Track teams take on Southampton in frigid weather: Boys and girls post outstanding performances

While extremely cold conditions — 19 degrees with a windchill of 10 degrees — limited what events were completed, the Shelter Island girls track team put together another gritty performance against host Southampton on Jan. 31.

Head to head in the completed competitions, the Islanders bested the Mariners, scoring 22 points to Southampton’s 18.

In the field events, Sophie Clark took 2nd place with a 23-foot shot put, while teammate Kaitlyn Gulluscio threw 20 feet, outdistancing her last meet’s throw by 11 inches.

The sand pit was frozen solid, so the long and triple jumps were not attempted.

Running events were fewer than usual; Shelter Island didn’t compete in the three relays or the 3,000-meter run due to weather conditions.

In the 1,000-meters, Andrea Napoles and Madison Springer outpaced the Mariners to sweep first and second place in 4:30 and 4:43 respectively.

Ariana Carter raced to the win in 2:11 in the 600-meters.

The 300-meters saw Alex Burns take second in :56.1, while both Olivia Overstreet (1:01.1) and Lily Page (1:07.0) cut time off their performances over last week, while Andrea Napoles turned in a solid 1:03.6 time.

In the 55-meters sprint Ariana Carter took third 8.7 seconds while Olivia Overstreet ran 9.1. Both Alex Burns (8.8) and Lily Page (10.3) set new personal records in the brutal cold.

Coach Kevin Barry praised the team’s extraordinary efforts and dedication, saying, “Great job by all!”

He also noted that as the higher risks sports start up, some of the multi-sport athletes will be juggling track along with basketball or cheerleading.

On the boys side, Shelter Island lost to Southampton 89-8.

The team decided to just run the first couple of events, given the brutal weather conditions and the unexpected arrival of other teams to the meet who the Islanders were not facing.

The boys did a great job in those conditions, said Athletic Director Todd Gulluscio. “I’m so proud of their toughness,” he added.

Results:

1,600-meters: Jason Green, 4:48, 2nd place in event. Tyler Gulluscio, 5:19. Theo Olinkiewicz, 5:55. Nick Mamisashvili, 6:19.

55-meters: James Durran, 8.9. Hayden Rylott, 8.5. Jaxson Rylott, 8.4.

Shotput: Brandon Velasquez,- 35’ 4”. Brandon was the Overall Winner of the event.

With their dedication to show up in extreme weather already proven, you know that these student-athletes will continue to put their best foot forward and make their community proud.