High School Cross Country

The 32nd annual Bob Pratt Invitational, which took place last Saturday, is more than just a track meet. It also serves as an opportunity for athletes to earn scholarship money for college. This year six athletes from Smithtown West and Smithtown West high schools will receive $1,000 toward their education. “We used to just give out one,” Smithtown East coach Greg Schepnaski said. “Now we’re up to six.” - MARCUS HENRY

Boys
3,200 - 1. Dylan Conway, Hauppauge 9:45.4; 2. Collin Anderson, Northport 9:56.2; 3. Colin Culltane, Sayville 9:58. 400 - 1. Mike Conrad, Smithtown East 52.6; 2. Joe Callahan, Harborfields 53.0; 3. B. Robbins, Smithtown West 53.3. 800 - 1. Anthony Girolamo, Northport 2:00.5; 2. Pat Murphy, St. Anthony's 2:00.6; 3. Alex Arunis, Northport 2:01.3. 110 Hurdles - 1. Dave Ader, Smithtown East 15.7; 2. D. Jackmen, Longwood 16.0; 3. D. Jackson, Northport 16.1. 100 - 1. Taylor Chaney, St. Anthony's 10.9; 2. Ainsworth Ashman, Copiague 11.3; 3. Greg Barbier, St. Anthony's 11.4. 1,600 - 1. Dylan Conway, Hauppauge 4:32.8; 2. Spector, Longwood 4:36.3; 3. Evan Bloomberg, Northport 4:40.3. 200 - 1. Mike Lewis, Middle Country 22.7; 2. Ian Hanley, Middle Country 22.9; 3. Dan Basil, St. Anthony's 23.2. 400 Hurdles - 1. Anthony Girolamo, Northport 57.9; 2. Tom Gilmartin, Middle Country 59.1; 3. Jared Clasper, Smithtown East 59.8. 1,600 racewalk -1. Rick Sosulski, Smithtown West. Long Jump - 1. Josh Hunter, Middle Country 21-10.25; 2. Dale Stewart, Harborfields 20-4.5; 3. Mikes Lewis, Middle Country 20-1.25. Pole Vault - 1. Ben Martin, St. Anthony's 13-0; 2. Chris Schaefer, St. Anthony's 12-6; 3. Mike Neumayer, Middle Country 12-0. High Jump - 1. Chris Ammann, Smithtown West 6-2, A. Fedder, Smithtown West 5-10; 3. G. Ellis, Middle Country 5-8. Discus - 1. Ed Brown, Bay Shore 139-4; 2. Frank Giglio, Northport 129-1; 3. Chris Searles, Longwood 124-3. Shot Put - 1. Chris Searles, Longwood 50-1; 2. Frank Giglio, Northport 48-3; 3. Simon Marcada, St. John the Baptist 47-11.5. Triple Jump - 1. Dale Stewart, Harborfields 41-4; 2. Chris Ammann, Smithtown West 41-0; 3. Hutchinson, Bay Shore 40-10. 4x100 - 1. Middle Country 43.1; 2. St. Anthony's 44.9; Harborfields 45.4. 4x800 - 1. Northport 8:40.6; 2. Harborfields 8:44.9; 3. Longwood 8:49.1. 4x400 - 1. St. Anthony's 3:31.2; 2. Northport 3:31.9; 3. Harborfields 3:41.5. Team Scores - 1. Northport 90, St. Anthony's 73, Middle Country 72, Longwood 63, Smithtown West 60.

Girls
3,000 - 1. Jaclyn Marshall, Kings Park 10:01.7; 2. Caroline O'Hea, Ward Melville 10:36.9; 3. K. Abatte, Northport 10:41.7. 400 - 1. Danielle Toritto, Smithtown East 60.0; 2. Amanda Regensburger, Middle Country 60.6; 3. Alexandra Doersan, Islip 61.1. 100 Hurdles - 1. Kaitlin Sullivan, Kings Park 14.7; 2. Kayla Murphy, Longwood 16.0; 3. Stephanie Hasher, Bayport-Blue Point 16.2. 100 - 1. Christine Wilkinson, Copiague 12.5; 2. A. George, Middle Country 12.9; 3. N. Soro, Kings Park 13.1. 1,500 - 1. Sarah McCurdy, Bay Shore 4:46.2; 2. Christine Johnston, Longwood 4:52.4. 3. Emily Haight, Smithtown East 5:16.9. 800 - 1. Sarah McCurdy, Bay Shore 2:18.1; 2. Jennifer Johnson, Longwood 2:22.3; 3. Erin Pardini, Smithtown West 2:24.3. 200 - 1. Christine Wilkinson, Copiague 26.4; 2. Brittany Silipo, Bay Shore 27.2; 3. J. Burch, Kings Park 27.3. 400 Hurdles - 1. Kaitlin Sullivan, Kings Park 67.3; Danielle Torrito, Smithtown East 69.5; 3. Shannon Hopkins, Kings Park 70:3. 1,500 walk - 1. Destiny Lalane, Bay Shore 7:40.2; 2. Jennifer Mercouris, Bayport-Blue Point 7:42.4; 3. Alison Higgins, Kings Park 7:42.7. Shot Put - 1. Fisher, Longwood 39-10.25; 2. Toritto, Smithtown East 39-9.75; 3. Ross, Bellport 35-10.25. Discus - 1. Gradel, Northport 104-8; 2. Hoeffner, Hauppauge 103-4; 3. Brown, Bay Shore 102-0. Long Jump - 1. Alexandra Doersam, Islip 16-3.5; 2. Kari Potter, Kings Park 15-10.25; 3. Ashley George, Middle Country 15-8. Pole Vault - 1. Nicole Montrony, Middle Country 6-9; 2. Alex Faggione, Kings Park 6-6. High Jump - 1. Leanne Dombrowski, Longwood 5-2; Ashley Beck, Smithtown East, 5-2; L. Rogers, Islip 4-10. 4x100 - 1. Copiague 51.7; 2. Middle Country 52.2; 3. Bay Shore 52.9. Triple Jump - 1. Stephanie Barnes, Bay Shore 35-6.5; 2. Tenica Roberts, Bay Shore 35-0; 3. Katie Chun, Port Jefferson 33-6. 4x800 - 1. Bay Shore 10:35.2; Northport 10:43.1; Smithtown East 10:59.7. 4x400 - 1. Bay Shore 4:10.8; Northport 4:16.9; Smithtown West 4:20.5. Team Scores - 1. Bay Shore 109, Kings Park 75, Longwood 61, Smithtown East 51, Northport 45.

BY MARCUS HENRY

The 5th Annual Knight Invitational at Uniondale high school featured several of Long Island's top athetes.

Hempstead's Charlene Lipsey continued her torrid paced as she captured the 800 in 2:12.45. Uniondale's Ashley Hendrix dominated the 100 hurles taking first in 14.58. Brentwood's Donna Jjeanty won the 400 hurdles in 1:06.21.

Roslyn's Emily Lipari won the 3,000 10:30.35 and East Meadow's Kim Slagas took first in the 1,500 race walk in 7:53.6.

The boys also had some great winners as Amityville's Craig Slaughter won the 100 (11.1) and 200-meter (22.24) dashes and Nathaniel Mercer took the 110 hurdles in 14.86. Hempstead took the 4x100 in 43.47 and the 800 sprint medley in 1:34.55 and Amityville took the 4x400 title in 3:24.82.

Longwood's Barry Franklin, a Newsday All-Island winter track selection, won the 1,600 (4:30.68) and Chaminade's Joseph Migliore took first in the 3,200 in 10:25.91.

BY MARCUS HENRY

Jaclyn and Katie Marshall, two of Suffolk County's top runners, made their college choice Wednesday. Jaclyn, who captured the 1,500-meter state indoor title, signed with Columbia, while Katie will suit up for Brown in the fall.

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Listening to Charlene Lipsey and seeing her run will leave you with very different impressions.

Lipsey will tell you that even with all her success she still does not quite fully believe in her ability to run with the nation’s best athletes.

But she can and has.

“When I see them running, I don’t think I can do it,” Lipsey said. “When I get on the track it’s something different.”

Very different.

The Hempstead junior competes with a determination you might not detect off the track. Lipsey, Newsday’s indoor girls Runner of the Year, used her effortless style to set a Long Island 800 meter outdoor record of 2:09.15 while placing third at the National Scholastic Invitational at the Armory. She broke Bellport’s Brittany Sheffey’s mark of 2:09.94. Bay Shore’s Sarah McCurdy was fourth and North Shore’s Brianna Welch placed fifth. This was Lipsey’s first season running the 800.

“People always remember the last race,” Hempstead coach Lenroy Raffington said. “Regardless of what she did in December, most people forget about her. It’s what you do in the big race and how you perform in the big spots and she did what she is capable of doing in a big spot.”

More then once.

She won the Public School state title in the 600 meters and placed second in the Federation in 1:34.17 at the state championship. Lipsey won the 800 at the Marine Corps Holiday Classic. She also helped her 4 x 400 relay qualify for the Millrose Games.

In the outdoor season Lipsey says her goal is to run a 53.0 400 and 2:05 in the 800, a mark that should change Lipsey’s perception of herself.

“If I hit that 2:05 I will be confident enough,” she said. “I didn’t think I could do a 2:09, so if I hit 2:05 that is a tremendous difference.”

Running against the Hempstead boys’ team in practice has helped Lipsey’s development. It is a friendly competition that Raffington believes benefits all involved.

“That helped motivate the boys, too,” he said. “That helped her. That helped the boys. It pays off in both ways. They push her harder. She inturn pushes them faster because they are not going to let her beat them.”

Lipsey said she hasn’t beaten any of them yet, but is getting close.

Almost as close as she is to feeling comfortable with her place among the nation’s elite runners.

“Now I can really know where I am, compared to the best of the best,” Lipsey said. “So my boost of confidence is getting there.”