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.