Both Hampton Bays Boys, Girls Track Have Top Athletes That Should Lead Them This Spring

Based upon who they have returning from last season, when a handful of student-athletes reached the New York State Outdoor Track and Field Championships, on top of what many accomplished this past winter, this spring could be a successful one for the Hampton Bays boys and girls track teams.

Maizie Poulakis, now a senior, finished tied for third in Division II and earned All-State honors in the pole vault last year, and is returning along with sophomore Asha Pensa-Johnson, who finished 12th in the state last season in the discus. Hampton Bays girls head coach Kevin O’Toole said both Pensa-Johnson and Poulakis are not only looking for return trips to states this spring but are looking to put their names in the history books at Hampton Bays by breaking school records in their respective events.

Emma Halsey, a junior, is also returning after reaching the state qualifier last spring. She followed up her strong campaign a year ago with an even better winter, when she won the league title in the 55-meter hurdles and set school records in that event and the triple jump as well.

Another junior, Allie O’Brien, also competed in the 400-meter hurdles at the state qualifier last season and has returned to continue in that event, along with the 800-meter race and high jump. Senior Danna Flores is coming off a winter in which she improved her times in the 1,500-meter race 20 to 30 seconds faster than they were a year ago, O’Toole said, and is ready to have her best season yet as she prepares for graduation.

O’Toole is also high on a pair of returning sophomores, Sofia Galvan and Izzy Ospitale. Galvan is coming off her best winter season yet after qualifying for and competing in the 1,000-meter race at the Small Schools Championships. She is looking to set new personal bests in the 1,500- and 3,000-meter races. Ospitale, meanwhile, will be key for the girls in the sprints, such as the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and the 400-meter run and 400-meter intermediate hurdles.

Senior Lilly Patek is competing in the spring for the first time after having competed on the indoor winter team in previous seasons. She’ll add depth to the sprints. And freshman Sumeja Bytyqi is running spring track for the first time as well. She made huge improvements to her times in the 1,500 during the winter and O’Toole is expecting her to get stronger and faster this upcoming season to become a point scorer for the team and compete in the postseason.

“We always have our eyes set on postseason competition,” O’Toole said. “Last year, we had nine athletes compete at the County C Championship, and at state qualifiers we had four competing. These were both some of our biggest showings in years and I want to continue this momentum and improve on this. The girls on this team are committed and ready to work, and I’m confident we will be seeing some really great performances throughout the season from them.”

As for the boys, they may have graduated their lone state qualifier from a year ago in thrower Timothy Kraycar, but what they have returning is a group of athletes who competed well this past winter, reaching the Small Schools Championships and some even the Long Island Elite Meet.

Included in that group is sprinter Eli Amos, short distance runner Matthew Papajohn, pole vaulter Joffre Proano, who reached last spring’s state qualifier, and Charlie Garcia, who is both a jumper and key runner for the Baymen being that he can run in the sprints and mid distances.

“The main core group from the end of indoor is coming back. We have a few additional kids that can definitely help in certain areas,” boys head coach Vincenzo Battaglia said. “We have a little bit more depth than the winter season, so I’m definitely excited to see what they can do, especially the new additional kids, just trying to get them in shape and ready to compete.”

Early on, Amos, Garcia, Papajohn and Proano are all ranked high, in the top three or better, in their respective events in Class C, according to Battaglia. That should bode well for them when it comes to postseason meets.

Additionally, the Baymen will have Ben Spellman competing in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races. Michael Poremba is fairly new to the discus, but has already been throwing over 100, 110 feet, Battaglia said, and as he gets more acclimated, he could make huge strides throughout the season. Liam Sutton will run in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles and Battaglia said if he can run under 60 seconds that should make him competitive throughout the county. Eddie Benenaula and Eddie Reyes are two newcomers to the team who Battaglia thinks will add depth to the sprints, with Reyes also helping in the long and triple jumps.

Both Hampton Bays boys and girls will compete in League VII again this season with the likes of Mount Sinai, Shoreham-Wading River, Miller Place, Bayport-Blue Point and Elwood-John Glenn. Both teams got their seasons underway on Monday against Miller Place and their next dual meets are not until April 19, when they both face Shoreham.