SOUTH YARMOUTH – Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School track coach Tom Lonergan knows a thing or two about “fast” – he’s been a part of the Dolphins’ track & field scene, off and on, for nearly 45 years. Since he first stepped foot in the hallways on Station Avenue circa 1969, Lonergan has seen some fairly spectacular displays of athleticism, but this winter marked the apex of a four-year career for one of Lonergan’s very best, if not the fastest: Arun Rambhadjan.
Arun Rambhadjan – Dennis-Yarmouth
2014-15 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Boys’ Indoor Track Runner of the Year
A four-year runner and sprinter in cross country, indoor track and track & field, Rambhadjan staged a spectacular winter season, chiefly focused on but not limited to the 55m dash.
Rambhadjan took a first place finish in the 55m on January 25 at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center in Roxbury Crossing, turning in a lightning 6.56 time at the MSTCA Elite Meet/Coaches’ Invitational. That 6.56 mark set a new Dennis-Yarmouth all-time school record in the 55m.
He was one-tenth of a second off of that mark at the MIAA Division 4 State Championships at Reggie Lewis two weeks later, coming in third place with a time of 6.57, but his time qualified him for a National Silver Standard performance. Only 77 athletes in Division 4 achieved such a mark, including his female counterpart Madison Pawlina in the 300m dash.
A South Dennis native, Rambhadjan also competed this season in the long jump and high jump, was an Atlantic Coast League all-star, and followed up his bronze finish at states with a 7th place finish in the MIAA All-State Meet in the 55m dash with a time of 6.65.
Still undecided where he might be headed to college and possibly off to a collegiate track career, Rambhadjan helped lead a limited number of Dolphin runners to a fantastic 5-1 season in the Atlantic Coast League, falling only to the rival Marshfield Rams. He was undefeated during the regular season in the 55m dash, with teammate Mike Dunn often finishing just behind him in second.
He captured first place honors in the Boston Holiday Challenge, and topped off the regular season with his 55m victory at the Atlantic Coast League Championship.
For a spectacular season and brilliant four-year career, Arun Rambhadjan is Capecod.com’s first-ever All-Cape & Islands boys’ indoor track Runner of the Year.
Capecod.com 2014-15 All-Cape & Islands Indoor Track Team – Female Runner of the Year
NORTH EASTHAM – It says a considerable amount about a high school athlete when opposing coaches recommend you for an honor over their own stars.
Coralea Geriontis – Nauset
2014-14 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Girls’ Indoor Track Runner of the Year
Photo by Chuck Martin/courtesy of Ma.milesplit.com
But in the example made by Nauset Regional High senior long-distance runner Coralea Geraniotis, she earned this winter every bit of the title Capecod.com 2014-15 All-Cape & Islands girls’ indoor track Runner of the Year.
A perennial Atlantic Coast League all-star, Geraniotis capped off her brilliant indoor track career two weeks ago with an 8th place finish in the two-mile event at the New England Championship and in the process of that finish set a new school record and personal best time of 11:01.3.
That mark topped off huge wins this winter in the 1000m and mile during the regular season and the two-mile in the MIAA Division 4 state championships. By season’s end, Geraniotis had succeeded in shaving off a full 1:30 off of her original two-mile time four years ago as a freshman.
Consider this, Geraniotis took a second place finish in the MSTCA Last Chance Qualifier with a time of 11:43.08 – and a couple weeks later shattered the abovementioned school record at New Englands by more than 40 seconds. Her time at the MIAA All-States was good enough for sixth place with her mark of 11:10.04.
On the heels of leading the Nauset Warriors last fall to the school’s first-ever EMASS Division 4 girls’ cross country championship, Geraniotis did not rest on her laurels. Shortly before Thanksgiving, the Boston Globe All-Scholastic runner signed an early letter of commitment to run for Elon College where she will no doubt help lead The Phoenix to even greater heights at the collegiate level.
Capecod.com 2014-15 All-Cape & Islands Indoor Track Team – Coach of the Year
There’s a reason why coaches like Dennis-Yarmouth’s Jim Hoar stick around for so long: they make a difference in young people’s lives, their pupils feel and experience that difference and in the end, they win.
Jim Hoar – Dennis-Yarmouth
2014-15 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Coach of the Year
Photo courtesy of the Hoar Family
Coach Hoar did all of those things for the undefeated (7-0) D-Y Dolphins girls’ indoor track team this winter, and then some, adding to his 122-13-1 lifetime indoor track record at D-Y. This season marked Coach Hoar’s 14th indoor track title for the Dolphins and, remarkably, saw his record climb to 94-7 (since 1995).
Coach Hoar retired from teaching in the Dennis-Yarmouth Special Education department in 2008 after some 35 years an educator, but he’s been coaching non-stop for 42 years since 1973 when he first started as a JV ice hockey coach at Abington High. He’s coach girls track since 1976, but indoor track left the scene at D-Y and did not return until the 1995 season.
Starting from scratch, Coach Hoar has built somewhat of Dolphins’ girls’ indoor track dynasty, but no award could possibly exemplify his success more than the third straight MIAA Sportsmanship Award his team received this winter. To be crowned a champion is one thing. To be crowned a champion whose athletes represent the apex of class and character: priceless.
Coach Hoar was unequivocally and without debate, this winter’s Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Indoor Track Coach of the Year.
Capecod.com 2014-15 All-Cape & Islands Boys’ Indoor Track Team
Arun Rambhadjan, Sr., Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School: 55m, 300m, High Jump, 4×200 Relay
Mike Dunn, Sr., Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School: 55m, 4×200 Relay, Long Jump, Shotput
Hiroto Watanabe, Sr., Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School: 600m, 1000m, 4×200 Relay, One-Mile
Ryan Powell, Sr., Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School: 600m, 4×200 Relay
Deandre Bennett, Jr., Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School: 4×200 Relay
Brian Brooks, Fr., Nauset Regional High School: 1000m
Jake Carter, Jr., Sandwich High School: 55m, Long Jump
Aivaras Gedvilas, Soph., Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School: 1-Mile
Ray Todoroff, Jr., Barnstable High School: 1-Mile
James Driscoll, Sr., Falmouth High School: 1-mile
Jackson Burbic, Jr., Barnstable High School: 1000m
Jordan Dash, Sr., Nauset Regional High School: 600m
Austin Grey, Jr., Mashpee High School: 1-mile
Capecod.com 2014-15 All-Cape & Islands Girls’ Indoor Track Team
Coralea Gerionitis, Sr. Nauset Regional High School: 1000m, 1-mile, 2-mile
Madison Pawlina, Jr., Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School: 55m, 300m, Long Jump, High Jump, 4×200
Sydney McCann, Fr., Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School: 2-mile
Olivia Miller, Jr., Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School: 55m Hurdles
Alexis Whatley, Sr., Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School: Shotput
Carly Coughlin, 8th Gr., Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School: 2-Mile
Elizabet Wegman, Jr., Sandwich High School: 1-mile
Allison Burns, Sr., Nauset Regional High School: 600m, 1000m
Christina Ruggeri, Jr., Bourne High School: 300m, 600m
Kate Delaney, Fr., Falmouth High School: 600m, 1000m
Callie Schadt, Jr., Nauset Regional High School: 600m, 1-mile
Shannon McGovern, Jr., Mashpee High School: 1000m
Katie Wellington, Fr., Mashpee High School: 600m
The 2014-15 Capecod.com All-Cape & Islands Girls’ and Boys’ Indoor Track Teams were compiled by sports editor Sean Walsh with recommendations from coaches as well as all recorded times, finishes, and wins. To email Sean Walsh, send to [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm. Special thanks to ma.milesplit.com for use of photos of runners.
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