season I have gotten to know many talented athletes in the town of Winthrop and I am looking forward to helping these athletes develop into champions in the near future.

“This year as a team, one of our goals was to be competitive in dual meet competition,” continued the coach. “We managed to cover all events and score more points than we had anticipated. One of my goals as a coach was to get as many athletes to the conference meet as we could and we did it by sending a large percentage of our team to compete. Next year we will set a whole new set of goals and continue our success. We will be looking for new recruits to join us and help us accomplish these goals.”