Rewriting the Smithtown East Record Book

Boys Winter Track Team Sets Seven New Marks This Season

Story and Photos By Jay Beatty

(click on photos to enlarge)

(Additional Photos Courtesy of MileSplit NY)

Sophomore Daniel Claxton leaps en route to a new Smithtown East indoor High Jump record o 6’-6” at Suffolk County Community College.It’s cold outside, but the Smithtown East Boys Track team is red hot!  And just in time for the championship meets for the League, County, and State Qualifer.

Led by a talented group of seniors, the East runners, throwers, and jumpers, the squad has combined to shatter seven school records – some marks more than once this season..

“Saying goodbye to our seniors will mean a huge hit next year, but we’re focused on this year,” said East Coach Kathie Borbet.

“The last time we had a season even close to this was 2006-200077 when we won the counties…and this team has been taking out records from 1997-1998 when my sons were on the team and the 2006-7 teams; and those two teams were combined [Smithtown East and West.]”

“This is probably the best team Smithtown East has ever seen.  For Smithtown East alone to break seven records held by combined teams is pretty amazing.”

Seven Records

At a Suffolk Crossover meet, the East squad (l-r) of Shane Harris, Eric Herrmann, Matt Whalen, and Will Claxton set a new school Winter Track record in the 4 x 400 meter RelayThe record-setting events include the High Jump, the Shot Put, the 300 Meter Dash, the 600 Meter Run, the 800 Meter Run, the 4 x 400 M Relay, and the 4 x 800 Meter Relay.

Senior sprinter Shane Harris broke the 300m record in 36.20 st Suffolk Community College, and proceeded to lower the mark to 35.69 at the Armory.

Senior Matthew Whalen broke both the 800m record and 600m in times of 1:57.8 and 1:24.78.  He also lowered the 600m mark.  

Junior Dominik Oramas broke the shot put record and currently has the best throw on Long Island at 53’7”.25. 

Sophomore Daniel Claxton broke the high jump record in 6’6” and currently has the best jump in the state, with his winning leap at the Stanner Games of 6’-7”. 

The 4 x 400 Meter Relay team of seniors Will Claxton, Matthew Whalen, Eric Herrmann and Shane Harris ran 3:29.83 at the Armory, just missing qualifying  for the Millrose Games with this time.  They had previously broken the mark with a 3:32 at SCCC.

At the North Shore Invitational at the New Balance Armory on December 26, the 4 x 800 Meter Relay squad of (l-r) Eric Herrmann, Patrick Teese, Marius Sidlauskas, and Matthew Whalen set a new school record of 8:14.41 en route to a Gold Medal win.The 4 x 800 Meter Relay squad of seniors Eric Herrmann, Matthew Whalen, Patrick Teese and junior Marius Sidlauskas set a new time at 8:14.41 in winning the Gold Medal at the North Shore Invitational at the Armory.

Standout Athletes

“Whalen  can cover everything from the 400m to the 3200m, “ said Borbet.  He has records in the 600m, 800m,  4x400m and 4x800m relays.

“Matt is totally versatile with speed that comes from I don’t know where.  Whatever he’s eating , everyone else should start eating!”

“Harris has done an amzaing  job with his 35.69 in the 300 meter dash.”

“The boys mix and match really well.  Tthe 800m kids can mix in the 400,m. the 400 m in with the 200,  We’re probably one of the few teams in the counties that might be able to scoie in all three relays.  Pretty good matchups to be excited about!”

“All the seniors are going to be irreplaceable; they’re the heart of this team.  As coach, you’re only as good as th4e athletes you have and these kids are amazing.”

Scholars, Too

The talent on the East team extends beyond the track.

“Academically,  the boys are  incredibale , said Borbet.  “These are kids with GPAS over 4.0 They’re  all National Honor Society, and other honor societies.  They have  intelligence arcross the board and the colleges they looking at tremendous…Ivies and more.”

Borbet noted with anticipation for the championships that some of the marks are not just SHSE records but among the best marks in the county and state.  League Championships are this coming Sunday at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood.

Spring Season

Coach Borbet is looking forward to more, especially the spring season to come!

“Winter track is tougher to run, even if we do have the banked track at the Armory; the new track surface at Suffolk Community College is really good and we’re seeing faster times this season from last year.”

“It’s also harder to train outside in the cold weather,” Borbet noted.  “In the spring, as the season progresses, it’s easier to run outside.  The teams are also running on a 400 meter track as opposed to 200 meters, which makes a big difference.”

“I expect many of the boys will run even better in the spring, meaning we can expect even better times,” she concluded.

Department Of Parks Employees Locate And Extricate The 1965 Time Capsule

Three Smithtown Parks employees, Brendan Boylan, Tim Dollard and Ed Spinella worked diligently to locate and to extricate the buried 1965 time capsule.  There was some confusion as to where the time capsule had been buried as there didn’t seem to be any written documentation. People who attended the time capsule burial 50 years ago in 1965 were not quite sure where it was buried some thought it was to the left of the entrance others to the right. Last week Parks searched the property with a metal detector to no avail. On Wednesday, the three Parks employees,* after locating the site to the left of the entrance (looking from the street) were Supervisor Patrick Vecchio with 1965 Time Capsule interrupted when they received information from the Smithtown Engineering Department. Engineering located a map with the exact location of the burial site. The map even pinpointed the location of the milk can (time capsule). What was not anticipated was a concrete slab almost 6ft long, 4ft wide and 3ft deep. It took a lot of strength, determination and in the end finesse, to wiggle the 3ft dairy can out of the cement.  The can is remarkably well preserved with no indication that what is inside has been disturbed. Brendon, Tim and Ed carried the heavy time capsule up to the Supervisor’s office where it will be secured until the big reveal on March 3, 2015.  The capsule will be opened at the scheduled Town Board meeting that is open to the public.  Until then keep guessing about what is in the time capsule!

*Article was amended to reflect the time capsule was located by the men prior to receiving the map. 

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Smithtown Rotary Gets A Preview of Town's 350 Celebration Events

L-R Joann Elar Betts and Lillian MunroRotarian Richard SmithSmithtown 350 Foundation members Kathleen Albrecht, Tony Tanzi, JoAnn Elar Betts and Lillian Munro brought history to the Smithtown Rotary Club on Wednesday, January 21.

Rotarian Richard Smith (also a member of 350 Foundation), a direct descendent of the original Smythes, introduced  Kathleen Albrect and Tony Tanzi, who then spoke about events planned for the Town’s year long 350 Anniversary celebration.  They stressed the importance of everyone enjoying as well as actively participating in the historic celebrations. For a list of scheduled events visit Smithtown350foundation.org. 

Rotarians learned that the time capsule buried in 1965 has been removed from the ground, is safely secured and ready for the big reveal.Kathleen Albrecht The time capsule will Tony Tanzibe opened at the March 3rd Town Board meeting where its contents will be divulged by Town Board members dressed in historic garb. The March 3rd Town Board Meeting is open to the public.

The celebration events begin with a presentation at the Smithtown Library on February 25, the Bull Smythe Relay on March 1, Town Board meeting on March 3 and a celebratory Gala on March 5.

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The Countdown For The March 1, 2015 Bull Smythe Relay Has Begun!

The Bull Smythe Relay is the kick off event for Smithtown’s 350th Anniversary Celebration.  The committee planning the celebratory events, Smithtown 350 Foundation, is hosting an olympic style run around the Town of Smithtown. The Town has been divided into 36 miles. Each mile has a sponsor who has contributed $250 to the Foundation which goes towards funding the year-long celebration.  

The Foundation began selling the miles in December and as of this afternoon only two of the 36 miles are unclaimed. Each mile will be run by an individual or a team (maximum 10 people) who will carry a copy of the Town’s 1665 patent. The team will turn the baton (patent) over to the next team at the end of their mile.  The route was planned to emulate the legend of Bull Smythe’s riding a bull around the territory now known as Smithtown.  

In addition to the relay there is a Birthday Gala scheduled for March 5th. The Town Board will open the time capsule buried in 1965 on March 3, 2015 at a scheduled Town Board meeting.

There is a list of Bull Smythe Relay sponsors at Smithtown350foundation.org as well as  a calendar of events planned throughout 2015.

Plan to participate in one, some or all of the events and be a part of Smithtown’s History.  

Smithtown Native David DiVona Making His Mark With Proven Entertainment Developmint

Entertainment industry veterans launch Proven Entertainment Development to find the next small screen hit

Multiple Emmy award-winning producer of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” has made developing and selling programming easy 

LOS ANGELES – Jan. 14, 2015 – Multi-Emmy award winning reality television mogul Conrad Ricketts (“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Fear Factor”) has teamed up with Producer David DiVona (“Tattoo Turnaround and The Last Adventure”) and William Howe, former host of the Playboy Channel and creator of “Bars Pubs and Grub” to create what promises to be one of the brightest development companies. Proven Entertainment Developmint is a strong, direct link from the creative minds who birth concepts, to all of the major networks both on television as well as on the ever-changing second screen of online digital content with heavy hitters such as Amazon, Netflix and Hulu at the helm. Having sold one of Hulu’s biggest shows, “Sons of the Fallen,” Ricketts has been intimately involved in developing web content since the inception of the space.

David DiVona | Producer Producer of The Last Adventure on the Travel Channel, Tattoo Turnaround, and show runner on over 30 shows.Proven Entertainment is made up of a powerhouse trio of a seasoned television vet, an on-air personality & creative guru and a hungry cutting edge producer. Conrad L Ricketts | Producer Conrad is a multiple Emmy Award Winning producer. He has has worked on a wide range of projects including Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Fear Factor, Sons of the Fallen and Tattoo Turn Around.Ricketts and DiVona  have worked together on over a dozen reality-based programs and are excited to team up with the creative force of Howe (center). The group has all the tools at their disposal to develop and sell the next generation of engaging television. All the ingredients are there to make this the go-to company for pitching and selling the next generation of television.

The group will filter through the hundreds of ideas they get every week and let the standout concepts work their way on to screens around the world. DiVona stated, “Not every idea brought to us is going be to embraced and we will not risk our well-earned William Howe | Managing Partner Created and sold Bars, Pubs & Grub to a major network, and also has several projects in the hopper, with over 20 years of experience.reputation by taking on every client that comes in front of us. If we feel an idea will sell, our team will develop it, if not, then the partners are going to be up front and turn them away.”

Proven Entertainment will make the entire process, from concept, one-sheets and sizzle reels, all the way through to pitching full decks to their overflowing rolodex of decision makers, easily navigated so that the programs that belong in front of viewers, get their shot.

For more information, please visit http://www.provenentertainment.com