It was the first high school meet for many attending Saturday’s season opener Developmental Meet at Bay Shore High School. Most of the 47 member freshman squad attended the meet and all were attending their first spring track and field meet as Sachem North Flaming Arrows.
They performed like veterans. This is due in great part to senior and upper-class athlete leadership at practice during the first two weeks of the season and, more importantly, at today’s meet. Frigid temperatures did not faze any on the team. In a rare display of restraint by Mother Nature, there was the lightest of breezes at Bay Shore’s notoriously windy track.
Athletes were prepared on what to expect by coaches before boarding team buses and all runners were given seed times before heading to clerking areas. Spandex was the order of the day for most team members. All athletes also learned lessons about staying warm in our interesting March Comes in Like a Lion first two weeks of the season and athletes extended warm-ups to keep body temperatures up and muscles warm.
Sophomore Nikki Fogarty began Sachem’s season in the first heat of the meet’s first event, the 400-meter hurdles. She ran the fourth fastest time of the day with her 78.9 effort.
As she was crossing the finish line, shot-put discus and long jump were beginning. Sophomore Emily Okvist led Sachem throwers in shotput and discus. Soph rookie Erica Sime was Sachem’s No. 2 thrower in both events. Freshman rookies (Kira Audia, Grace Catizone, Allison DePaoli in shot and Nicole Fezza, Grace Catizone and Miclehe Lederer in discus) took the next three spots for Sachem.
Rookie frosh Emily Lin began her spring where her indoor season ended with a race section win as she cruised to a team-leading 2:45.4 in the 800. Fogarty led all Sachem sprinters in the 100-meter dash with a 13.3 20 minutes after finishing the low hurdles. Rookie Leah Blackall was right behind her in 13.8. She would lead Sachem in the 200 later in the meet with a 29.4. Senior Stephanie Traina was right behind her in 29.6. Rookie frosh Vanessa Stevenson showed more of the frosh sprinter depth with her 30.0 half-lapper.
Veterans Corri Moran (long jump, 400), Melissa Muller (100 m. hurdles) and Natalia Aneiros (high jump) led Sachem in their respective events. It’s hard to think of Kaitlin Martin as a rookie after her outstanding indoor season as USA No. 1 freshman racewalker. Martin attended the meet to cheer on frosh teammates. After a brief talk with Coach Alex Young, she began a long warm-up-style workout that ended at the starting line of the 800 m. race walk. Kaitlin took second in the race as she cruised to a 4:23.4 time.
Sachem will look to show the same poise and determination as the Flaming Arrows opens its League II season at home next Tuesday against county powerhouse Northport.
FOOTNOTES
- Gotta Be the Genes: Identical twin freshmen Alex and Ariana Mosquera were given seed times far enough apart to ensure they would not be in the same heat. 100 times were 14.7 and 14.8 and 200 times were 31.3 and 31.8 for the identical duo. For those who wonder what would happen in a mile run, the answer is the same. Alex and Ariana have already run two 1 mile time trial in our short season. They were two seconds apart each time. Ariana was the faster in one, Alex in the other. We can’t wait to see what happens in a field event!
- Career-bests! No one runs a career-best in a cold mid-March season opener! Tell that to Melissa Muller as she ran 18.6 in the 100 m. hurdles (old 100 H PB 18.9) – congratulations on your PB!
- Hey, Girl – don’t you have a shirt?! So heard Kat Napoli as she entered the discus circle by a bundled-up rival. Kat warmed up in layers but competed in her jersey today. The elements were not a problem for a rookie sprinter-thrower as she began her Sachem career with a good day at discus and in the 200 m. dash.
- We’re leaving after the 800. Not! – Sachem intended to leave today’s meet at 12:30 as all expected difficult elements as rain was forecast for today’s meet. The weather was very friendly – no rain, no wind and we stayed for more open events than planned (adding the 400, 800 m. race walk and 200 to our meet day. Throwers had a chance to compete in both shotput and discus as well. Uncertainty about the weather and a season-opener on the first day a meet could take place kept many teams away today. Officials moved the meet along and we got in more work and still managed to board our buses on time for the ride home.
- It wasn’t my best event. – So said 2011 alumnus Brittany Weinclaw before offering a few discus pointers to rookie Erica Sime. Brittany casually tossed a 65 footer as she explained the mechanics of discus to the wide-eyed and very impressed Erica. The lesson helped as Erica had a great day in the discus circle. Brittany BFF and fellow 2011 Sachem track and field alum Stephanie Richer stood close by as Brittany gave her lesson.
