Twilight meet runs long after sunset to start season

Clockwise from top left, Elyse Hermanto of John Jay clears the bar on her way to victory in the high jump. Maya Serai was fifth in the 1,500-meter race. Abby Meinel won the 100-meter hurdles event for Fox Lane. Helena Schembri had a busy day competing in shot put, high jump and long jump. JIM MACLEAN PHOTOS

By JIM MACLEAN 

With 28 teams and an unlimited number of entries competing in varsity, junior varsity, and novice races, it was a long day turned into night on the track at Somers High School for the Johnny “Spo” Esposito Tusker Twilight track and field Invitational meet.

Both Fox Lane and John Jay were among the 28 teams from around the tri-state area in a meet where athletes were still competing up until almost 10 p.m., the boys shot put just starting about 8:30 at night in the dark corner of the far end zone.

Fox Lane got off to a great start as Abby Meinel won the first event of the meet as she finished first in the girls varsity 100-meter hurdles race with a time of 17.34 to provide the highlight of the meet for the Foxes.

“I’m glad she was able to get the win, hurdles are more technical than people think so it is a tough race early in the season,” Fox Lane coach Steve Petrillo said of Meinel’s victory. “I don’t think she felt she ran her best race, but the goal is to try and come out here and be consistent and set the stage for the improvement still to come.”

John Jay had a pair of winners as Elyse Hermanto won the varsity girls high jump event, while Hasti Shadad won the varsity 1,500-meter racewalk event for the Wolves.

Hermanto cleared the bar at 4’8” for the win, a height that was below her personal best, but considering the conditions she was happy with her performance to claim the victory.

“First outdoor meet of the season, feels pretty good to win, but it wasn’t my best work,” explained Hermanto. “It’s cold, but I felt pretty good, I feel I’ve come so far from where I started. My coach has really been helping me and I can really see the improvement and hope there is more to come in the future.”

The high jump event was a highlight for both local teams as Hermanto finished first overall. Helena Schembri of John Jay was fifth with Fox Lane’s Jillian Kurchack right behind in sixth place.

“I just love high jump, you really get to bond with the other jumpers,” added Hermanto. “I’ve made friends with a lot of people because of high jump and we cheer for each other. Honestly, even if I don’t win and I see other people I know win I’m happy for them and I’m happy to be there.”

Shadad was a champion in the racewalk for John Jay as she won her varsity event with a time of 9:42.57.

Other top 10 finishers at the meet included Penelope Wein of John Jay as she was third in the girls long jump, while her teammate Helena Schembri was eighth. Schembri was also eighth in the shot put event.

Santo Cutri of Fox Lane had a pair of sixth place finishes in the boys shot put and hammer throw events. John Jay’s Skylar Monasch was 10th in the shot put.

In the boys 400-meter race, Antonio Gramaglia of Fox Lane was fourth with Nicolai Elias of John Jay right behind him in fifth place. Elias was also ninth in the 100-meter dash.

Rohan Patel of John Jay was fifth in the boys 1,600-meter race with teammate Will George in 10th place. They reversed the order in the 800-meter race as George finished ahead in seventh place with Patel in ninth place.

In the girls 1,500 meter race, Maya Serai of John Jay was fifth with teammate Emma Barniv close behind in seventh place.

Overall, it was more about the experience than the place finish and the time as so many athletes were able to compete for the first time this spring.

“This is our first meet, we’re just glad to get out here and have a meet,” added Petrillo. “The goal for the kids was to come out here and work hard. A lot of kids committed to be here even with spring break, I hope they enjoyed the experience and we can build on it from here.”

John Jay coach Joe Bachana agreed that it was nice to see Hermano get the win in high jump, but it was more about a chance to compete and kick off the spring season.

“Going from indoor to outdoor is a lot of stimuli, very cold out, it’s windy, people walking around, it’s distracting, and all the jumpers did their best,” said Bachana. “Across the board we had some good results. We have a very young team this spring and we’re already seeing some nice results.”