HSMSE Boys' Basketball makes a great leap forward during the 2015-16 season

The HSMSE boys’ basketball team made a tremendous rise during the 2015-16 campaign from last season by way of the Dragons core players developing from overwhelmed underclassmen to effective leaders. Their impact on the team came from taking responsibilities which they did not have prior to this year.

“It was a big adjustment not only from freshman year to senior year, but from every season in between," senior Yonatan Pechter said. "Each year I was given more responsibility.”

The Dragons held a lowly 2-12 record during the 2014-2015 season; however, this season they climbed to 6-10. This improvement came at the hands of the juniors and seniors who made adjustments to their game this season. Players such as Pechter and Lucian Ramnarase made the necessary changes in their game to help the team to more wins than has been seen in the past several years by the Dragons.

HSMSE Boys' Basketball Team / T. Henning

"Maturing seniors [and] developing underclassmen made for interesting possibilities," coach Richard Epstein said.

Ramnarase took the role of the defensive stopper for the Dragons. He greatly increased his offensive and defensive output, averaging six points and six rebounds per game. Prior to this season, Ramnarase received playing time almost exclusively as a defender. This season, not only has he occasionally lead the team in scoring, he has been a locker room leader.

"Lucian [Ramnarase] refused to accept losing, and right from the start, his attitude and effort became contageous," Epstein said. "Once we began to believe we could win, we started winning."

Pechter increased his scoring, taking a larger role within the team’s offensive scheme. He often shot the three ball when the team needed them most. This is a great change from his freshman year.

“My freshman year this team was the first organized basketball I ever played," Petcher said. "I didn’t know how to compete on a competitive team.”

With a mature core of players, Epstein was able to scout and prepare game plans against opponents and have the team execute them. The team's maturation and a hard working culture led to the great improvement in their play.

"We had a group of mature experienced seniors and some very productive underclassmen who learned a lot from the seniors, and developed great work habits, skills, and success," Epstein said.

The HSMSE outdoor track big three

Coach Tom Henning with the three qualifiers/ T Henning

The High School Math Science Engineering Boys' Track Team had three qualifiers for the 2015 PSAL City Championship, Austin Carvey, Wayne Chim, and Lucian Ramnarase. The PSAL City Championship puts the best runners throughout the city on display.

The Dragons are excited to qualify for the city championship. The boys  practiced throughout the season to prepare for huge events like this. This is the first time in HSMSE’s two years as a varsity track team that students have qualified for the city championship. Chim qualified in the long jump with an impressive jump of 19'1". Carvey qualified in the 400 IH in 59.5 seconds. Ramnarase’s 4:42 time in the 1600 meter run also earned him a spot in the finals. The boys were close in qualifying in the previous season, which motivated them to improve this year.

“I was really close in qualifying last year, so I was really excited when I qualified," Carvey said

These athletes are competing with the best in the city in their respective categories. Mentally they are going to have to be ready for their toughest challenge this track season. The runners will hope to put on a good showing at the event while representing their school.

“I don’t really think about the race till the night before," Carvey said. "I am a bit nervous knowing that I am competing against the best runners in the city.”

The sucess of the 2014 Flying Dragons

Lucian Ramnarase / T. Henning

The HSMSE Cross Country team has developed into one of the 20 elite Cross Country teams in the New York City area. The team reached the PSAL Cross Country City Championship of 2014; their success was greatly attributed to their ambition and focus on high paced running.

Coach Tom Henning prides himself on his recruiting skills and applauds the student athletes for their drive to be faster runners.

“I think we’ve been successful because MSE students work hard in anything that they do,” Henning said. “I’ve been very persistent in recruiting students.”

One prime example of an MSE student working hard is varsity runner Lucian Ramnarase. Ramnarase had a breakout season this year, finishing in 39th place out of about 200 other runners in the City Championships,  well above most of his fellow Flying Dragons.

Henning believes the success of his team is also due to coaching changes he made this season. Instead of increasing the mileage the runners run each week, he reduced the miles ran each week in order to develop faster runners instead of slower runners.

“I think I focused on more fast running, more high paced running with rest in between; I certainly took that from my track and field training,” Henning said.

Henning’s unorthodox quality over quantity approach has led to a team that reached the PSAL Cross Country City Championships for the first time. The accolades the team earned in the past year was a result of the enthusiasm the runners had, and the different approaches Henning used this past season in contrast to other great Cross Country teams.

                                          Authors: Bruce Mayfield, Harry Smith