Luchsinger Breaks Three School Records As East Girls Track Finishes Fourth In Division I

After she suffered a hamstring pull during the winter season, Sachem East's Lisa Luchsinger has gradually gotten herself up to speed this spring. On Wednesday, the second of the two-day Suffolk County Division Meet at Connetquot, the Purdue-bound senior was most certainly up to speed.

Luchsinger won the 100-meter dash, took second in the 200, and anchored the 4x100 team that took third. All this came after Luchsinger took second in the long jump (17-1.25). In total, she was responsible for 26 points individually and six more as part of the 4x100 squad, and helped East take fourth place in Division I with 82 points.

"It was a phenomenal performance," East head coach Pete McNeil said. "Lisa's come around so nicely and she had a great day."

Luchsinger began the day by blistering the field in the 100. Her time of 12.07 seconds broke her own school record of 12.23, which lasted all of two days. In the 200, Luchsinger was beaten out by Longwood's Olivia Hallstein yet still recorded a school-record time of 25.08.

"We always work on being able to come back with the same amount of effort from the first event to the fourth," added sprints coach James Barracca. "We train like that. Every practice is geared toward putting in a lot of work."

For the relay, which was the meet's second-to-last event, Luchsinger ran the final leg for the quartet that also included Jaclyn Quenstedt, Alyssa Genduso and Lauren Smith. They teamed together for a time of 51.07, three one-hundredths of a second quicker than the previous best at East.

"It's great because the depth that we have is very young," Barracca said. "I was getting a little worried because with Lisa going off to Purdue, we need someone to step up. We have some nice young talent with a lot of potential."

Sophomore Rachel Paul, who set a school record to win the 800 on Monday, added another win to her resume by cruising to first in the 1,500. Her time of 4:39.75 was a shade off her best but she still managed to win by nearly four seconds. It took a while to get out in front; through one lap, Paul was running near the back.

"She didn't get off to a good start, but she knew it was a long race," McNeil said. "She knew she was fine. She understands how distance races work and that you can get caught up in the pack, but it didn't bother her at all."

In the pentathlon, East's Kristen Faulkner used a first-place time of 2:31.11 in fifth and final event, the 800, to vault into a third-place tie with Connetquot's Jillian Meyer. She also scored big by taking second in the high jump (4-7.75), third in the shot put (24-11) and with a solid time of 19.07 seconds in the 100.

During Wednesday's action, East also scored in the steeplechase (Caitlyn Ryan, 3rd, 7:48.89; Melanie Noterstefano 6th, 8:12.44), shot put (Brittany Christiansen, 4th, 36-0.25), 400 hurdles (Meghan Walsh, 5th, 69.04), race walk (Amanda Catherall, 5th, 7:19.92), high jump (Marissa MacAneney, 5th, 4-8), the 4x800 relay (4th, 9:58.17) and 4x400 relay (6th, 4:20.00).

North Girls Follow Up Big Monday

Much of the point-scoring done by Sachem North was done on the first day, with Kayla Cataldo winning the pole vault and Jodi Desz taking third. Additionally, Stephanie Richer took fourth with a triple jump (35-1.5) that was more than two feet better than her seed mark.

Still, the high jumping tandem of Kristie Michta and Kristin Alfano made their mark, snatching third and fourth respectively in the field of 18. Seven of those jumpers were knocked out at 4-10, leaving Michta, Alfano, Longwood's Jordyn Holt and Whitman's Jackie Crundon. Holt ended up winning, as Alfano cleared 4-10, and Michta came in at 5 feet flat.

Also in the field, Shanice Futrell beat her seed mark by more than half a foot to place fourth in the long jump. The sophomore touched down at 17 feet flat, putting her ahead of two competitors who had topped 17 during the season. Also scoring was Keira Wood (6th, 800, 2:23.02) and the 4x800 team of Leanne DeQuarto, Mary Cipriano, Brianna D'Amato and Kelly Lavan (10:02.85), which took fifth.