East Hampton Boys Have Best Turnout at Small Schools Championship in Recent Memory; Girls Set Two School Records

The East Hampton/Pierson/Bridgehampton boys indoor track team had one of its most successful outings “in a while,” at the Small Schools Championship at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood on Saturday, according to head coach Kevin Barry.

There were a few surprises at the meet, but the “biggest shocker,” Barry said, was the performance of the Bonacker’s 4x800-meter relay team. Edmar Gonzalez-Nateras, Max Bellenoue, Sean Perez and Benson Edman went toe-to-toe with Mount Sinai for 7.75 of the 8-lap race before the Mustangs hung up for the Small Schools county title by 2 seconds, 8:47 to 8:49.

Barry said his squad was 45-second underdogs going into the race, according to the seedings. He said a decision earlier in the week to sit Gonzalez-Nateras in the 600-meter run seemed to work out really well.

The 4x200-meter relay team of Nelvin Suchite, Eduardo Calle, Alex Cabrera and Thomas Cardenas outran their seed time as well. Expected to finish 10th, the Bonackers wound up finishing sixth in 1:39.22. Barry said Cardenas ran an incredible anchor leg with a 23.5-second split and passing three teams down the final stretch to earn a point for the team.

Marcus Oransky finished 15th in the 55-meter high hurdles in 9.45 seconds. Cardenas ran a season’s best and won his heat in the 55-meter dash in 6.81 seconds, which placed him 11th. Calle leaped a personal best 19 feet ¾ inches to place 12th in the long jump. Suchite leaped 16 feet 11 ¾ inches, a personal best.

East Hampton finished 16th out of 28 teams with eight points. Eastport-South Manor won the Small Schools Championship with 63 points, 12 points ahead of Shoreham-Wading River.

Now the boys gear up for the Section XI Championships, also known as the state qualifier, which is Tuesday, February 11, from 5 to 10 p.m., at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood. With the seeding meeting this Thursday, February 6, Barry was unsure who will officially make it to the meet, but he said there is a “fair chance” that Gonzalez-Nateras (600), Cardenas (55) and both relays, the 4x2 and 4x8, will be competing.

Girls

The East Hampton/Pierson/Bridgehampton girls indoor track team competed at its Small Schools Championship at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood on Sunday, when two school records were set.

Greylynn Guyer finished the 3,000-meter race in 10:48.90, placing fifth and surpassing Ava Engstrom’s previous school record of 10:49.15, set January 20, 2019. And C.J. Echavarria and Sophia Figueroa continued their friendly rivalry in the 55-meter hurdles.

Echavarria and Figueroa each set school records in the hurdles on January 17. Echavarria had broken the previous record before Figueroa came up and ran it even faster just minutes later at 9.68 seconds. On Sunday, it was Echavarria who got the best of Figueroa, crossing the finish line in 9.43 seconds, the new school record. Figueroa finished in 9.64 seconds. Echavarria also ran a personal best in the 300-meter dash in 46.39 seconds.

“Now we need to see if they will be able to qualify for the State Qualifier meet and get another opportunity to break the school record again, or will it stay as is until next winter season?” Bonac head coach Yani Cuesta said.

Sara O’Brien placed fourth in the 600-meter run in 1:43.05. Bennett Greene was the only other pointer scorer for the Bonackers, finishing fifth in the 1,500-meter race walk in 8:58.20.

Vicky Chen set a new personal best in the long jump with a leap of 14 feet 10 ¼ inches. Sofia Pantosin threw 23 feet in the shot put, Danett Gonzalez-Alcala finished the 1,000-meter race in 3:34.75 and Heidi Jimenez-Bustos crossed the finish line in the 1,500-meter race in 5:54.67.

The Bonackers finished 14th out of 20 teams. East Islip won the girls Small Schools Championship with 75 points, only four points ahead of Sayville.