By Marc Raimondi
“I was always a pinch runner,” the senior said. Molloy boys' track coach Bro. Bob Andrews discovered him as a freshman when he ran for his home room in Molloy's annual Freshman Field Day competition, which is supposed to build camaraderie among ninth-graders. Instead, it helped the Stanners find a cornerpiece to their track program in coming years.After playing JV baseball as a freshman and a JV basketball as a sophomore, Stewart hasn't just gotten acclimated to the track, he's excelled. On Saturday at the Mayor's Cup on Randall's Island, he set a meet record in the long jump (22' 10 1/4'), finished third in the 100-meter dash (11.09) and helped Molloy finish third overall. And Stewart, who is receiving college interest from Maryland and Connecticut, did it all with a tight right hamstring, which he had wrapped up tightly.Clearly, his time on the basepaths is over.”I like track better (now),” Stewart said. “I like track too much to go back to baseball.”NotesPhyllis Francis set a meet record in the 800 meter (2:13.25), finishing in front of Cardozo's Muhammad and Cody Newman. The Judges pair will be running in the 4×800 relay, along with Tessa West and Alison Lee, at the prestigious Penn Relays in two weeks. The Mayor's Cup was designed as a warm-up for that competition.”I tried to cruise (in the 800),” Muhammad said, “and try to pick it up in the last 150.”Rafal Ksepka of Grover Cleveland won the 1,600-meter run (4:26.20).Reach Associate Sports Editor Marc Raimondi by e-mail at mraimondi@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
