Ater a two-day snowstorm delay the Sachem East girls track team competed in the Suffolk County State qualifying meet at Suffolk West on Tuesday with some excellent results.
Highlighted by four athletes qualifying for the State meet, some great performances were turned in, including a number of top six finishes in a variety of events.
The meet began with the relay trials with only the top 6 teams advancing to the finals and a shot to make the State Meet. The 4 by 400 team of Jayda Allen, Ali Figalora, Ciara Murphy, and Meg Murphy placed 3rd in their heat to advance, while the quartet of Ebonie Lewis, Ashley Mercado, Shannon Haberkorn, and Essence Sterling ran a season best 1:50.25 to place 2nd in their heat and move on. About an hour later Holly Lindoe stepped up to the line primed to compete against the number one Racewalker in the United States, Annica Penn of Westhampton, in the 1500 Meter Racewalk.
Holly stuck to Annica’s heels and kept the race close, finishing 2nd in a School Record 6:48.54 as Penn and Lindoe posted the top two times in the nation this year, and of course, qualified for the State Meet. Minutes later, Laurie Semetsis followed up that performance with her own gutsy effort as she grabbed the lead in the 600 Meter Run from the start and challenged the field to hang on to her. Semetsis kept the pressure on, and although passed just before the line grabbed 2nd place to punch her ticket, running a 1:41.08.
Although Shannon Haberkorns 9.18 in the 55 hurdles was a frustrating 8 one hundreds of a second short of making the hurdle final, three Sachem Throwers were able to advance to the Shot Put final. Gabby Trejo placed 5th (35’2″), Brittany Sepe 4th (35’11”), and Diamond Jackson put together a 38’7″ throw to win the event. In the Pole Vault, Amanda Zaput earned her trip to the State Meet the hard way, surviving a drawn out jump off after the regular competition left her in a tie for second at 9′. After multiple misses by both competitors at 9’6″ and 9’3″, Zaput was the first to again clear 9′ and earn her spot.
The meet ended with the relays, with Sachem East the only team in Suffolk County able to qualify squads for all 3 relays into the finals. Ali Figalora, Danielle Curan, Shannon O’Hehir and Meg Murphy teamed to take 6th in the 4 by 400, with the 4 by 800 quartet of Ciara Murphy, Katie Hempfling, Jayda Allen, and Laurie Semetsis also taking 6th. Earning 4th place plaques were the 4 by 200 team of Ebonie Lewis, Ashley Mercado, Shannon Haberkorn, and Essence Sterling.
With the State Championship meet being held March 3rd at Cornel University, East’s four qualifiers and other top performers will get one more chance to compete, having earned entry into the Long Island Elite Invitational held at St. Anthonys H.S. The meet is open to all Suffolk and Nassau public and private school Track athletes who qualified for the State Meet or are ranked in the top 12 in their event on Long Island. The Meet will be held on Friday, February 22nd.