The Calhoun High School girls track and field entered the Nassau County Division 2A Championships on May 17 as an underdog but left as champions.

Knowing they needed to get out to a fast start Cristin Rodriguez and Juliann Vizoso took the track for the first event of the day, the 400 intermediate hurdles. Neither have ever ran this race in the past, but both knew they had to reach past their abilities for the team; and that they did.

Rodriguez led the way running a personal best and taking first, not far behind was Vizoso who took three seconds off her previous best to finish second. Next up would be the 1,500-meter race.

“Calhoun has always been known for their distance program, but today the girls solidified themselves as one of the best in the county,” said coach Joseph Migliano.

Senior Captain Grace Moore would win the 1,500-meter in stellar form and right behind her were fellow teammates: Emma Joseph and Christina Garbarino. The girls placed first, second and fourth in this race; but this was just the beginning of their long day ahead.

Shortly after winning the 400 intermediate hurdles, Rodriguez would get back on the track for the 100-meter hurdles, beating the rest of the field by more than one second and setting her personal best time with a 15.3-second run.

The 800-meter race was set up to be a very fast and competitive race, but that didn't bother Moore or Vizoso. Moore took first again to claim her second division title and Vizoso was right behind her for another second-place finish, and that wasn’t the end for either of them.

With just a short 12-minute break Moore would get back on the track with Joseph and Garbarino to run the 3,000-meter.

“This was Moore's third race of the day, but like the true work horse she is, this didn’t bother her one bit,” said Migliano. “She led the way as the girls from Calhoun swept the 3,000-meter race taking first, second and third. Moore ended her day and career at the divisional meet with that race being a three-event champion.”
Joseph and Garbarino still had more work to do. The girls joined Vizoso and Kaite Corona on the track for the 4x800-meter race shortly after that, earning the Division Championship in the 4x800-meter race.

The girls from Calhoun didn’t slack in the field events either; Caitlin Ouellette, Victoria Unz, Katie Goodman and Paige Sfiroudis all contributed crucial points in and helped the girls pull away from the powerhouse that was Westbury.

“The girls have been focusing on this meet for the past three months, putting in hours of training on the track and in the weight room preparing for the long work day they had, and all that paid off,” said Migliano. “Calhoun had only 13 girls score points for them, which many believed would be impossible to win with, but this group of talented athletes didn't care what people thought. They knew how hard they worked and how dedicated they were and would prove that nothing could stand in the way of their goals.”