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Track and Field

Scully competing at a state meet. Photo courtesy of Despina Scully

By Daniel Dunaief

Fresh off setting a county record in the shot put in the winter, Miller Place High School track star Jillian Scully has her sights set on setting a new state record in shot put and another track and field event this spring.

A high school senior, Scully is determined to etch her name into the record books in the discus as well.

Jillian Scully, center, at the 2025 State Championships

“I’m 100 percent confident I’m going to crush” the record in the discus, said Scully, who has suggested that the 2.2 pound discus has been flying out of her hand.

The current state record is 172 feet, while her personal best, which she threw last year, is 159 feet 8 inches.

“She has got enormous potential, which is why so many world class athletes are chasing her,” said Bill Hiney, the Assistant Track and Field Coach during the winter and spring seasons for Southold High School and Scully’s personal coach. Scully took a standing throw that traveled over 120 feet. Scully has also thrown the discus 150 feet against the wind and without warming up properly, Hiney said.

College coaches at several programs reached out to Scully to recruit her to their schools, hoping she could bring her athletic talents to their programs.

“We told her it was her decision” about which college to attend, said Jillian’s father James Scully, who owns and runs the construction company JFS Contracting. His daughter responded that she’d ask them if she needed their help.

As it turned out, she made the decision on her own, selecting Louisiana State University.

“I walked on campus and I said, ‘This is for me,’” said the six-foot, one-inch athlete. She should be able to throw discus and shot put outside year round. Scully would also like to explore competing in the weight throw and the javelin.

“When I go to LSU, I want to try it all,” said Scully.

Scully’s father believes the weather will work to her advantage in Louisiana.

“She practices in the rain and will be out throwing when it’s windy and cold,” he said.

Scully is intrigued by the range of foods available in the Pelican state.

During one of her visits, she enjoyed fried alligator with rices.

“It tastes like chicken,” she laughed.

Academic interests

Scully doesn’t just want to finish strong athletically: she also would like to have a successful final showing academically.

“I want to make sure I hit honor role for the third and fourth quarter,” she said. 

As for her academic interests in college, she plans to study engineering and, in particular, is interested in biomedical engineering.

Scully could see herself as a Paralympic track coach one day.

She recalled watching a video of a world championship event in which a Paralympic athlete was preparing to compete. The athlete struggled with a prosthesis that was causing a problem.

“Not a single person there could help him,” Scully said. “He missed out on competing.”

She recalled telling herself that she’d like to be there to help, particularly after knowing how hard every athlete trains.

“I couldn’t imagine how that felt for him,” Scully said.

California dreaming

As for her own athletic performance, Scully would like to compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in the discus.

Hiney recognizes that athletes with Scully’s build and determination don’t come along too often.

“You don’t regularly get to train” athletes who have Scully’s strength and frame, he said.

“Ambition is not in short supply,” Scully’s father James added. “She’s motivated and she loves setting goals for herself.”

Scully believes his daughter can accomplish anything she decides to try.

He and his wife Despina “Debbie” Scully have gone to their daughter’s competitions during her high school years and are looking forward to traveling to some of the competitions in Louisiana as well.

As for their expectations, Scully believes they align with their daughter’s.

When she reaches her goals, he said, “Is it surprising? Yes. Is it exciting? Yes. Are we shocked by the fact that she broke a record? No.”

Alex Kelly competes in the long jump for Princeton University. Photos courtesy Rich Acritelli

By Rich Acritelli

“The goal is always to work the hardest.” Track and  field standout – Jasmine Moore

Rocky Point resident Alexandra “Alex” Kelly, a gifted, 20-year-old athlete, had the opportunity to compete in the 2024 Olympic Trials June 21. There, she was placed 21st in the Women’s Long Jump Qualification – Group 1. She has gained valuable knowledge watching the preparation of other top athletes on the national stage.

Reuben Jones, assistant women’s track and field coach at Princeton University, said, “Alex is one of the all-time most physically-gifted athletes I have ever coached in my 14 years in the Ivy League and the last eight with Princeton. Alex can raise her game to meet the level of any competition. Before she graduates, she can surpass the 22-foot mark in the long jump and the 45-foot mark for the triple jump.”

In 2022, Kelly graduated from Rocky Point High School as an honor student, with a 101 GPA, who enjoyed singing in the chorus and working as lifeguard at her local beach.

As an eighth grader, she was still somewhat new to athletics but still broke the long and triple jump records at the high school.

During COVID-19, every athlete was stopped in their tracks. But, being the positive individual she is, Kelly took this period in stride, and realized that it could be an opportunity for growth. She prioritized her leg health, and never stopped training.

For a time, Kelly ran the 4×100 meter relay, and while she liked this event with her teammates, she stopped running this discipline to devote more time to jumping. To stay in shape, she ran sprints and had a strenuous lifting regimen. All of this training paid dividends as Kelly kept establishing new jumping records, and finished first in New York State championships in the triple jump during the 2021-22 winter and spring track seasons.

Right before high school graduation, Kelly was New Balance Nationals champion in the triple jump, held at the University of Pennsylvania.

As this remarkable athlete successfully competed at the highest levels of track and field in high school, Kelly was aggressively recruited by Columbia, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, Stanford and both the Air Force and Naval academies.

For Kelly, Princeton University was the perfect distance away from home. She is majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology, and minoring in the history of science technology and medicine. Kelly is equally as dedicated to her academics.

During her freshman season, Kelly quickly cemented her presence on the Princeton team, as she helped the school earn three Ivy League titles.

This special athlete has some current time to see her family and friends, but she looks forward to her junior season when she will return to Princeton as a captain.

A goal-oriented student-athlete who has her eyes set on attaining her education and the pursuit of athletics brilliance, she will keep being a role model to other younger women and will surely continue to make the North Shore proud of her accomplishments.

 By Daniel Dunaief

At shorter distances, she can walk faster than some people can run in a sport she only entered over two years ago. Driven to succeed, Ruby Ray competed on a national stage this past weekend, trying for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team heading to Paris next month in the 20 kilometer (or 12.4 mile) racewalk.

A graduate of Earl L. Vandermeulen High School in Port Jefferson, Ray, 19, didn’t make the team, finishing in 9th place at the Oregon trials on Saturday, with a time of one hour, 54 minutes and 15 seconds. That is an average of 9 minutes, 13 seconds per mile for the entire race.

Ray, who had swollen glands and a fever from a cold the morning of the competition, made it through the race, rising as high as fifth place at the 2500 meter mark before dropping back to ninth.

“It was a wonderful experience competing in person with the greatest athletes in the United States,” said Ray. “I was a little disappointed with my performance.”

While her coach Gary Westerfield, founder of WalkUSA, was also hoping for a better time, he appreciated her effort under difficult conditions.

“I give her a lot of credit,” said Westerfield. “She could have dropped out.”

Westerfield expects Ray, who is a rising sophomore at St. John’s University, to build on this experience as she takes aim at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

A life-changing request

Ray followed an unconventional path to the Olympic Trials.

An aspiring field hockey player, Ray was disappointed when the school no longer competed in the sport. Ray switched to Track and Field.

One day when Ray was in her junior year, Brian Snow, the head coach of the women’s varsity Track and Field team, asked if anyone would be willing to try race walking as a way to earn more points for the team.

After watching a video of a sport that receives considerably more attention in places like Ecuador, Mexico and China than it does in the United States, the five-foot, eight-inch Ray agreed to give it a try, race walking up and down the hallway of the school, impressing Snow enough to encourage her to prepare to compete in high school races.

“That first year, she did really well,” said Snow. “She really helped the team. She was able to score points in important meets.”

Ray was named the Athlete of the Year in 2022 by USA Track and Field in racewalking for competitors under 20.

Snow appreciated not only how much she improved, but also her willingness to step up for the school.

“If we needed someone in a relay, she would do it,” said Snow. 

The track coach recalled how Ray fainted during the school day. She went to the hospital to get checked out and then returned for the rest of the day. Ray volunteered to participate in the meet, but Snow opted against allowing her to race.

“She cheered on the team,” he said. “She put the team first. Her teammates always knew she was destined for greater things.”

In her first year of track, Ray was race walking at an event. Westerfield, a track official at the competition who is an accomplished racewalker and coach, asked her parents if he could start working with her. 

Intense focus

An accomplished race walker who has only been in the field for two years, Ray brings a discipline and focus to a wide range of challenges.

Like her mother Madeleine Kristoffersson, who is an accomplished opera singer, Ray has put her vocal skills to work, joining the church at St. John’s as a cantor.

Ray has dual citizenship between the United States and Sweden, where her mother was born and raised.

Ray was also an equestrian. When COVID-19 shut down some of the events, she poured her energy into track.

When Ray started to compete in race walking, her mother knew about the event.

“In Sweden, that is a huge sport,” she said. “I have seen this from childhood and knew what it was. She looked like the people I had seen walking” in races.

Ray has received considerable help and encouragement from her parents. She trains twice a week with Westerfield. On the other days, her mother has gone with her to the track, recognizing when her daughter needs water or when she’s having a tough day.

“I live and breathe this with her,” said Kristoffersson, who traveled with Ray to Oregon for the Olympic trials.

A country commitment

For Ray and her parents, representing the country at the Olympics would be a significant honor.

Being the parent of an Olympian “would be the most wonderful experience I could ever have had,” said John Ray, Ruby’s father, who has a law practice in Miller Place. “I love my country. She grew up to love her country. She feels like she’s representing Port Jefferson and Long Island in the trials.”

Ray’s father, who suggests his singing skills are limited to the shower, has his own athletic pedigree, having played lacrosse for the last 58 years, including as a goalie on teams with men considerably younger than he.

Ray herself felt like being a part of the Olympics would be “incredible” and that she would be representing Long Island, Port Jefferson, Suffolk County, and “all the things I love. I would be showcasing it off to the world in the Olympics.”

In addition to contributing to her country with her athletic skills, Ray also joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corp at St. John’s in the Army Rangers Program.

“My family has a long history in the military,” said Ray. “It’s a great honor to fight for your country and then come back and your family and county are proud of you.”

Ray regularly wakes up at 4:30 am for Ranger training. She has scars on her knees from crawling across the ground and bruises on her back from hiking with a heavy backpack.

“You have to stay dedicated,” she said. “You have to be willing to do what is required.”

She has had to sacrifice some time with friends, while avoiding temptations that might derail her athletic or academic goals as well as her ROTC training.

Ray is in the English Honors program at St. John’s, where she has a full scholarship.

While Ray is talented and focused, she shared a few guilty pleasures, which include dark chocolate Reese’s peanut butter cups, ice cream and cheesy popcorn.

Ray has three goals in mind. She’d like to make the Olympic team in 2028 and win a gold medal in Los Angeles, she’d like to make the track team at St. John’s, likely competing in the 5K running race, and she’d like to join the Judge Advocate General.

“I want to help people buried under the system,” said Ray, who participates in her father’s pro bono work. “My dad puts his heart into his effort and I want to do the same, especially in the military for people who fought for our country and deserve support.”

People who have known Ray for years wouldn’t bet against this determined teenager.

Ray will “do some amazing things in her life, regardless of what happens with race walking,” said Snow.

Ray reflected positively on her experience in Oregon.

“I was just astonished by the fact that we were there” at the trials, she said. “This new experience has given me hope to grow stronger.”

By Steven Zaitz

The middle of January assuredly brings two things to Suffolk County – unbearably cold temperatures and the Section XI Winter Track League Championships on the Brentwood campus of Suffolk Community College.

From Friday night to Sunday evening, Suffolk Federal Credit Union Arena was packed to the rafters with athletes from over 50 high schools across the county on both the boys and girls sides.

In League II, Commack and Smithtown East both had standout performances in the arts and sciences of running, jumping, and throwing. They competed against the likes of the mighty Connetquot, who finished in the top spot for the boys and second for the girls, Bay Shore, who were among the top five overall for both boys and girls, North Babylon, whose girls team took first place in the league, and of course archenemy to both, the always-dangerous Northport.

The Commack girls finished in fourth place overall with many noteworthy performances. The 4×400 relay was the team’s crowning achievement by winning the event by more than five seconds. With a time of 4:20.75, the Lady Cougar foursome Alexandra Pulcini, Hailey Torres, Nicole Bransfield, and Kate Hearns bested second-place Connetquot, whose quartet ran a 4:25.82.

Junior Kathryn Vidulich was best in the triple jump, reaching 35 feet. Senior Sophia Toepfer was second in the long jump with a leap of 16”10’, besting her teammate Vidulich, who came in third, by only a quarter of an inch. Toepfer was third in the 300-meter dash and senior Nicole Bransfield was third in the 55-meter hurdles.

The Bulls of Smithtown East were led by freshmen Rayshelle Brown, who was second, ahead of Bransfield, in the 55-meter hurdles at 8.84 seconds and senior Sarah Wisnieski, who was second in the 1000-meters and fifth in the 1500. Brown broke the school record by .003, a record that stood for six years. Brooke Rosenberg and Annabelle Willie crossed the finish line almost simultaneously in the 600-meter run. Rosenberg’s time was 1:48.78 and Willie’s was 1:48.90, good for third and fourth respectively.

Competing on Sunday, the Commack Boys achieved second place overall, behind Connetquot. The Cougars saw a well-diversified showing from runners, jumpers, and throwers. 

Nicholas Vought, a senior, won the 300-meter dash with a blazing time of 36.51. Vought finished second to Northport star sprinter Vito LaRosa in the 55-meter dash with a 6.62. LaRosa clocked in at 6.50. Commack’s 4×800 relay team bested Northport with a time of 8:30.24, capturing first place. The quartet was made up of Alex Walsh, Dylan Manning, Aidan Piracci, and Sam Byrd. The anchorman Byrd, a senior, had a very busy day as he also placed second in the 3200 and fourth in the 1600. 

I have to give credit to my grandmother because she is an amazing cook, and she made a great dinner of pot roast and biscuits last night,” Byrd said. “Also, I took it pretty easy this week knowing that a lot of us were going to be doubling and tripling up, so I was ready to run. I was happy to win the [4×800] but I wish it was enough to catch Connetquot for the league title.”

Andrew Riggs finished in second place in the 55-meter hurdles for Commack, with a time of 8.12.

Kaden Jacques and Daniel Pagan both jumped to a height of 5’8” and were awarded third and fourth respectively, as Pagan snagged second in the long jump with a flight of 20-8. Anthony Pisciotta was fourth in shot put with a throw of 42-4.75.

The Smithtown East Bulls Braden McCormick jumped to glory, capturing first place in the high jump at 6’5”. It was the highest jump of the day by a full five inches and after clearing the bar, McCormick, joined by his teammates, set off a wild, fist-pumping celebration that rocked the arena. With this giant leap, McCormick qualifies for the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston later this year. 

“It felt great clearing six foot five,” said McCormick. “I never thought I’d be jumping this high since only last spring I was having trouble clearing five feet ten. I’ve been lifting a lot more this season and the coaches on this team have really helped me get to the next level.”

Elsewhere for the Bulls, Kaelen Sue-Kam-Ling was third in the long jump competition with a leap of 20-2.5. Sue-Kam-Ling and his three teammates Josh Bobadilla, Jason Triolo, and Nicholas Piccoli finished fourth in the 4×200-meter relay to round out the activities for the weekend in League II.

The Suffolk County championships are up next for these track stars, and those meets will be held over the first weekend in February at the same venue.

Sasson on the eve of her high school graduation. Photo by Steven Zaitz

Like every other graduating high school senior across Long Island, June has been a crazy month for Ward Melville’s track and field sensation Abigail Sasson.

Abigail Sasson high-jumping at Suffolk County Winter Track Championships in Brentwood this past February. Photo by Steven Zaitz

Between the graduation parties, final exams, prom, commencement ceremonies and saying goodbye to teachers and friends, high school’s final moments are a uniquely special time. 

However, Sasson’s June was perhaps crazier and a little more memorable than most.

On Father’s Day weekend, Abbi, as she is known to friends, family and teammates, had the opportunity to compete as a high jumper at the 2023 Nike Outdoor National Championships held at the University of Oregon in Eugene.

Hayward Field, Oregon’s home arena, is considered hallowed ground for the sport of track and field. Nike co-founder Phil Knight is an alumnus, ran the mile for the school decades ago and since becoming a captain of industry has always had a vested interest in preserving the venue as a track and field mecca. Running stars Alberto Salazar, Keshia Baker and Steve Prefontaine were all Oregon Ducks, and this place is the track equivalent to Cooperstown or Canton.

This pilgrimage was a fitting way for the Nebraska native, who moved to Setauket when she was 10 years old, to finish off her storied career as a Lady Patriot. In wet conditions, Sasson was not able to clear 4 feet, 10½ inches in her three attempts, but for her, it was a personal victory in making the trip and earning the experience of performing on such a grand stage.

“At first it was jarring to be in such a huge and famous stadium in front of so many people, but it was great to compete against the best athletes in the country and in a setting that is so beautiful,” said Sasson, who made the 2,900-mile journey with her mom Lise. “This was the last meet of my high school career and to be able to do it at nationals in Oregon was an absolutely amazing experience that I will never forget.”

Back home in Setauket, Sasson is so much more than a high jumper, and she wears a lot of hats — as well as a lot of different shoes — for the Ward Melville track and field program. She excels at the pentathlon, which combines the 100-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, shotput and the 800-meter run. Abbi is the reigning Suffolk champion for pentathlon, capturing the gold at the Section XI Championship at Commack this past May after winning silver as a junior in 2022. The versatile Sasson has earned all-county or all-league honors for triple jump, high jump and long jump in her career at Ward Melville and has been named as a Suffolk Scholar-Athlete all four years of high school.

Abbi Sasson at Nike Outdoor Nationals at University of Oregon in Eugene. Photo from Lise Sasson

“Since the eighth grade, Abbi has shown great ability to do multiple events,” said Ward Melville girls track and field head coach J.P. Dion. “She is an extremely bright kid who retains everything she is taught and loves to pass that information on to the younger kids. But in addition to being a great athlete and leader, I think the really special thing about Abbi is her heart.”

Dion has a lot of company feeling in this way. 

Last week, Sasson was presented the 2023 Ward Melville Spirit, Leadership and Cooperation Award, which was voted on by the entire Patriot athletic department. Abbi’s success on the track alone might have been enough to merit this award, but she won it while having to overcome a goodly dose of adversity, which was dealt to her just weeks into her senior year.

In October of 2022, Abbi was driving on Route 347, just south of Stony Brook University, when she was slammed from behind by another vehicle. Sasson suffered whiplash and a concussion, the effects of which she still feels today. She missed a chunk of school in the fall and was not allowed to compete for about six weeks. Although the injury made it difficult for her to read and she was not allowed to run or jump, it did not stop her from attending track practice.

“It was tough because I had to make up all my tests and get my college applications in before deadline,” Sasson said. “But I also wanted to meet my new teammates and help the coaches any way I could. It was cold, but I didn’t mind. Being around the track is always my favorite part of the day.”

One of these teammates was junior and fellow pentathloner Kate Woods.

“Abbi is like my track mom and anytime I had low self-confidence, she was always the first person by my side and cheering me up even when she was not able to compete,” Woods said.  “I genuinely don’t know if I would have been able to accomplish everything I accomplished this year without Abbi. She meant so much to the whole track team because she always found the positives in all of us. Everyone loves and looks up to Abbi so much.”

Woods was named to the all-county pentathlon team along with Sasson and still has two more years as a Lady Patriot. Sasson will be pre-med at Vassar College in the fall and will be competing as a member of the Vassar Women’s Track and Field team.

But she’ll not soon forget her former Lady Pat teammates and coaches, who have helped shape her into the athlete and person she is today.

“Track, and being a member of this team, is definitely the part of high school that I will miss the most,” she said. “The friends I’ve made on this team are life-long friends and when I’m on break from Vassar, I hope they let me come back to pop in and say hello.” 

With all that Sasson has accomplished and contributed to the Ward Melville community, it’s a safe bet that they will.

By Bill Landon

The Port Jefferson Steeplefest invitational took place on Saturday, April 9, at the Earl L. Vandermeulen High School, attracting schools from all over Suffolk County. 

Mt. Sinai senior Kate Del Gandio won the girls 100-meter hurdle event with a time of 14.68. Senior Hugo Onghai placed first for Port Jeff in the boys 100-meter hurdles, clocking in at 16.36. In the 2000-meter steeplechase Frosh finals, Shoreham-Wading River’s Anna Minetti finished first with a time of 8:20.82. In the Frosh boys Steeplechase, Patrick Shea of Shoreham-Wading River clocked in at 7:07.36. Del Gandio also placed first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.56. Mt. Sinai senior Kyra Franks took the top spot in the 200-meter dash event, besting the field with a 26.09. Port Jeff senior Annie Maier took top honors in the long jump event by traveling 15-11.50. Mt. Sinai’s Kelly Hughes and Casey Campo placed second and third respectively. Julia Sue-Kim-Ling of Smithtown East proved she was the class of the field in the triple jump when she leapt 34-5.25. Kings Park senior Emily Stritzl also placed first in the pole-vault event, clearing 8-0.

 Photos by Bill Landon 

Members of the men's track & field team compete during last Saturday's meet. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook University men’s track & field team got the 2022 Indoor season started at the Fordham Alumni Meet on Jan. 8 in the Bronx. The Seawolves got the season off to a strong start with five total wins in their season opener. 

Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

Aiden Smyth earned a win in the mile as he clocked a time of 4:16.03 to lead the way for the Seawolves. Smyth later joined the DMR team and helped the Seawolves to a win in that event with a time of 10:34.03. On the field, Darnell Paul recorded a win for the Seawolves in the shot put as he tallied a mark of 13.10m.

Timothy Weber won the 1000 meter run for the Seawolves as he crossed the finish line with a winning time of 2:32.32. Aiden Smyth picked up a win for Stony Brook in the mile run with a final time of 4:16.03. Conor Malanaphy finished right behind Smyth in second-place as he clocked a time of 4:18.44.

Darnell Paul took first-place in the shot put with a mark of 13.10m. Paul then recorded a mark of 12.45m in the weight throw. Michael Fama won the 3000 meter run as he crossed the finish line in 9:05.59.

The Stony Brook DMR team comprised of Malanaphy, Nicolas Lavazoli, Weber, and Smyth picked up the win as they combined for a time of 10:34.03. 

Anthony Urbancik earned a second-place finish in the 60 meter dash with a final time of 7.24. Urbancik later took second in the 200 meter dash as he clocked a time of 24.42.

The Stony Brook University women’s track & field team also got the season off to a strong start as they compiled five first-place finishes with Jada Hodge and Grace Weigele leading the way. Hodge picked up a win in the 60 meter dash, while Weigele won the 1000 meter run and helped Stony Brook’s DMR team to a first-place finish. Nicole Garcia earned a win in the mile and then joined Weigele to guide the Seawolves to a win in the DMR. 

Jada Hodge got the Seawolves off to a quick start in the 60 meter dash as she took first-place with a final time of 7.98. Nadja Ashley followed behind in second-place as she crossed the finish line in 8.13.

Grace Weigele earned a first-place finish in the 1000 meter run as she clocked a winning time of 3:07.85. Tara Hauff finished right behind Weigele in second-place with a time of 3:09.82. Nicole Garcia put together a standout performance in the mile run as she won the race with a time of 5:19.16. Merrick Hemond won the 3000 meter run with a first-place time of 11:22.70.

The Seawolves’ DMR team comprised of Weigele, Enyero Omokeni, Hauff, and Garcia tallied a first-place finish as they clocked a combine time of 12:51.45. Marina Magoulas recorded a mark of 9.44m in the shot put and then tallied a mark of 14.60m in the weight throw for a second-place finish.

“Today was all about taking another step towards normalcy. It felt good to be competing in an indoor meet for the first time in two years. Overall, we had some nice performances, notably, Nicole Garcia and Aiden Smyth who on top of winning their mile races, both anchored the DMR relays to wins. Other athletes that got their indoor season of to a winning start were Jada Hodge, Darnell Paul, and Grace Weigele,” said track and field head coach Andrew Ronan. 

“But now we need to focus on building towards the championship part of our season at the end of February. Each meet we compete in from this point on is going to get more competitive so we need to work on getting better individually and as a team every week,” he said.

The Seawolves are back in action on Saturday, January 15, when they compete in the Penn Invitational at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island.

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After an abbreviated winter track and field season earlier this year, Huntington’s girls track team showed no signs of slowing down in a crossover invitational meet at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood Dec. 19.

Olivia Conte won the 55-meter hurdles at 9.17 seconds. Hope Bilkey finished second in the 55-meter dash at 7.95 seconds with Brianna Halbeisen placing sixth. Jannel Maroquin clocked in at 3:45.94 at 1000-meters good enough for fifth place. It was a Huntington one-two finish at the 300 meter distance with Bilkey and Conte with at 45.87 and 46.12 seconds. respectively.

The Blue Devils are back on track again at SCCC in the Jim Howard invitational Jan. 5. Start time is 5 p.m.

It was the best of the best competing in the Long Island Elite Meet at St. Anthony’s High School Saturday, Feb. 29.

Ward Melville senior Megan Wood shined in the final event before states. Wood tossed a pair of throws 43 feet, 6 inches along with 42’11” good enough for third in the weight throw event but was the class of the field in the shot put throwing 42’3” and a pair of 41’4” for the top spot in the event against competitors from all over Long Island.

Wood has her sights set for her next competition at the New York State Championships at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island.

“The next step is to show up to states and be a competitor next Saturday,” Wood said. “I’ll try to get in some higher reps in the beginning of the week but then we’ll tone it down so I’m well rested for the day”.

Teammate Allison D’Angio, a senior, clocked at 9.44 in the 55-meter hurdle event, and sophomore Arianna Gilbride placed fourth in the 300 dash in the Frosh/Soph event with 43.70.

Kings Park senior Richard Mangogna cleared 13 feet 3 inches in the pole vault event, placing him seventh overall in the Long Island Elite Meet at St. Anthony’s High School Feb. 29.

Teammate Sam Estherson, a junior, competed in the 55m hurdle event with a time of 8.17 seconds and clocked in at 8.98 at the 60m distance.

 

 

 

 

Rocky Point senior Jimmy Curley (l) runs 3200 meters along with Comsewogue’s Joe Fazio and Kings Park’s Jonathan Englehardt at SCCC Feb. 1. Bill Landon photo

The Mount Sinai Mustangs were the class of the field in the Suffolk County small school championship Feb. 1, sitting atop the leader-board to win the team championship with 66 points at Suffolk County Community College.

Kings Park finished 7th overall just ahead of Comsewogue High School. Shoreham-Wading River junior Blake Wehr placed 2nd in the high jump event clearing 6’ 4” landing the Wildcats 12th in the team standings.