The 2nd annual Awards Dinner of Long Island Track and Field was held at the KeySpan Energy headquarters banquet facility in Hicksville on Thursday evening, Feb. 8 and one of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of the Long Distance Running "Athlete of the Year" Award to Carlos Castro, Jr. of Levittown.

Castro dominated the local racing scene in 2000, coming in as the first runner overall in a broad range of local races, including the Kings Park 15 Kilometer Run, the Sprint for the Parks 4 Mile Run, the Police Officer Gary Farley 5K Run, the Huntington Townwide Fund Thanksgiving Day 4 Mile Run, and the Wantagh Snowball 5 Mile Run.

"We are privileged to have an outstanding athlete like Carlos here on Long Island," observed Long Island Track and Field Long Distance Running Chairman Alex Cuozzo, "and it is very much our pleasure to recognize his great year at our annual awards dinner."