The East Hampton girls track team last Friday sent a 1,600-meter sprint medley relay team to Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, where the team placed fifth in the Emerging Elite race in 4:24.25.
The team included Bridgehampton senior Leslie Samuel, Pierson senior Meredith Spolarich and East Hampton junior Ryleigh O’Donnell and East Hampton sophomore Sam Ruano.
East Hampton girls track head coach Yani Cuesta said the girls who are returning next year have already talked about how they want to go back to “Track Town, USA.”
“Eugene was an amazing, inspiring place to be,” she said. “We’ll see what they can do next year.”
Samuel also competed individually in the Emerging Elite long jump, in which she placed 18th out of 33 participants with a leap of 16 feet 6 inches. O’Donnell also ran in the Emerging Elite 400-meter dash, in which she finished 50th out of 53 in 1:02.38.
Westhampton Beach junior Trevor Hayes earned a medal and All-Ameircan honors in the boys 2,000-meter steeplechase after placing fifth in 6:07.78 at Nike Outdoor Nationals on Friday. It was a huge bounce back for him after having to bow out of his state race the week prior due to cramping.
Westhampton Beach junior Oona Murphy also competed at Nike Outdoor Nationals last week, running in the 2,000-meter steeplechase. She placed 12th out of 36 finishers in 7:29.
Murphy’s sophomore teammate, Lily Strebel, competed in the New Balance Outdoor Nationals, which were on the opposite side of the country in Philadelphia. She finished 42nd out of 53 runners in the 1,500-meter race in 4:39.56.