Marc My Words!

Marc Maturo’s official sports column 

ECC honoree Winslow Dorsainvil a Spartan performer

When the temps and weather dictates, one alternative is to compete indoors — not only on the hardwood with a basketball but on the track with your heart, soul and legs to carry you on.

Such was the case with returnee Winslow Dorsainvil of Monsey and freshman Mohammed Ifthikar of Nanuet, who both turned in impressive efforts as the St. Thomas Aquinas College track and field team opened its winter season at the Boston University Season Opener.

Dorsainvil, an alum of Spring Valley High School who was named East Coast Conference track athlete of the week, placed second overall in the 60 meters and was the top collegian in a time of 6.90.

Meanwhile, Ifthikar clocked 6.95 in the 60 and finished 6th overall in the competition.

Dorsainvil and Ifthikar also had personal bests in the 200 in which Dorsainvil ran 22.87 and Ifthikar timed 23.00.

On the women’s side, Tristan Holmgren of Valhalla finished fourth overall in the high jump, clearing 6-feet 2-inches, and was seventh in the long jump.

Gabriela Sloezen of Westwood, N.J., clocked 59.95 in the 400, her second-best time indoors to place 11^th overall while freshman Kelsey Barnes of Franklin Square made her debut in the shot put and threw 10.41 meters to finish seventh overall.

The Spartans, under the direction of Coach Lorne Marcus of Pomona, are competing at the Elm City Classic hosted by Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven,  Conn. The two-day meet runs Dec. 11-12.

IN THE SWIM: Junior Rod Taskindoust of New City was 12^th in the 500 freestyle and, more importantly, joined a promising relay team as the New Paltz men’s swimming team finished fourth at the MIT Invitational in Cambridge, Mass.   Host MIT won the team title with 1,650 points. New Paltz returns to action on Jan. 3 at the University of Tampa Invitational in Tampa, Fla. Taskindoust, who is an alum of Clarkstown North HS, is a member of the 400 freestyle relay team that threatened a long-standing program record, clocking 3:10.80 to finish fifth. The school standard of 3:09.09 has stood since 1984. Other relay members are North Rockland HS graduate Brandon Finn of Tomkins Cove, Ethan Cooke of Middletown and Will Koenig of Highland, Calif.

NEW BLOOD, NEW SEASON: The track and field teams at Fredonia State, which opened the season at the Kent State Golden Flash Gala, are infused with two freshman sprinters out of Suffern High School and a throws specialist from North Rockland HS.      Tristen Dervish of Airmont and Mike Latkovic of Suffern are sprinters for head coach Tom Wilson, while Damone Brown of Haverstraw will be throwing for the Blue Devils, who return to action after the holiday break on Jan. 24 at the North Coast Challenge at The Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Coach Wilson is expecting strong showings, he has said, from Dervish, Robert Chase Towse of East Northport and Jack Erhard of Syracuse in events ranging from the 200-meter dash to the mile run. In the field events, Brown will be joined by other freshmen — triple-jumper Rocky Capparo of Staten Island and pole-vaulter Justyn Haines of Staten Island. On the women’s side, Dervish is just one piece in an overall youth movement, added Coach Wilson. “We put in a ton of work last year recruiting the best female athletes we could, now it’s time to see what they can do,” he wrote on the school’s website. “We are very excited to see how this young team molds together.”

QUICK HITTERS: The Purchase College women’s swimming team took over second place in the Skyline Conference with a 115-86 victory over St. Joseph’s College-LI, with rookies Sarah Kynast of Stony Point winning the 50 in 28.39 and Lorena Peralta of the Bronx winning the 200 in 2:49.96. In a previous 96-70 victory over Old Westbury, Kynast won the 100 freestyle. … Senior captain Greg Torchon of Spring Valley, who is coming back from two injury-riddled seasons, had three points, three assists and a steal as the Potsdam men’s basketball team fell to Oneonta, 79-73. … As reported here earlier, Cortland football defensive end Gabe Ostrow of Nanuet will compete in the inaugural FCS Bowl in Miami, Fla. The game showcased primarily players from FCS (Division I Football Championship Subdivision) along with players from other divisions. Ostrow was a second-team all-NJAC performer, tying for fourth on the Red Dragons with 63 tackles in 10 games. He ranked first with three forced fumbles, tied for first with two fumble recoveries and 24 quarterback hurries, and finished second with 13 tackles for losses. … The Army men’s hockey team welcomes the barnstorming Russian Red Stars to Take Rink in West Point on Dec. 30 at 7:05 p.m. The Red Stars, comprised of elite young players from Russia, Latvia and Belarus, are also playing exhibition games along the East Coast at Yale on Dec. 27, Harvard on Dec. 28, Babson on Dec. 31 and Princeton on Jan. 3.  … The Dominican College men’s basketball team, coming off a 86-78 loss to Holy Family University in Philadelphia, Pa., hopes to rebound on Dec. 13 when the Chargers travel to Bloomfield (N.J) College. In the loss to Holy Family, Kristopher Hargraves of Teaneck, N.J., had a career-high 17 points while Joe Clinton of Pearl River had a game-high eight assists. Robert Hueston of Middletown added 17 points and a team-leading nine rebounds. … Senior defenseman Samantha Pucci of Pearl River, the younger sister of Olympian Josephine Pucci, has a goal and three assists on the women’s hockey team at Utica College. The Pioneers (4-4-2) visit Canton on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m., and meet Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., on Jan. 9 at 3:30 p.m. … Sophomore guard Michael Pelham of Spring Valley tied for the team lead with 16 points and added three rebounds as the Purchase College men’s basketball team bowed to visiting York College, 80-68, in a game that was tied at halftime.  … Sophomore Allan Bowen of Suffern is a middle distance runner on the men’s track and field team at Ithaca College, which will be in the area on Jan. 16 to compete in the Gotham Cup at the Armory at 1 p.m. … Junior standout Shayne Martinez of West Haverstraw totaled 15 points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals as the Cortland men’s basketball team beat visiting Ithaca College, 91-73, to continue unbeaten at 4-0. Blair Estarfaa of

Buffalo scored 21 points to lead six double-figure scorers for Cortland. … Clarkstown South HS alumna Christina Charles of New City, who anchored a near-championship defense on the women’s soccer team at Monroe College in New Rochelle, was named a first-team all-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association.