Track teams staying competitive on county level
Jonas Kinsey won a gold medal as the freshman champion in the 600 meters January 20 at the Suffolk County Frosh/ Sophomore Championships in Brentwood.
The championship season is upon us and it was a busy weekend for the boys and girls of the Shelter Island School winter track teams.
On January 20, our sophomore, freshmen, 8th and 7th grade boys traveled to Suffolk County Community College’s Brentwood campus for the Suffolk County Frosh/ Sophomore Championships. This event included underclassmen from schools, large and small.
Tyler Gulluscio, an 8th grader, started it off by racing first in the 3,200 meter run to a time of 12:30.12 minutes. The next race up was the 55 meter dash, run by sophomore Michael Payano and 8th grader Brandon Payano, with times of 7.64 and 8.36 seconds, respectively. Michael’s time was a new personal record (“PR”) and lowers the school record yet again for this event.
The 600 meter race followed. Freshmen Jonas Kinsey, Luke Lowell-Liszanckie and Alberto Morales ran 1:35.06, 1:49.62 and 1:56.22 minutes, respectively, all PRs. In a tightly contested race, Kinsey had to battle back and forth, switching leads more than once with the same Half Hollow Hills East athlete, before prevailing by 10ths of a second to a first place finish, earning the title of Freshman Champion and a gold medal.
Finishing the day with the 300 meter dash, Gulluscio ran 51.62 seconds, Kinsey 47.45, Lowell-Liszanckie 50.77, Brandon Payano 54.26 and Michael Payano 42.81.
The following day, the girls team traveled to Brentwood for the League 5 Girls Championships, which includes about a dozen of Suffolk County’s smallest schools. Freshman Emma Gallagher raced in the 1,000 meter run with a fourth place finish and a medal with a time of 3:16.45 (PR). Junior Lindsey Gallagher raced the 600 meter dash next, getting off to a fast start with Mercy’s best 600 meter runner a step behind her. The Mercy runner tried to pass two separate times but Lindsey fought her off and never gave up the lead. She finished first with a time of 1:39.62 (PR), earning the title of League Champion and a gold medal for the team while lowering her 600 meter school record.
In the last two races of the day, Lindsey Gallagher ran the 1,500 meter run in 5:42.33. Emma Gallagher ran the 300 meter dash in 45.36 (PR) to a fourth place finish and medal.
On January 22, the boys team traveled to Brentwood for the League 5 Boys Championships. Senior Will Garrison, junior Jack Lang and Gulluscio did an outstanding job starting the day off all running PR’s in the 1,000 meter run with times of 3:06.07, 3:18.07 and 3:20.45 minutes. Next up was the Payano brothers running the 55 meter dash, with Brandon running 8.28 and Michael running 7.93. In the 600 meter dash, Kinsey and Lowell-Liszanckie ran 1:41.95 and 1:49.99.
Next race was the 300 meter dash. Kinsey ran 43.21 (PR), Brandon Payano ran 46.64 (PR) and Michael Payano ran 41.77. Junior Joshua Green raced the last individual event of the day, the 1,600 meter run, in 4:53.50 to a fourth place finish, earning both a medal and points for the Indians.
Garrison, Kinsey, Michael Payano and Green ran the 4 x 800 meter relay for the first time this season, running a solid 9:31.04 to a fourth place finish earning a medal, team points and establishing the school record in the event.
The next meet for the boys is Sunday, January 29. The last team meets of the season will be the County Championships on Saturday, February 4 for the boys and Sunday, February 5 for the girls, all at Brentwood.
