Despite continuing challenging due to COVID, the Calhoun girls would go on to win their fourth consecutive Conference Championship this season.
The girls knew the challenges this season would bring and set a goal in the fall that they wouldn’t let anything stand in their way. They arrived at St Anthony’s High School on Jan. 13 driven and ready to compete.
“Our girls always are the last to enter the facility; matching head to toe, stone faced and I in two long straight lines,” Coach Joseph Migliano said. “It’s a tradition we started long ago and it has been embraced by the entire program. It shows unity, that they are there to compete and we treat this meet as a business trip.”
The meet got off to a fast start scoring 24 points as junior Carly Curnutt led Kate MacNamara and Kaitlyn Stibritz to a first, second and third finish in the 3,000m run.
“The distance team has been showing up all season and really wanted this winter to piggyback off their county runner up honor from the cross country season,” Migliano added.
At the beginning of the meet, the girls from Calhoun were looking at a second place finish, until the hurdles and field events came around. Sara Manson transformed the meet for the team, winning the hurdles, long and triple jump. Manson scored 30 points for the team and hit a season best in all three events.
“Sara has a drive, focus, and mentality that is unmatched,” Migliano added. “She has been with team since her eighth grade season and has been a huge part of our success. She has really turned herself into a true leader and role model for all the younger girls. She sets the standard for Calhoun track and field.”
Manson is currently ranked no. 2 in all of Section VIII for the hurdles and top three for both long and triple jump.
“We are so underclassmen heavy,” Migliano added. “The majority of our team has never been to a conference championship and experienced how it feels to win.”
“We left everything we had on the track and it really paid off,” Manson added. “It’s a great feeling to see our team so passionate and motivated to keep our tradition alive. We are looking forward to the county championship meet and carry that over to the spring season.”
Calhoun separated themselves from the rest of the pack during the field events. Freshmen Lauren Rosario and Alyena Ozay took second and third in the high jump, scoring 13 points for the team. Along with Sara, Yolina Bastien made her presence felt in jumps as well, taking second in Long and third in Triple jump.
Erika Klein got her meet going a week before the rest as she won the Conference title for weight throw, breaking a long standing school record along with the way. On Jan. 14, Klein stepped up for an injured teammate and competed in the shot put, Klein led Lily Napoli and Emily Maxwell to a 3rd, 4th and 6th place finish, grabbing another 14 points for the team.
Soon after the distance crew stepped back on the track - led by senior captain Julianna Razza – they picked up major points in the 1500m run. Omana Phillips earned her first conference title in the Racewalk, leading Taylor Halvorsen and Lily Napoli to a 1st, 2nd and 4th place finish.
Taking 4th in the 4x800m and second in the 4x400m meter run. Kelly Martin and Gabby Manfre lad the girls to a runner up finish in the 4x400, with Martin running a season best her leg.
Junior Captain Julia Baguiao took 4th for the team in the 300m dash, running a personal best along the way. She led the way in the last race of the nigh as well; the 4x200m relay. Baguiao got out to a fast start and helped earn the team a 3rd place finish - picking up another 6 points.
“In a year of unknowns and uncertainties somethings never seem to change; the Calhoun Girls Track and Field team,” Migliano added.
The girls scored 174 points with Garden City finishing runner up with 73 points. This is one of the largest margins of victory in the history of winter track and field in Nassau County.
Date Added: 1/21/2022