ST. ANTHONY'S ATHLETICS

ST. ANTHONY'S ATHLETICS

ST. ANTHONY'S ATHLETICS

ST. ANTHONY'S HIGH SCHOOL, NY Franciscan Brothers

ST. ANTHONY'S HIGH SCHOOL, NY Franciscan Brothers

ST. ANTHONY'S HIGH SCHOOL, NY Franciscan Brothers

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ST. ANTHONY'S ATHLETICS

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ST. ANTHONY'S ATHLETICS

ST. ANTHONY'S HIGH SCHOOL, NY Franciscan Brothers

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ST. ANTHONY'S ATHLETICS

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ST. ANTHONY'S ATHLETICS

ST. ANTHONY'S HIGH SCHOOL, NY Franciscan Brothers

Boys Varsity/JV Winter Track & Field


Headlines.

Athlete of the Week is St. Anthony’s Heron Maurisseau-O’Neal -
6.0 years ago

Photo Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy

By Jordan Lauterbachjordan.lauterbach@newsday.com  @jlauterbach1Updated 

Never discount the pull of an opponent. Sometimes, as fast as a sprinter may be, having another to chase can make all the difference. It’s just human nature — a person is way easier to chase than a time. Heron Maurisseau–O’Neal experienced this first hand Tuesday night.

The St. Anthony’s sprinter ran the 55 meters in 6.34 seconds at the 84th Eastern States indoor championships at The Armory in Manhattan. Maurisseau–O’Neal finished second in the race, chasing Mario Heslop of New Jersey’s Franklin Township, who won in 6.26 seconds, the whole way.

Having Heslop beside him helped Maurisseau-O’Neal run exactly the time he had in mind when the meet started, a gigantic personal best. His previous top time was 6.39, run at the CHSAA championships on Jan. 28.

“I think [Heslop] was definitely was a big help,” Maurisseau–O’Neal said. “Anyone who’s running 6.2 is going to give you a little bit of push. But mainly, I think you need to have the mindset of ‘hey, this guy is going to help me PR’ and not ‘hey, I’m getting beaten.’ ”

Maurisseau–O’Neal’s time is the fastest on Long Island, second-fastest in the state, and tied for third-fastest in the country, as of Wednesday afternoon, according to milesplit.com. For his speedy efforts, the St. Anthony’s senior, who lives in Bellport, is Newsday’s Athlete of the Week.

Tuesday’s time qualified Maurisseau-O’Neal to compete in the 60 meters at the New Balance indoor nationals, scheduled for March 9-11 at The Armory, he said. He qualified for the state championships, scheduled for March 3 at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island, with a 6.43 second victory at the CHSAA Intersectional championships on Feb. 10.

Although he is excited for both, it was a berth at Nationals that really consumed most of Maurisseau-O’Neal’s thinking the last three months.

“Nationals is way bigger,” he said. “Qualifying for states was definitely fun to do, but it wasn’t the necessary goal. The necessary goal was for me to go to Nationals, and I’m happy I can do that.”

Maurisseau–O’Neal has worked all season on fine-tuning his start, careful to manage explosiveness with precision. Finally, and not a moment too soon, he feels like it’s where it needs to be. “I think I’m finally there,” he said. “I think now the next goal is [running] 6.2. That’s my main goal now.”

To win a state championship, 6.2 may be a necessity. Carlon Hosten of Taft Educational Campus in the Bronx ran 6.28 on Feb. 17, the top time in the state on Wednesday afternoon. But Maurisseau–O’Neal is confident he can bring home the gold.

“That’s the main goal,” he said. “I know the number one time in the state right now is 6.28, but it’s definitely the goal and hopefully I’ll be able to get there.”

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