Boys Winter
The MacArthur Boys Track and Field team competed in the Conference 2 Championship meet on Jan. 19. The boys placed fourth overall, missing third by a mere two points.
Conference Champions permeated the team, the 4x200m relay (Erik Chevez, Andrei Dinoro, Dylan Pearce, Dylan Zangrillo), Jordan Kohlman in the Pole Vault, Andrei D. in the 55 meters (who set a new school record) and finished second in the 300m to his teammate, and Chevez in the 300 meters all won their respective events scoring points for the team.
On Feb. 8 the boys team competed in the County A Championship in which they finished eighth overall. Dinoro was All-County for placing second in the 55m dash with a time of 6.55 and broke his own school record. His teammate Chevez also was All-County playing third out of the second heat in the 600m. Chevez ran a 1:24.61 that is the second fastest time in school history. Matt Bascelli and Pat Ducey each ran personnel best times in the 1600m.
On Feb. 15 the boys team was at it again, this time it was for the State Qualifier meet. On this night there were some great races and some really close finishes. Chevez overcame a tough semi-final to finish second in the final of the 300m and qualify for the state meet at Cornell University. Chevez broke a very difficult record running a 36.27 previously held by Matt Granata who ran 36.36.
Up at the state meet Chevez ran very well finishing the 300m in a time of 36.61 that placed him 25th in the State. He was the fifth boy to every qualify for this elite meet.
Girls Winter
The MacArthur Girls Track and Field team kept its tradition alive by winning the Conference 2 Championship meet for the seventh consecutive year. With the cheering squad very loud this year the girls performed like champions, they scored points in every event of the night. All-Conference athletes and Conference champions filled the team. Kelly Clifford pulled off one of the toughest triples by winning the High Jump, Long Jump, and Triple Jump. Kristina Coiro won the 1500m, and 1000m events. Courtney Kiernan and her teammate Sam Barrett place first and second in the Race Walk. Newcomer Kaelyn Greene started her high school career off in the right direction by winning the 3000-meter run.
Kristina Romano won both the hurdles and the pole vault; she also placed second in the triple jump. In the relays Jessica Race, Kelly MacKay, Natalie Sopchak and Shannon Murphy of the 4×400 in a time of 4:22.1 were crowned champs.
The following athletes were also awarded All-Conference honors, Kelly Gerdes in the 600m, Amanda Seda and Heather Van Patten in the shot put, Nicole Natland, and Nicole Hein completed the sweep in the pole vault.
At the County meet on Feb. 8 the girls had their best finish in taking third overall. Coiro became the County Champion in the 1500m and placed second in the 1000m. Barrett and Kiernan placed second and third to also be named All-County in the Race Walk. Clifford was high jump champion and third in the triple jump. Romano was champion in the pole vault.
Next up was the State Qualifier on Feb. 15 that the girls team sent a bunch of athletes to compete and try to make their way up to Cornell. By the end of the meet three girls qualified for the state meet. Romano won the pole vault coming from behind on her last attempt; she also finished third in the hurdles. Clifford won the high jump, and placed second in the triple jump. Both girls were the first in school history to qualify in two individual events. Coiro finished third in the 600m. She will compete on the Intersectional Relay. A special note from the evening was the girls’ 4x800m relay (Gerdes, Greene, Coiro, and Race). These four girls ran amazing and broke the school record by running 9:40.67.
At the state meet MacArthur girls represented Section VIII well. Coiro became the fourth girl in school history to come home with ALL-State and ALL-Federation honors. She ran the 600m leg on the relay which placed second. Romano vaulted 9’9” to take 16th and hurdled 8.74 to take 12th overall. Clifford took 21st in Triple Jump and 23rd in high jump. Next up is the national meet in NYC in which the girls team will be sending eight athletes.
