Nikki Fogarty became Sachem’s second county champion on Day 2 of State Qualifiers as she had her typically strong second half of her 100 m. high hurdles race to outlean Tristan Bevans of Smithtown East by .02 seconds as Nikki won the race in 15.61.
The race put a stamp on her outstanding outdoor season. She would return to the track for the 4×100 m. relay later in the meet with hurdles training partner Emily Rathmann who finished fifth in the high hurdles finals.
Melissa Michels and Alyssa Leto were next in the track as the 100 m. dash finals. Michels was in her first of three finals for the day and Leto was in her first of two finals. Michels earned her first spot at the NYS Championship meet as she placed second in 12.33. Alyssa tied for fifth in the race. An hour later, Michels shattered her own school record with a 24.71 in the 200 m. dash finals. Her previous record was set at Division I Championships last week. Michels’ closing speed in the race fell .01 short of catching race winner Alexia Douglass of Brentwood.
Sachem’s fleet foursome of Leto, Fogarty, Rathmann and Michels stepped on the track for the 4×100 m. relay finals in the penultimate event of the meet.
North Babylon was the race favorite. Brentwood’s relay was anchored by 100 and 200 m. dash champion Alexia Douglass.
Sachem’s squad was calm before the race as Sachem sprinters sat in a shady spot in the clerking area speaking about race goals. 48.37 seconds after the race started, anchor Melissa Michels crossed the finish line with Sachem’s – and Michels’ – second record of the day. North Babylon ran NYS’s No. 3 time of the season to win the race. Sachem now has NYS’s No. 5 relay.
Sachem’s outstanding weekend included season-bests and top 6 finishes by most of the team’s 21 athletes at the meet.
Top six performances were turned in by Natalie DeQuarto (fifth in the 1,500 m. racewalk), Elise Ramirez (sixth in the 1500 m. run), and Carly Swinford and Gabriella Czerw (tied sixth in high jump).
Corri Moran had three season-bests in her five pentathlon events. Sachem’s 4×800 m. relay squad of Emily Lin, Kristina Schrepf, Brooke Foltmann and Dowon Hwang ran the team’s fastest time of the relay.
DAY 2 FOOTNOTES
- Kristina Schrepf closed out her Sachem career with her best 800 m. run of the season as she ran a 2:25.4 split in the 4×800.
- Rachel Heymach was clean through her personal-best matching 9’ 0” vault. Though she missed at 9’ 6”, her final two attempts at the height were very close.
- Kaitlyn Okvist joined Sachem’s seed sheet-busting squad as she placed 7th in shotput with a solid series of six throws in trails and finals that included four throws over 33 feet.
- Melissa Michels set another Sachem record as she will be competing in three events at next weekend’s NYS Championships in Middletown. No team member has ever done this before.
- Sachem will be well-represented at Tuesday’s All-County dinner with All-County athletes Melissa Michels (100, 200, 4×100), Nikki Fogarty (100 m. high hurdles), Sunja Joseph (long jump), Alyssa Leto (4×100), and Emily Rathmann (4×100). Emily and Carly Swinford will receive Academic All-County honors.