Westhampton's Trevor Hayes and Max Haynia in top form at Suffolk championships

The Westhampton distance hammers are back, and they appear to be as dangerous as ever.

It wasn’t an official ‘return’ for Max Haynia and Trevor Hayes Sunday at the Suffolk small school track and field championships at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood — they’ve both been running this season — but it did mark a bit of an unleashing.

Hayes, who won the 1,600 in 4:32.68, said he hasn’t run much this season as a strategic point of order.

After partially tearing his hamstring during cross country season, Hayes is looking to peak at the very end of the indoor season and carry that outdoors — making this spring a bastion of fast times.

“[Today] felt great,” Hayes said of his win. “It was a big confidence booster going into state qualifiers [on Feb. 13]… I was happy with the placement I put myself in. I always had myself in a good spot. I was never boxed in or in a dangerous situation. I kept cool and composed for most of the race.”

Haynia, who won the 3,200 in a dominant 9:30.82, said he was battling respiratory illnesses throughout November and into December — even when he was winning a state cross country championship and qualifying for Nike Cross Nationals. His winter season was put on a brief hold until he returned after Christmas.

“I came in too late to actually race invitationals,” Haynia said of his indoor schedule. “My plan was to run everything at [Suffolk Community College] and then just try and run well at the state meet.”

Hayes and Haynia combined with teammates Ezekiel McCrary and Adrian Caumartin to win the 4 x 800 relay in 8:32.59.

Half Hollow Hills West won the team championship with 62 points. Eastport-South Manor was second with 44.

Half Hollow Hills West’s Mitchell Diamond won the triple jump, flying 41 feet, and the long jump, flying 20 feet, 11 inches. Diamond also teamed up with Dylan Asuncion, Daniel Dobin, and Marco D’Alessandro, to win the 4 x 200 relay in 1:34.22.

Diamond thought (incorrectly, he would later determine) that he had injured himself early in the triple jump. He said he approached the middle portion of the event with extreme caution, but eventually forced himself to throw that caution to the wind on his final jump.

“I knew that it was going to be close,” Diamond said of that final jump. “If I really want to win it all for my team, I’ve got to persevere... It was all will-power.”  

Elsewhere, Eastport-South Manor’s Jack Faldetta won the 55 in 6.53 seconds and the 300 in 36.04.