With Monday’s 99.5 – 50.5 win over Longwood, the Sachem East Girls Track and Field Team remains undefeated (4-0) going into the last home meet of the season against Ward Melville on Thursday. Senior Day activities will begin at 4:00 with the meet starting at 4:30. Ward Melville, who finished 3rd at the County Championship meet this past winter, will provide the greatest challenge of the dual meet season to the Suffolk County defending Champion Sachem East squad.
The Lady Arrows have a number of strengths that will make them hard to beat. A talented group of veteran seniors provide the experience and leadership necessary for team success. Couple that with a very deep squad that covers all the track and field disciplines and you have a team that could very well go undefeated, with Bay Shore and Ward Melville the most likely “hurdles” East will need to clear in the quest to repeat as County Champions and win the coveted “Triple Crown” (sweeping Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track County Titles in the same school year).
Leading the way will be the All-Americans from the Indoor Season. National Champion Lauren Harris leads New York State’s best Race Walking squad with Sam Delano, Chelsea Benedict and Anna Arrigo all capable of scoring at Counties, and Alex Bergen, Arianna Cavallino, and Hayley DiCarlo close behind. Ciara Murphy, Alex DeCicco, Val Romero, and Rachel Ruggiero, who earned All-American status in the 4 by Mile at Indoor Nationals, will be joined in the distance events by All-State Jill Manfredi and Cross Country standouts Kaitlin Veigl, Lindsey Dodenhoff, Tiffany Ly, Caitlin O’Hehir, Karli Murphy, and Rachel Semetsis.
Shelby Trentini and Kaitlin Famiglietti lead the mid distance/400 hurdles squad with Angela Calabrese, Skylar Papele, Alice Tsai, Shayna Arrigo, Kaylie Wessberg, and Judy Le all capable of scoring at the county level. The 100 Hurdles squad is also very deep, with Dana Tyner, Rebecca Carroll, Jordan Messineo, Stephanie Kwong, Skylar Papele, Julianna Mercado, Imani Martin, Jeilyn Balbuena, and Isabella Jimenez already running 18 seconds or faster this season.
Top short sprinters include Sam LoCascio, Lauren Alburg, Kerstyn Ciulla, Angela Calabrese, and Brooke Papele, while the horizontal jumping events are fronted by Emily Schatz, Rebecca Carroll, Alice Tsai, Ciara Gibaldi, Lindsay D’Arcy, and Jordan Messineo. Messineo, along with 2015 All-State Kerstyn Ciulla, leads the Pole Vault squad, while the High Jumpers are led by Molly Jandris, Tara Delano, Alex Giambanco, Alexa Palotta, and up and coming Pentathlete Kristen Heuschneider.
The throwing squad includes New York State Championship qualifiers Amanda Fitzgerald, Erin Leonard, and Christina Artusa, with Ashley Accardi and Siobhan Walsh already scoring points this season. Aliya Martin, Michaela Parker, Dana Heffernan, Rosalie Gandarillas, and Kaitlyn Westerdale have already posted county ranked marks just 1 month into the season.
Adding to the accomplished veterans, there are a large number of first-year team members showing potential. Just who will continue to step up and progress remains to be seen, but with the help of the senior leaders, not only might some score points this season, but many of them could become team leaders in future seasons, as well. With only 2 dual meets left in the season, the focus will soon shift to the high level Invitationals that will help prepare the team for the Championship season. The Penn Relays, St. Anthony’s Invitational, Louck’s Games, and the North Shore Invitational will help determine the qualifiers for the team overnight trip to the Eddy Games in Albany and the Division and County Championship meets. This year’s State meet will be held June 10-11 at the Cicero- North Syracuse High School Track complex.