Bay Shore bested Sachem North 79-71 on May 7 and both teams closed out their dual meet seasons with a 5-1 record. Connetquot joined the trio of League II powerhouses as co-League II champion teams. Bay Shore and Sachem North will battle for the Division I team championship on Monday, May 20 and Wednesday, May 22 at Connetquot High School.
Division I is made up of Suffolk County’s 15 most populous girls track and field teams from League 1 (six teams), League 2 (seven teams) and League 3 (two teams). League 2 will dominate Division Championships with Sachem East, Connetquot and Northport expected to join Sachem North and Bay Shore as top five teams. Half Hollow Hills East (League 3) may be the first non-League 2 team to score ahead of a League II team.
League II is used to knock down, drag out affairs in track and field. There will be pivotal races and events at Divisions that will turn the tide in favor of or against the top teams based on which athletes deliver big performances under pressure. Top teams possess strengths that present big point scoring opportunities. Failure to score points where there are opportunities will quickly change top five team scoring hopes. For Sachem North, many key points will be found in sprints and jumps.
Bay Shore will go head to head against Sachem North in jumps and will score big in middle distance events. Sachem East is led by the deepest throwing squad in Suffolk County and is the home of the 2013 indoor national champion racewalker. Connetquot and Northport’s deep and talented distance squads will battle for points in the long range events. Walt Whitman’s Jackie Crunden may win two events. Half Hollow Hills East has seven 100-400 meter range sprinters that will carry their team to a top 7 finish.
Following is an event by event preview with attention paid to Sachem North-Bay Shore showdown events. Bay Shore may score points in only ten events at the championship meet. But they will have multiple scorers in several events. Sachem North expects, and probably needs, to score in a dozen or more events in the two day meet. The North Flaming Arrows may have to beat the seed sheet to create scoring opportunities to pull ahead of Bay Shore by enough points before Bay Shore’s expected top three finishes in the 4×400 and 4×800 relays on Wednesday. Bay Shore should score at least 14 points in two relays. Sachem’s expected dominance in the 4×100 may not be enough to hold off Bay Shore’s longer distance relays.
Pentathlon: The first Sachem North-Bay Shore showdown kicks off the meet as the pentathlon 100 m. high hurdles is the first event of the Division I Championship meet. Sachem’s Emily Rathmann and Bay Shore’s Nailah Braxton will battle for the Division I pentathlon title right through the 800 m. run that closes out the multi-event pentathlon. Edge: even.
100 m. High Hurdles: Walt Whitman’s Jackie Crunden (Suffolk Counthy #1) has a .1 second edge over Sachem North’s Nikki Fogarty (Suffolk #2). The two will battle for the win with Ward Meville’s Emily Astarita expected to take third. Edge: Sachem North needs Nikki’s 8 points. Can Nikki push through for the event win?
100 m. Dash: Sachem North figures to have two in finals with Suffolk County’s #2 sprinter Melissa Michels and #6 Alyssa Leto. Brentwood’s Alexia Douglas and Commack’s Mallory Dugan look to break up Sachem sprint duo. Edge: Sachem North wants to score 14 or more points to keep up with Bay Shore’s expected charge in middle distance events.
400 m. Dash: Half Hollow Hills East (Perrier sisters and Lauren Keschner) will take the top three spots in finals barring an unexpected development. Sachem North and Bay Shore will not figure in scoring in the event. William Floyd may score two in finals as well (Ashley Wakefield and Niasha Houpe). Edge: Bay Shore may hope to have fresher legs in the 4×400 finals to give Hills East a run for the race win. Hills is too strong and deep in the 400 to get caught in open 400s or in the 4×400, though.
800 m.: Here comes Bay Shore. Jacqueline Anderson and Nia McCaslin will figure in top 3 scoring. Cesia Andrade gives Bay Shore a third scoring threat in the two lapper. Northport’s freshman Jackie Thorne will try to steal a win away from Bay Shore and Sachem East freshman Ciara Murphy and Ward Melville soph Faith Reynolds will look for openings in the fast heat as well. Edge: Bay Shore. The Marauders will score 18 points according to the seed sheet. Any less creates openings for Sachem North to pull ahead or overcome scoring deficits later on.
200 m. Dash: There will be a buzz on Wednesday as Sachem North’s Melissa Michels go against Half Hollow Hills East’s Mary Chimezie in finals. Mary has a .3 second edge (25.34-25.64) on the seed sheets. One or both may break 25 seconds in finals. Niasha Houpe of Floyd may be a little gassed after her expected 400-200 double on both days (in addition to 4×400 duties). Brentwood’s Alexia Douglas runs big in big meets. Bay Shore’s Anisa Toppin and Sachem North’s Alyssa Leto are tied for #7 on the 200 m. seed sheet with identical 26.04 times. Leto bested Toppin by .1 at the May 76 dual meet. Edge: Sachem North. Unless Toppin makes finals and Leto does not. If Sachem North gets two in finals, Bay Shore will have to look to field events to pick up needed points.
400 m. Hurdles: Bay Shore’s Kelsey Palomino is the favorite in this event. Sachem East’s Allyson Figalora will bring home a second place finish. Brentwood could get in two scores. Edge: Bay Shore scores 10 big points in the event. Kelsey Palomino will be busy in triple jump and on relay duty for Bay Shore as well.
3000 m.: Northport’s Brigid Brennan is the favorite in the race. Teammate Sarah Zieve will try to hold off Connetquot’s Jess Smillie and Erin Melly for second. Sachem North’s Elise Ramirez will look to score distance points for North from the #6 seed position. Northport’s Kelly Flanagan may give the Tigers three scorers. Edge: Sachem North. Ramirez has come up big for Sachem North all season. Opportunity may knock for the North Flaming Arrows here. Bay Shore’s Jasmine Reyes and Lindsay Arcuri are also in the seeded section of the race. Sachem North’s Oriana Howell and Mackenzie Coleman are the top seeds in the 18 runner unseeded race. They will have to work together to run times fast enough to put any pressure on the seeded race to follow.
Discus: Sachem East will strike with seniors Diamond Jackson and Brittany Sepe. Northport’s Kaitlyn Humbert may split the two Sachem East throwers. Connetquot’s Jade Francis, Ward Melville’s Daniella Chernoff and Longwood’s Leah Roach have also broken the century mark in discus. Edge: Bay Shore. If #7 seed Sodasia Thomposn of Bay Shore makes finals, she could score critical points for the Marauders.
Shotput: Sachem East scores big again behind Sepe, Diamond and Gabriella Trejo. They are #1, 3 and 4 on the seed sheet. They may sweep if all bring their A-game as expected. Longwood’s Leah Roach (#2) is the only other Division putter to exceed 36’ this spring. Connetquot’s Jade Francis should score in her second throwing event. Kaitlyn Okvist is seeded No. 6. Edge: Sachem North if Okvist makes finals. Neither team wants to leave any point scoring opportunities behind. An Okvist score is a big plus for her team.
Triple Jump: Anisa Toppin (41’ 2”) and Kelsey Palomino (38’ 9”) of Bay Shore are ranked #1 and #2 in the county. Sachem North’s Sunja Joseph (37’ 10 ¼”) is ranked #4. Joseph will have a strong field chasing her with Lauren Krivacsy (36’ 7 ½”) and Emily Astarita (36’ 6 ½”) of Ward Melville and Brentwood’s Imani McGhee (36’ 7 ½”) right behind her on the seed sheet. Edge: Bay Shore looks to score 18 big points here. And if Joseph is knocked back by her 36+’ rivals, the event could loom large for Bay Shore’s team goals.
Long Jump: Sachem North’s Sunja Joseph (18’ 3 ¾”) tops D I rankings here with Anisa Toppin (18’ 3 ½”) #2 and Kelsey Palomino (17’ 10 ½”) #4. Brentwood’s Imani McGhee (17’ 10 ½”) could knock any or all three back. Patrice Baston of Bay Shore also looks to score for the Marauders. Long jump is a deep and talented field and anything can happen in this Day 2 event. Edge: Bay Shore. If Bay Shore comes close to the 13 points their seeds give them, they are having a good day. If they score more and push Joseph backwards in scoring, they are having a great event. Toppin out-jumped Joseph in the May 7 dual meet but Palomino did not.
Pole Vault: Connetquot’s Ashley White (10’ 3”) tops county rankings. A trio of 10 footers looms behind her with Sachem East’s Amanda Zaput, Ward Melville’s Crystal White and Commack’s Keira Mezei all vaulting 10’ 0” this spring. Connetquot and Commack could get second scorers in the event with T-Bird Catherine Dolan and Cougar Brianna Law. Edge: Even. Unless Bay Shore’s Lydia Taylor (9’ 0”) or Sachem North’s Rachel Heymach (8’ 6”) get in the scoring hunt.
2000 m. Steeplechase: Day 2 of Divisions begins with steeple. This is a Connetquot (Melly and Smillie) and Northport (Zieve and Cara Jozefowski) battleground with the edge going to the T-Birds behind Suffolk’s #3 ranked Erin Melly. Connetquot’s Taylor Kopp will try to move up from her #7 D I ranking. Sachem North’s Mackenzie Coleman is ranked #8 in the event but is only 9 ½ seconds behind #3 ranked Faith Reynolds of Ward Melville. Edge: Sachem North. Coleman has a battle on her hands but she may be able to finish in the top six.
1500 m. run.: After 100 m. dash and 100 m. high hurdles finals, Connetquot and Northport battle for distance supremacy again. Amy Irving and Bridget Sullivan of Connetquot will chase Division I’s #1 metric miler Jackie Thorne and Brigid Brennan. Sachem North’s Elise Ramirez sits in the #4 spot and Bay Shore’s Jasmin Reyes will look for a scoring opportunity from the #7 spot. Sachem East’s Ciara Murphy could score for the second time. Edge: Sachem North. Ramirez is only a sophomore but races with veteran poise. If Thorne, Irving and Brennan run a tactical race, throw the seed sheet out the window.
1500 m. Race Walk: Sachem East has three of the top nine in the nationally ranked field with #3 Holly Lindoe (2013 indoor national champion), #7 Sarah LaPorta and #9 Valerie Auciello. Sachem North has #1 Katie Michta and #4 Natalie DeQuarto. Connetquot’s Monika Farmer is #2. If track and field’s only judged event is judged closely by officials, there will be DQs. Michta and DeQuarto have never been disqualified, but Michta will have a battle on her hands as she works to hold off Farmer and Lindoe. Edge: Sachem North. Michta and DeQuarto will score double digit points for the North Arrows. Michta, Farmer and Lindoe can finish in any order in the top 3.
High Jump: Bay Shore’s Erica Silhan (5’ 5”) did not lose to a League 2 rival in dual meets this spring. Sachem North’s Swinford has won the last two invitationals in which she competed (North Shore Inv. and Urban Inv.) and took second with a career-best 5’ 4” at St. Anthony’s. But League 3 star Jackie Crunden of Walt Whitman leads all Suffolk County jumpers with a 5’ 6” mark. North has a second 5’ 4” jumper in Gabriella Czerw. Ward Melville’s Emily Astarita (5’ 3”) is also in the scoring hunt. Edge: Even. If Swinford and Czerw have good days, they could make this a great event for Sachem North.
4×800 m. Relay: Northport has run a 9:11.85 this season. Connetquot (9:21.24) is #2 and Bay Shore is #3 (9:38.04). Sachem North will have to outrun Ward Melville, Sachem East or Commack to figure in scoring. Edge: Bay Shore.
4×100 m. Relay: Sachem North can win this relay going away with its deep and talented sprint squad. Bay Shore should make finals and will look to move up from its #6 ranking in D I. Hills East will look to give Sachem North a run for its money. Handoffs are the fifth runner in the always-exciting sprint relay. Edge: Sachem North. Suffolk’s #2-ranked Sachem went to States last year and is .03 from hit the state standard this season.
4×400 m. Relay: Half Hollow Hills East has a stud relay with Chimezie, the Perrier sisters and Keschner. Bay Shore should take #2 with Floyd, Brentwood and Sachem East right behind. Edge: Bay Shore. Sachem North may have to season-best in trials just to make finals. If the North Flaming Arrows make finals, they may control their own destiny in the last event at Division I Championships.
Meet Scoring Edge: Even. History is on Bay Shore’s side. But, as the old adage goes, you can’t write tomorrow’s headlines with yesterday’s news.