Just arrived home from the League V and I girls track championships. What a race between Shoreham and Mount Sinai in League V. The Wildcats, as they always seem to do in these league championships, pulled out a victory by seven points. Shoreham totaled 137 while Mount Sinai scored 130.
The girls on both sides deserve a lot of credit. Everyone performed well, so well in fact that every other team competing were nothing more than afterthoughts.
In the league meets athletes can compete in three events. Both Shoreham and Mount Sinai had several girls run in three distance events, which is no easy task for a 2 1/2 hour meet. With the scoring so close, both coaches knew they needed their best runners in as many events as possible.
The deciding event here was likely the 1,000-meter run. Mount Sinai super-freshman Janie Turek placed first in 3 minutes, 12.05 seconds. Stephanie Capasso finished sixth. Shoreham's Stephanie Anderson and Codi Mullen followed Turek in second and third. The Mustangs scored 11 points to Shoreham's 14, but the Wildcats very easily could have ended up with three points. Mullen ran 3:19.68 and Capasso ran 3:20.89. Had Anderson and Mullen slipped to three-four, with Capasso still sixth, the Mustangs win it by a point.
Alas, by a second, the Wildcats won it.
The other key for Shoreham was the shot put, which has been a strength for a while now. Ashley Clasen won with a throw of 33 feet, 1 inch. Courtney Fleming took third (29) and Jalise Norwood was fifth (27-09 1/4). That was 18 points to Mount Sinai's zero. A big difference in the final tally.
The Mustangs excelled in their own events, though, including anything Janet Mellor ran. The sophomore finished first in three events — the 55-dash, 300 and 600. Mount Sinai coach Bill Dwyer elected to leave Mellor out of a relay event, knowing that she could win three events on her own. Normally she runs in the 4 x 400, but the Mustangs' 'B' team was good enough to take first anyway.
There was a lot of strategising by both coaches as to where to run each athlete. Both teams scored about as many points as possible, Shoreham's depth was just a bit too much.
Brooke Johnson had a terrific day for Shoreham, winning the 3,000 and 1,500. She also anchored the second-place 4 x 400 relay team.
Turek ran three events as well, a real gutsy performance from a freshman. She finished third in the 1,500 and 3,000.
Kathryn Sheehan ran three events for Shoreham, taking second in the 3,000 and 1,500 as well as the 4 x 800 relay.
Both teams will contend for the small school title Thursday night, with Sayville and Bellport in the mix. The scoring will obviously be harder to come by in that meet. Most fifth or sixth place finishes in the league meet will be wiped out.
Any team will have a hard time matching Johnson-Sheehan in the distance events or Mellor in the sprints to middle distances.
Nice job by both teams.
As for League I, the Longwood girls took third. Sachem East ran away with it, scoring 134 points. Ward Melville tallies 80 and Longwood had 68.
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