High School Track and Field

By Marcus Henry

Long Island followed up a strong weekend at the New York State championships in Buffalo with a strong day at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C.

The Kellenberg's boys 4x800 team of Mike Cook, Tom and Mike Elnick and Greg Moss placed fourth with a time of 7:44.02. It was the fastest time in the state this season and fifth best in the nation. The fourth-place finish earned the team All-American honors.

Great Neck South junior Terrance Livingston added to Long Island's list of fine efforts as he took third in the 800 with a personal-best time of 1:50.8. Smithtown West senior Giovanni Signoretti earned All-American honors with a fifth-place finish in the 5,000-meter run in a school-record time of 15:05.22.

Garden City sophomore Emily Menges took fourth in the 800 with a time of 2:09.17. Less than an hour later the Garden City DMR team of Maddie Adams, Taryn Schmelzonger, Michelle Rotondo and Menges took thied in a school-record time of 11:50.61. It was the third best time in New York State.

On Friday Eighth-grader Molly Josephs of Garden City won the one-mile racewalk over Bayshore's Destiny Lalane. The Garden City SMR also had a strong day as it took seventh with a school-record with a time of 4:02.9.

BY MARCUS HENRY

A few thoughts on this season.

First and foremost, Long Island deserves kudos for bringing home seven Federation championships. Emily Lipari (2), Nick Guscott, Chris Parker, Terrance Livingston, Kyle Merber and Charlene Lipsey represented the island with great dignity.

Merber was named Boy's Gatorade Runner of the Year for New York. Check the link below.

http://www.risemag.com/main.cfm?actionID=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=newsArticle&categoryKey=gatoradePOYBoysTrack&articleId=14887&startrow=1

Lipsey was exceptionally great as she set a Federation meet record in the 800 (2:07.46), while Emily Lipari won two Federation titles. Lipsey, a junior, was also named the Gatorade Runner of the Year for New York. Check the link below for the story.

http://www.risemag.com/main.cfm?actionID=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=newsArticle&categoryKey=gatoradePOYGirlsTrack&articleId=14830&startrow=1

There were some close second-place finishes as Holy Trinity's Louis Day took second in the shot put, Uniondale's Ashley Hendrix took second in the long jump and Ashley Clasen of Shoreham-Wading River was second in the discus. Floral Park's 4x100 team finished second, while sprinter Samantha Edwards took second in the 200. Mt. Sinai's Janet Mellor took second in the 400.

Kudos to the Bay Shore girl's track team for qualifying 10 athletes for the state championships. The Baldwin boys team also gets credit for sending eight runners to Buffalo. The Cold Spring Harbor girl's team sent six athletes upstate.

The future for Long Island track is bright as several underclassmen figure to make a lot of noise over the next couple of years. Lipari and Mellor are sophomores. Mt. Sinai's Janie Turek, who took seventh in the 2,000-steeplechase is just a freshman, while Ward Melville's Carolina O'Hea, who represented the Patriots in the Federation 3,000-meter run is an eighth grader. Northport's Lianne Farber, who finished 13th in the 2,000-steeplechase is a sophomore, while Friends Academy's Kira Garry, who took 23rd in the race, is a freshman. Garden City sophomore Emily Menges will also be a factor in 2009.

We also can't forget about North Shore sophomore Brianna Welch. Welch missed the final six-plus weeks with a stress fracture in her leg. She will be a force next season.

Hempstead sophomore Anthony Celestin, Port Washington sophomore Michael Bertolotti, Shoreham-Wading River junior Bobby Andrews should have sparkling seasons in 2009. BTW; Livingston and Lewis are both juniors. Don't forget about Amityville's Rashim Gaines.

Hat's off to several runners who capped their careers at the state championships, including Bay Shore's Stanford-bound senior Sarah McCurdy, Columbia-bound Jaclyn Marshall, Southampton's Imani Richardson, Ward Melville's Suejin Ahn, Baldwin's Christie Verdier, East Meadow's and Maryland-bound Nicole Banker and Brentwood's Donna Jeanty.

For the boy's Baldwin's Brandon Camille and Barry Mask, Smithtown West's Giovanni Signoretti, Roslyn's Tom Lipari, Longwood's Barry Franklin, Amityville's Craig Slaughter, Whitman's Mychael Fabio, Floral Park's Clark Hinds, Hempstead's Chad Allen, South Side's Brian Riley, Chaminade's Chris Tonn and Michael Schieck, Kellenberg's Mike and Tom Elnick and Westhampton's Jared Nilsson all finished their careers on a high note.

Apologies to those I left out.

BY MARCUS HENRY

I've been asked several times over the past four or five months about how I go about selecting the All-Island track team.

It's actually pretty simple. The stop watches and the tape measures don't line. Making the All-Island team is not just based on winning. Where you win or place, who you run against and your times and distances are huge factors.

A runner who wins or places high at prominent meets like the St. Anthony's Invitational, the Loucks Games, Penn Relays, the state qualifiers and the County and state championship meets are going to get the most consideration. Athletes who win events at local invitationals such as the Bulldog, Pratt, Limmer, Knight Time meets, etc... also get significant consideration.

This isn't to say that athletes who win conference or league championships don't get any consideration, but to be the best you have to compete against the best. Newsday's first annual All-Island track teams will be revealed later this week. Enjoy.

BY MARCUS HENRY

There were several familiar faces who qualified for the state championships. Kyle Merber, Giovanni Signoretti, Barry Franklin, Sarah McCurdy, Jaclyn Marshall and Suejin Ahn are no strangers to success. But there were several new faces who have a chance to make some major waves in Buffalo.

Middle Country's Miles Lewis and Riverhead's Ashley Bell each qualified in three events. Brentwood's Donna Jeanty (400 hurdles, 4x400) and Southampton's Imani Richardson (100, 4x100) qualified in two events. We can't forget about Mt. Sinai freshman Janie Turek, who ran 7:09 in the 2,000-meter steeplechase. High jumpers Ahkim Amada (East Hampton) and Rich Roethel (Sachem East) also qualified for the first time.

It was an especially good day for Roethel, who was jumping 5-8 last spring. The junior, who has jumped 6-5 this season, jumped 6-3 in the final on Saturday.

BY MARCUS HENRY

After an exciting state championship qualifier meet at Farmingdale on Wednesday, Nassau County will be well represented in Buffalo on June 13 and 14.

Baldwin's Nicholas Guscott followed up his strong showing at the Bulldog Invitational and at the County championships by taking the 100 meters in 10.6 seconds. He nearly carried the Bruins to victory in the 4x100 as he made up a 5-meter deficit during the final 100 meters.

Hempstead's Anthony Celestin took the 400 and has to be considered one of the favorites to capture the state title. Chris Parker, a star in the hurdles, had a good showing in the 110 HH, taking first in 14.2. Terrence Livingston, arguably the best 800 runner on the island, is expected to run strong in Buffalo. Uniondale's Nathaniel Mercer, a track veteran, jumped 22-1 at the qualifier and should be a factor.

Roslyn super sophomore Emily Lipari, who took the 3,000 and the 1,500 has the ability to win both events. Ashley Hendrix, who has enough accolades to fill a truck, took first in the 100 hurdles and the long jump. Her jump (17-11.5), wasn't anywhere close to her best, but she has a history of jumping up to the competition and should be fine in Buffalo. Samantha Edwards ran a 12-flat in the 100 and 2.48 in the 200 and put herself in prime position to really make an impact in Buffalo.

The Elmont girl's 4x100 team ran 48.7, nearly a full second in front of Hempstead (49.4) and should be a handful at the state meet. Garden City's 4x400 team was also impressive, running a 3:56.3. The Trojans edged Uniondale, which ran surprisingly well (3:57.6) considering its youth.