The Sachem North Flaming Arrows ran their fourth meet in a twelve day span at today’s Suffolk Coaches Invitational. Coaches hoped for good efforts and smart racing tactics. Team performances in the three races in which the team was entered demonstrated the strength – both physically and mentally – that Sachem possesses.
Eighth grader Gabriella Mott got things going for North with her fifth place finish in the Frosh Race. Freshmen Hailey Lynch and Isabel Martins joined Gabriella in running season-best per mile times.
The Varsity Race squad went to the starting line with a goal of staying close together throughout the race. Junior Elise Ramirez was expected to go out with race leaders – St. Anthony’s (NYS Class A #17) and late meet entry Garden City (NYS Class B #14) top runners would give Elise strong race rivals.
Elise placed fourth in a career-best time of 20:05 at Sunken Meadow’s 5K course. Sophomore Mackenzie Coleman (15th in 21:17) and senior Katie Michta (16th in 21:23) stayed close throughout their races. Seniors Dowon Hwang (21st in 21:51) and Oriana Howell (30th in 22:13) rounded out top five scoring for Sachem as it placed second (85 team points) in team scoring behind race winner St. Anthony’s (65). Senior Katie Pfeil and sophomore Julia Reilly ran strong efforts in their first invitational varsity races of the season.
Emily Lin – like Gabriella Mott and Elise Ramirez in their respective races – planned on going out with race leaders in her JV race. Emily was racing on Sunken Meadow’s 5K course for the first time in her rookie season. She ran with veteran savvy and stayed with the lead pack throughout her race. Emily’s fifth place time of 23:50 was Sachem’s sixth fastest time of the day. Brigid Rattiger, Ashley Miskovsky, Kimberly Longboat, Nicole Fezza and Meghan Tozza had strong efforts as they contributed to the North Flaming Arrows fifth place finish in team scoring in the JV race.
Sachem’s first goal today was to qualify for the November 1 County Championship meet. The team did so easily with a 21:22 team average in the Varsity Race. Sachem’s team average was the fastest of any Section XI team competing at Suffolk Coaches today. A second goal was to apply race tactics that will matter as the team looks ahead to big meets in October and November. This goal was achieved in all three races today. Fast times were a bonus! The North Flaming Arrows resume their League 2 dual meet season at home on Tuesday when the Lindenhurst Lady Bulldogs visit North’s home 5K course.
-Text submitted by Sachem North coach Alex Young