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Southampton's Livia Lombardi placed third at the Loucks Games this past weekend.
The Southampton girls 4x100-meter relay team, from left, Diamond Brown, Sofia Oliveri, Kyla Cerullo and Emily Zukosky.
Southampton girls track head coach Eddie Arnold calls Livia Lombardi his “wild card.”
That’s because Lombardi, a junior, has seemingly come out of nowhere to be ranked the top high jumper among small schools in all of Suffolk County. She solidified such a ranking after clearing 5 feet 2 inches, a new personal best, and placing third out of 24 competitors at the prestigious Glenn D. Loucks Games held at White Plains High School on Saturday.
Arnold said that coaches familiar with his program thought Lombardi was Bridget Ferguson, who the past few seasons vied for county titles in the high jump but has since graduated. He thought that was funny being that Lombardi does have a similar build. But she’s in line to surpass Ferguson’s marks, at least outdoors, Arnold said. Lombardi’s jump this past weekend tied Ferguson’s personal best.
“Livia did track before COVID, kind of took a break from it, but never really gravitated toward the high jump until just recently,” Arnold said. “She’s very raw and very young in this event, but she has hops. No one saw this coming. Her previous best in dual meets was 5 feet. Her previous best in invitationals was 4’8. Her latest jump is a legitimate 5’2 jump. It was impressive.”
Southampton’s 4x100-meter relay team of Diamond Brown, Sophia Olivieri, Kyla Cerullo and Emily Zukosky won its heat after finishing in 51.37 seconds, ultimately finishing 17th overall in a very competitive field. With that time the team is now the top ranked 4x1 among small schools in the county.
Jeorgie Gavalas finished the 2,000-meter steeplechase in 8:07.07, which is a 20-second personal best. Arnold said that much of that improvement has to do with Gavalas going to nearby Hampton Bays High School and practicing on that track that has a water pit.
Also, thanks to Mattituck, which defeated Port Jefferson in a dual meet last week, the Mariners finished the season in a three-way tie and share of the League VIII title, with all teams having one loss. Southampton had defeated Mattituck earlier this season.
