Strong weekend for Sachem East Girls Track

If the word "strong" brings to mind the throwing squad you would definately have the right mental picture. With the team split at two different meets- the Bishop Loughlin Games at the Armory on Saturday and Crossover "C" at Suffolk West on Sunday- the throwers continued to impress with scoring performances at both meets. In addition, numerous personal best performances were garnered in events spanning from the sprints through the distances, with some superb specialty event performances turned in as well.

Sachem East highlights at the 55th Annual Bishop Loughlin Games included personal bests by Essence Sterling (43.62) and Amanda DiSalvo (46.02) in the 300, and Ebonie Lewis (7.68), Ashley Mercado (8.03), and Rebecca Carroll (8.12) in the 55. Laurie Semetsis impressed in the 600 with a 1:45.07, Katie Hempfling led the 1000 crew with a 3:20.74, and Ciara Murphy (5:40.49) and Kaitlin DeMartino (5:42.09) both recorded excellent early season Mile times.

Frosh Dana Tyner (10.79) and Rebbecca Carroll (10.49) continued to impress in the 55 Hurdles, Shannon O'Hehir placed 13th in the Invitational 2 Mile Run with an 11:49.28 clocking, and the 4 by 200 team of Lewis, Sterling, Mercado, and Shannon Haberkorn recorded a season best 1:52.53.

But the highlight of the meet was four scoring performances in this ultra competitive meet featuring over 200 schools from nine states and the District of Columbia. Amanda Zaput cleared 8'6" to place 5th in the Pole Vault, and the trio of Diamond Jackson (38'11.25"), Gabby Trejo (34'11"), and Brittany Sepe (34'7.50"), took places 2, 5, and 6 in the Shot Put.

Not to be outdone, the Crossover "C" squad made some noise of their own. The throwers again were impressive as Taylor Kern placed 4th (29'8.75"), and Caitlin Raftice was 6th with a personal best 28'4".

But in this meet it was the racewalkers who stole the show. Holly Lindoe won the 1500 Meter Racewalk in 7:24.83, Val Auciello was 3rd (8:02.84), Sarah LaPorta 5th (8:12.76), and Sam Curry 6th (8:54.46). Almost as impressive were the trio of Shannon Haberkorn (9.47), Paige Picascio (9.86), and Katy Sullivan (10.13), who all ran personal bests and took home places 1, 3, and 5 in the 55 Hurdles. Maddy Egan and Alisa Naer both cleared 4'6" to go 2nd and 3rd in the High Jump, and Essence Sterling turned in a "sterling" 2nd place performance in the Triple Jump with a 34'4.50" leap.

The team does not compete again until the vacation break when again the squad will be split between two locations. A group of 24 will be traveling with the Sachem North team for an overnight trip to Providence for the Rhode Island Classic, while a group of 35 will again be heading to the fast Armory Track and Field Center in Manhattan for the elite North Shore Invitational.

*The following article was submitted by Pete McNeill.