Look, it’s not easy when you’re a high school senior and trying to make time for everything.
Manhasset’s Kosta Georgiadis is a standout on the indoor track team, excelling in the triple jump and the 55-meter hurdles.
But he’s a Renaissance man, too. Kosta also currently stars in the high school production of “The Outsiders,” playing Bob, the leader of Soc’s who beats up Johnny early in the play, with the show debuting March 21.
So what’s a guy to do, focus on his dramatic work or his athletic talent?
It’s all good, Georgiadis said.
“It’s totally fine because Bob dies before Act II, so I have more time for track practice,” he said with a chuckle.
The theater’s loss is Manhasset’s gain, as Georgiadis’s win in the triple jump, and second place finish in the 55-meter hurdles, along with a fourth-place finish in pole, vault helped the Set boys’ team repeat as Class B indoor team champs on Feb. 5 at St. Anthony’s H.S.
Georgiadis leaped 43 feet,0.5 inches to win the triple jump.
“I didn’t know anything about triple jump when I joined the team freshman year, but I saw (former Manhasset star) Paul Park doing it and I wanted to try it,” Georgiadis said. “He really helped me train and I really got to like it a lot.”
In addition to Georgiadis, multiple Manhasset boys had strong showings, including senior Ewan Wang, who was second in triple jump and third in long jump, along with helping Manhasset’s 4×200 meter relay grab first place; Tristan Chang grabbed second in shot put. In the running events sophomore Nicolas Katsoulis, who coach Steve Steiner said is enjoying “one of the best seasons in Section VIII history,” won the 1600 meters, while John Hogan took first in the 1,000.
At the state qualifier Georgiadis made it in the triple jump, while Ryan Boldi advanced to the states in the 1,000.
Roslyn’s Zachary Davidson won the long jump, soaring to 20 feet, 7 ¼ inches.
On the girls side of the Class B meet, Manhasset’s Katie Farrer and Roslyn’s Diana Santos each took home first-place medals.
For Santos, a senior, winning the shot put with a toss of 31 feet, 8 1/2 inches was the culmination of a difficult indoor season.
“I had trouble reaching my peak this year and trying to have fun,” she said. “I was pretty confident going in that I could win it.”
Santos, having been to states several times in the past, decided not to compete at the state qualifying meet on Feb. 10.
“There’s a lot going on senior year, with college applications and other stuff, so I wanted to skip states and really focus on other things and come back in the spring and go for it,” Santos said.
Farrer, a freshman, won the 1,500 in 5:12.74, barely holding off several other runners in a frantic finish, after Farrer took the lead in the final 50 meters.
“I was pretty scared, because I didn’t think I was going to get it,” Farrer said. “The last lap, all of us were really close to each other and (the lead) went back and forth a little bit.”
Manhasset’s 4×800 team won in 10:31.45 as well.
In the Class A county girls’ meet, Port Washington senior Isabella Lucas cleared 5-4 to win the high jump and flew 36-10 ¼ to take the triple jump, returning to states again after qualifying at the state qualifying in both events.
Teammate Ashley Carillo will also head to states in the 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters, the fourth straight year she and Lucas both have made states.
Herricks junior boy Kenneth Ramdayal threw 52-11 1/2 in the shot put to win that event in Class A, and he also qualified for states a few days later,
The Class C meet saw North Shore girls win the team event, while Friends Academy’s Aislinn Frazer continued her dominant career, winning the girls’ 3,000 as a highlight to winning three events, and qualifying for states as well, while Joanna Kenney of North Shore also punched her ticket to states.
The state indoor meet, which combines all classes, will be held at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island on March 8.
