The winter track season is beginning at Schreiber, an exciting time at our school as Port’s best runners get geared up to take on competitors from all over the state.
The Vikings will rely on many stars to get the job done this season. In short distance events, they plan to look towards junior Levi Felix, who has proven early in the season that he can compete with the best of the best.
“Levi has been incredible to start the season, as he has placed highly in the 55m dash at our two meets so far. He has really made the loss of our seniors from last year hurt a lot less,” said sophomore runner Preston Zickerman.
In events like the 600m and 1000m runs, Port can turn to runners like juniors Gael Ogmen and Luke Longaro, who both finished in the top five at the Vikings’ first meet of the season. Ogmen was also ranked a top 50 cross country runner by Newsday in Sept. 2025, showing that he could also help out in the long distance, which may be Port’s biggest strength this year. Junior Milo Christ and freshman George Kahi have been some of Port’s best long distance runners, as they both picked up top six finishes in the 1600m run in Port’s first meet. The pair were both named All County for this year’s cross country season, as they led Port to a division championship.
“Despite us losing so much talent from last year on the distance side of things, our returning talent has been exceptional to start the season. Milo and George have had tons of success in the 1600m and the 3200m this year,” said Zickerman.
The Vikings started off their season at St. Anthony’s, where they performed very well. Junior Milo Christ and freshman George Kahi represented the boys in the 1600m run, with Christ finishing third, and Kahi close behind in sixth. The 1000m run was also a strong event for the Vikings, with juniors Gael Ogmen and Luke Longaro, and sophomore Preston Zickerman finishing first, fifth, and tenth, respectively.
Port also performed well at the 55m dash, with junior Levi Felix finishing first with a time of 6.89 seconds. Junior Joseph Castro wasn’t far behind with his tenth place finish. Castro also picked up a tenth place finish in the 600m run. Port also had some strong performers in the 300m dash, such as senior Petar Cincu, who finished in eleventh place.
In the field events, Port also performed well, as junior Elliot Turbin took home first place in the long jump. Port also secured an eleventh place finish by junior Christian Lee. Senior Brandon Lam finished twelfth in shot put to round out a strong meet for the Vikings.
The Vikings’ next meet was a state invitational at the Armory, where Port was able to compete with some of the best track and field stars in New York. Felix won first place in his heat in the 55m dash before earning fifth place in the 55m dash finals with an impressive time of 6.77 seconds. Sophomore Christopher Cunningham had a strong run in the 300m, placing 105 out of 203 runners.
The 1000m was another success for the boys, as senior Jayden Dong finished eighteenth, and junior Nicholas Zirpolo finished 38th. The Vikings also had a strong 1600m run, with Longaro finishing sixteenth, along with Zickerman earning 37th. However, the 3200m run was Port’s best event of the night, as Christ and Kahi finished first and second, respectively.
The Vikings were also strong in the 4x200m relay, as the all junior team of Felix, Joseph Castro, Dylan Zabala, and Turbin finished sixth. In the field events, senior Jacob Aponte and Turbin claimed seventh and thirteenth in the long jump, respectively. Lam finished 27th in the shot put, along with sophomore Edwin Flores’ 41st place finish.
“As a newcomer, Elliot has really added a lot to the team. He helped us greatly in the 4×200, and he has also been amazing in the long jump,” said Zickerman.
The Vikings still have many more meets this season to try and gain new personal records that will carry them through conference and county championships.