States-Bound Genduso Breaks School Record in Long Jump

The Long Island Elite Invitational was held on Feb. 26 at St. Anthony's High School, the last local stop this winter track postseason for Sachem's elite runners, throwers and jumpers before their final destination at Cornell University March 5 for the state championship meet. 

East Girls

It was behind the first-place jump (18' 4," Copaigue's Janel Francis) by less than an inch, but the broken record certainly made Alyssa Genduso's second-place effort in the long jump a whole lot sweeter. The senior landed a distance of 18' 3 1/4", beating her seed of 17' 9 1/4" by a solid margin.

Genduso also qualified for states in the pole vault, the event where she previously represented East at the end of last season. But East head coach Pete McNeill said she had chosen to compete as a long jumper, where, he said, she has a stronger opportunity to score.

Pulling double duty in solo events and relays for East was nothing new for East junior track star Rachel Paul, rising to the occasion to seize the top spot in the 1,500-meter run in 4:41.02, plus anchoring the 4 x 800-meter relay team of Melanie Notarstefano, Laurie Semetsis and Danielle Vazquez for a third-place finish in 9:49.53.

Though neither seed time was beaten, Paul's 1,500-meter effort outpaced the second-place finisher - Garden City's Katie O'Neill - by over 11 seconds.

"She took the lead right from the start," said McNeill, who said she had also been a candidate for the 600-meter run, opting instead for the longer-distance event. "What happens sometimes as you get closer to the state meet is people decide not to run longer races. But we had her do the longer race, and she was leading the whole time."

Throwing ace Brittany Christiansen missed her usual spot in second place in the shot put, narrowly falling to third place with a distance of 34' 11" - another matter of a mere inch, as Manhasset's Tara Belinsky marked a toss of 35' flat. It proved to be a temporary setback, as the senior rebounded with a second-place weight throw performance - a personal best of 44' 8," overcoming her seed distance (41' 8 1/4") by nearly three feet. Teammate Brittany Sepe also bested her own previous record (26' 10") in the event, tossing the weight 29' 1".

Race walker Kelly Maranchuck grabbed fourth place in her event, striding the 1,500 meters in 7:21.75. Teammate Amanda Catherall looked strong on the course too, but unfortunately, was disqualified officially due to loss of contact (another judge, according to McNeill, said the DQ was due to a bent knee).

Gearing up for the trip up, both physically and mentally, McNeill said the mood of the team is confident and comfortable with the expectations, particularly veterans like Paul and Genduso who are no strangers to states. But McNeill also saw the invitational as an opportunity to acclimate the others among East's top athletes to meets of this scale, where the sheer number can mentally overwhelm an otherwise able athlete.

States aside, McNeill himself will have a full plate this upcoming week: The first spring practice is slated for Monday, quickly transitioning off the winter postseason and parallel to the workout regimen of the select few headed to the New Balance Indoor Nationals next weekend, which will include Paul and Christiansen among others.

Christiansen will also weight throw there, and McNeill praised her efforts as a determined thrower, despite her relative newness to the event and the current lack of support from Section XI, where it is not currently recognized in competitions. Its recent popularity may generate enough momentum to make it official, said McNeill, cautiously optimistic of the prospect due to the recent announcements of statewide school budget cuts.

Significantly, McNeill will pass the reins to assistant coach Dan Schaub this spring season, while still remaining the head coach officially.

"We've got a fantastic staff, they're invested in the kids," he said, also crediting fellow assistant coach Joe Coffey and likening the role Schaub would take as similar to that of North head coach Alex Young, who had assisted McNeill prior to taking the helm. "Dan wants the challenge of being the head coach, like Alex was ready for that role."

Just after the invitational on Monday night was the all-county dinner, where all five of East's Cornell-bound competitors - Paul, Genduso, Christiansen, and Notarstefano and Maranchuck - were named, as well as teammates Sepe and Krystle Grygo. Paul also received one of the five MVP awards distributed that night.

North Girls

Keira Wood placed second in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:36.98, just behind Garden City's Emma Gallagher (1:35.03) and beating her seed time of 1:38.31.

"She passed a lot of people," said North head coach Alex Young of Wood's fight to the finish, expected to bump up her heat and improve her state ranking. "It makes me real excited at the possibilities."

In the 1,500-meter freshman/sophomore run, teammate Kelly Lavan enjoyed a career-best performance, finishing in 5:03.35, seven seconds faster than her seed time (5:10.36).

"She was in a slower section, and she won that," said Young. "So she had to wait another five minutes or so for the faster heat, and she ended up coming in fourth overall. She was outrunning girls who were faster on paper."

Clearing 9' flat, high jumper Kayla Cataldo tied for second in pole vault. Young said she nearly locked up a jump at 9'6", but she knocked off the crossbar as she came in a little too close.

"It was too bad she she didn't get that jump," he said. "But sometimes, the crossbar wins."

Also facing down a crossbar in her event, high jumper Kristie Michta took a successful clearance of 5'1" for seventh place. Having found a solid series of heights from which to score, Young praised the junior's progress in the second half of the winter season: "It became a regular occurrence for her. It was nice to see that in these last three meets. This is her range, and we'll be looking to improve on it in the spring season."

Sprinters Melissa Michels (7.76 seconds) and Stephanie Richer (7.81 seconds) each secured career bests in the 55-meter dash.

"They both had real great races," said Young, adding that both runners have been and are doing speed work for upcoming Nationals, to be held March 11 at the Armory track and field facility in New York City, and commended Michels' split time of 27.3 seconds in the 4 X 200-meter relay.

Young said the invitational met his expectations as the main tune-up opportunity before the main event, as the girls will strive to exceed their own expectations in the process.

"We were running against some of the best competition on the Island," he said. "Most of the competition is going to states and nationals, so we got what we wanted out of it."

East Boys

Distance runner Alex Saavedra and high jumper Greg Markfelder, also both headed up this weekend for states, won their respective events at the Elite Invitational.

Saavedra finished the 3,200-meter run in 9:28.65, also slashing his seed time (9:37.52) by nearly nine seconds. Markfelder cleared the bar set at 6' 4," matching his seed height.