A record field of 392 finishers enjoyed a beautiful August morning at one of Long Island’s hidden treasures. The Sands Point Sprint takes place on the grounds of the Sands Point Preserve and, in this year’s new course, includes a dash up to Falaise. The 5K course is one of the most unusual on Long Island and includes a tough half mile of trail in the third mile and a difficult hill just before the three-mile mark.
Two runners from Brooklyn, Angel Confessor and Mariela Quintona, made the trip to Sands Point and were rewarded by scoring as the first male and first female overall. The 31-year-old Confessor earned his win with a 17:06 finish that brought him to the finish line 42 seconds in front of 19-year-old Travis Laderer of Sea Cliff, with veteran Keith Guilfoyle nine seconds behind Laderer in third place. Quintona, 26 years old, finished with 19:15, coming in ahead of Theresa McCabe of Manhasset by four seconds.
The first finisher from Port Washington was 42-year-old Michael Lewis, who finished in 16th place overall and earned the second-place award in the 40-44 age group. Other award winners from Port Washington included 10-year-old Samwell Nachimson, who was first in the 10-and-under age group, and his 12-year-old sister Aliya Nachimson, who earned third-place honors in the women’s 11-14 age group, 9-year-old Tyler Duran, who earned the third-place award in the 10-and-under age group, 7-year-olds Elizabeth Lewis and Lily Faltischek, who scored second and third, respectively, in the women’s 10-and-under age group, 14-year-old Nick Scardigno, who scored first in the male 11-14 age group, Matthew Rybecky, who took home the third-place plaque in the 15-19 age group, Samantha Kuritzky and Stacy Ross, who were the first and third females, respectively, in the 35-39 age group, David Drewes, who topped the field in the men’s 35-39 age group, Faith Aarans, who was the second woman in the 40-44 age group to finish, Philip Rybecky, who took first-place honors in the 55-59 age group, and Michael Pollack, who scored second in the 70-74 age group.
Port Washington’s 85-year-old athlete Vera Allen was the oldest female finisher in the sprint and earned the first-place award plaque in the women’s 85-and-over age group. Another exciting finish of the morning was that of 96-year-old Bill Benson of Valley Stream.
The Mineola law firm of Lynn, Gartner, Dunne & Covello was the lead sponsor of the event. Lynbrook Runner’s Stop was the presenting sponsor. The event manager was Greater Long Island Running Club. This year’s sprint benefited the Sunrise Association, whose mission is to bring back the joys of childhood to children with cancer and their siblings worldwide, through the creation of Sunrise Day Camps, free, year-round programs and in-hospital recreational activities.
Coordinator of volunteers from the Greater Long Island Running Club was Mike Fernandez, and the logistics team was Fred von der Heydt, Nick Palazzo and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Nikita Dorcinvil of Just Finish gave the results, and Terry Bisogno was the race announcer.
Two of the four partners from the leading sponsor’s law firm, Lynn, Gartner, Dunne & Covello, Ken Gartner (28:13) and John Dunne (33:30), successfully completed the sprint.
Several sprint sponsors included Lynbrook Runner’s Stop, North Shore-LIJ, BWD Insurance, DiMaggio’s Trattoria and Greenpoint Harbor Brewery.
