Baldwin girls sweep sprint events at Nassau Class AAA track and field championships
Baldwin sprinters Sariah Doresca, Breanne Barnett, Kelys Walker and Jahzara Emeli have established themselves as an indoor track and field powerhouse. Though it’s their first season competing together in the spring, it’s no surprise that their success followed outdoors.
Baldwin swept the sprint portion of the Nassau Class AAA championships on Wednesday at Syosset.
It started with senior Doresca’s win in the 100-meter dash in 12.01 seconds, with teammate Walker taking second in 12.47.
“The short stretch is always my favorite,” the Stanford commit said. “It’s always good to get a win in that, it takes a lot of technical work.”
Barnett won the 400-meter dash in 56.10 seconds, and Emeli followed in 57.01.
Baldwin saw a 1-2-3 finish in the 200-meter dash. Barnett crossed the line first in 24.28 seconds, and Doresca followed just .01 seconds behind to capture second. Walker took third in 25.11.
“It feels amazing being up there on the podium all together,” Barnett said. “We put in the work on and off the track, we’re together all the time, so we really have a great bond.”
To top it off, the 4x100 relay team of Doresca, Walker, Skye Dubose and Savannah Stephenson, won in 48.76 seconds — nearly three seconds ahead of runner-up Uniondale.
“We’re always prepping to do the unthinkable,” Doresca said. “Sweeping all the sprints, and then finishing the 4x100 for Baldwin and going unbeaten, it’s what we’ve been working towards, and it’s amazing."
East Meadow junior Zariah Hall once again proved why she’s one of the best distance runners in the state. She took first in all three events — the 1,500-meter run (4:42.45), the 800-meter run (2:17.95), and the 3,000-meter run (10:41.44), earning her second consecutive county title in all three events and helping East Meadow take home the team title with a score of 90.33.
Though the accolades are nice, Hall’s favorite part of the meet was sharing two podiums with her older sister, Anaya.
“We go one-and-two a lot, but in a county meet, it’s way more special because of the competition,” Hall said. “I wasn’t looking behind me during the race, but the whole time I was rooting for my sister.”
With Anaya graduating in June, Hall says she cherishes the final moments they’re able to take the track together.
“We’ve been doing this since seventh, eighth grade,” Hall said. “It’s going to be different not having her here with me next year, I’m going to miss it.”
Great Neck South senior Isabella Spagnoli finished first in the 2,000-meter steeplechase, clocking in at 6:55.12. She also finished second in the 3,000 (10:44.11), just under three seconds behind Hall.
“I was a little worried about the steeplechase race today, my two steeple races beforehand, I wasn’t feeling very confident,” Spagnoli said. “But, I’m so proud of myself. I can’t believe I was able to do that."
The Hofstra commit earned the super standard in the steeplechase, qualifying her for the state championships at Middletown High School on June 13.
“I stress myself out every year for the state meet,” Spagnoli said. “But, I just want to have fun and enjoy my last moments of my high school career. Hopefully, I’ll get an all-state and all-fed title, but we’ll see where it goes.”
Oceanside’s Alexa Kosakowski won the 100 hurdles in 16.08 seco nds, and teammate Addison Vice won the 400 hurdles in 1:05.99.
In the field, Isabella Lucas of Port Washington jumped 37 feet, 8 3/4 inches to claim the triple jump, Arianna Montealegre of East Meadow took the shot put title with a throw of 35 feet, 11 1/2 inches, and Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK’s Cali Yu won the pole vault with a jump of nine feet.