Northport Track Stars Honored For Stellar Winter Season

Four special Northport High School athletes were honored at the April 12 board of education meeting for their excellence during the winter indoor track season.

Elijah Claiborne, Isaiah Claiborne, Thomas Fodor and Dan O’Connor put on the best statistical performance in the 4x800 relay in Suffolk County’s history. Their record-breaking time of 7:46:36 helped them earn the title of New York State Public School champion. The team also won both the League and Suffolk County championships during the 2018 season.

Isaiah Claiborne flourished as well, earning the crown of New York State champion in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:26.95, which was just 2/10 of a second short of the all-time Suffolk County record for the event.

The four students were honored by Director of Health, Physical Education and Athletics Mark Dantuono, as well as the board of education and visiting community members. Dantuono stressed that the winter season presented challenging training conditions each day, making it next to impossible to perform at the optimal level, but that didn’t stop these athletes.

“This is where their strong will and desire to succeed comes into play,” Dantuono said. “No matter what challenge or obstacle they faced, they found a way to get the job done.”

Story, Photos courtesy of the Northport-East Northport School District:

1. (From L to R) Isaiah Claiborne, Dan O’Connor, Thomas Fodor and Elijah Claiborne were honored for their record-breaking performance, which earned them the crown of New York State Public School Champion.
2. Isaiah Claiborne was recognized for his exceptional performance at the New York State Championship in indoor track. His 1000-meter performance was enough to earn him top honors for first place.