NORTH ROCKLAND HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1979

Steve Hostomsky came a long way from the callow freshman who showed up at winter track practice wearing high-top Converse sneakers. “You’ve gotta get a decent pair of running shoes,” the upperclassmen chided him.

Not only did he get the proper shoes, but before long Steve was keeping up with the veteran distance crew at North Rockland, including Mike Scally, John Trotta, and Mike Ladeau. When the track was snow-covered, the team would use the makeshift 220-yard oval with painted lines in the school parking lot. That mattered little to Steve and his motivated teammates.

“What I loved about track is that it’s completely objective. It’s just you, the other guys and the clock. I loved to train; running got in my blood. Coach [Gene] Dall knew we were motivated and didn’t have to be told to work hard. When I started to do well, I said, ‘Wow. I want to be competitive.’ Winning is a great drug.”

It wasn’t long before Steve started winning with regularity. Starting in his sophomore year, he won the Rockland County outdoor mile or 1,500-meter titles three straight years.

In his junior year, he finished second in the mile at the New York State indoor championships at Cornell, then elevated himself to another level with a stellar senior year.

It started in cross country with a victory in the County meet and a third-place individual finish in the team race at the state Federation meet, among other efforts.

In the winter, he swept the mile and two mile at the County meet. He also clocked a 4:16.9 anchor mile leg on the Red Raiders’ winning distance medley relay at the Nassau Coaches Relays.

The team’s time of 10:22.2 stood as the Rockland County record for 26 years.