Greyducks Fly High at Borough Championships

Performances like Lin’s will be needed for the Greyducks to return to the top in Manhattan.

The Greyducks, Stuyvesant’s boys’ outdoor track team, once again sit atop the Manhattan division thanks to an outstanding showing at the Manhattan Borough Championships last weekend. Few words can truly do the Greyducks’ performance justice; to say they dominated is an understatement. The team claimed first place in an unprecedented eight events of the 20 conducted. The point total was significantly bolstered by an additional 15 podium finishes, adding up to more than 100 total points greater than second place.

As the outdoor track season wound down, the Greyducks prepared to end the season on a high note, making many improvements in the days leading up to Borough Championships. The first portion of the meet took place on May 13 and May 14, and the team made sure to take notes on how to perform better for the second half. “Some improvements can be made with our starts, baton passes, and mentality going into the meet,” Coach Wong said. Speaking of mentality, the Greyducks had to maneuver around a busy week at Stuyvesant in general, with many athletes dealing with the highly stressful AP season. “Many of our student-athletes were preparing and taking AP exams, so it was difficult for some to stay focused. We should be good going into Friday,” Wong said. The Greyducks soon proved they were far better than just “good.”

In the first portion of the meet, the Greyducks participated in the pentathlon on May 13 and in four different events the following day. “Notable performances were by Dean Carey in the 400m (51.9s), who missed the qualifying time for the City Championships by 0.04 seconds,George Lin’s historic long jump, which will be further discussed, and the great performances by [the] 4 x 100m relays,” Wong said.

Though a great team performance is responsible for the title of Manhattan Borough Champions, some individual performances must be highlighted as they will go down in Stuyvesant outdoor track history. One of the most standout performances from the Borough Championships was from freshman George Lin, who broke the all-time Stuyvesant record for the long jump. Lin recorded 20 feet two inches his first jump, 20 feet his second jump, 20 feet three inches his third jump, and he fouled his fourth, ultimately finishing second in the event The previous record for the Greyducks was 19 feet and nine inches. “I really don’t have a feeling about it,” said Lin, regarding his record-breaking jumps. “I guess it’s pretty cool.” He isn’t letting it get into his head, however, as he knows he has three years, as well as the rest of this season to improve. “When I’m a senior, I want to break [the record] again by like six feet,” Lin added. He went on to express how he was more focused on the team’s success as a whole and didn’t dwell on his success for long. This is a great underdog story in more ways than one, as Lin was originally the fourth seed going into the Boroughs. Against the odds, Lin came in second in a pool of athletes from all grade levels.

To say sophomore Dean Carey was the top athlete at the championship would be an understatement. Carey took home a gold medal in both the 200-meter and the 400-meter dash. Carey broke the previous Stuyvesant records for both events, recording blazing fast speeds of 22.97 seconds in the 200-meter dash and 51.7 seconds in the 400-meter dash.

Performances like Lin’s and Carey’s allowed for the Greyducks to leave the opposing teams in the dust in terms of total points. The Greyducks came away with 211.50 total points. This total was 100 points more than the second-placed team, Hunter College High School. However, the Greyducks will be forced to boost their play up to another level to have similar success at the PSAL City Championships this Sunday. Before winning at Boroughs, Coach Wong said, “The team is really coming together and looks hungry to come out on top for the Manhattan Championships.” Time will tell if that same hunger will carry over to the City Championships.