While the East Hampton High School girls track team lost its season-opener here last Thursday to Mount Sinai by a score of 82-65, Yani Cuesta, Bonac's coach, was particularly pleased by the performances of her first-timers, who make up more than half the team.
The veterans came through too: Penelope Greene, a senior long-distance runner from Pierson, the subject of a story in Sunday's Newsday, broke the school record in the 3,000-meter race with her winning time of 10 minutes and 52.09 seconds. Ava Engstrom, a senior teammate of Greene's, had held the record with the 11:01.82 she ran in the spring of 2018.
Greene, who was the county's C-D champion in cross-country, is setting her sights on another school record as well, the 4:56 that Dana Cebulski ran in the 1,500 in 2013. Greene's best thus far in that distance, which Cuesta said was "a little less than a mile," has been 5:01.10.
A sub-5-minute time in the 1,500 would be "very, very good," Cuesta said in reply to a question. "The fastest time posted this week, a 5:05, was run by a Deer Park girl."
Besides Greene, other winners for East Hampton last Thursday were Casey Stumpf in the triple jump; Dylan Cashin in the 800; Bella Tarbet in the 400 intermediate hurdles and in the shot-put; Meredith Spolarich in the high jump; Bella Espinoza in the pole vault, and the 4-by-400 and 4-by-800 relay teams.
The coach said she and her volunteer assistant, Eric Malecki, are hoping that Tarbet, an East Hampton senior, can qualify for postseason competition in either the steeplechase or in the pentathlon, whose events are the shot-put, the 100 high hurdles, the high jump, long jump, and 800.
In her first try, Tarbet was last Thursday's runner-up in the 100 high hurdles, and ran the winning 4-by-800 relay team's fastest leg, in 2:51.
"She'll have to bring that down to 2:42 or better to be competitive in the 800, but I think she can," said Cuesta, who added that "our school record is 2:21."
Because of Covid, "the county division and state qualifier meets will be open to the top 12, not, as was the case in the past, to the top 24. There are not that many invitationals this year, so we'll have to be strategic when it comes to qualifying for certain events. . . . We're hoping Bella will be invited to Port Jefferson's Steeplefest on May 23."
One of Cuesta's first-timers, Leslie Samuel, a Bridgehampton sophomore -- the first Bridgehamptoner in years to compete on East Hampton's team -- was second in her first try in the 100-meter dash, was second in the long jump, and anchored the 4-by-100 relay.
East Hampton did not contest the 1,500-meter racewalk, which resulted in 9 points for the visitors, even though there was a lot of lifting that went unremarked on, Cuesta said, referring to the racers' form. Minus those points, Mount Sinai still would have won, she said.
Another veteran, Bella Espinoza, won the pole vault, tying a personal record of 9 feet 6 inches. "Her goal is to hit 10," said Cuesta. "There was only one girl who went higher this week -- Ashley Brule of Hills West, who did 11-7. Unfortunately, she's in our division."
Danielle Futerman, the coach added, holds East Hampton's record, at 10-0.
Meredith Spolarich, a Pierson sophomore who anchored that school's field hockey team, was impressive too, winning the high jump, placing second in the discus, finishing fourth in the 200 (a race in which Espinoza was the runner-up), and as a member of the winning 4-by-400 relay team with Uma Nolan, Khalila Martin, and Anna Carman.
As expected, East Hampton's distance runners, including Greene, Tarbet, Dylan Cashin, Emma Hren, and Engstrom, were formidable.
Cashin, a ninth grader, won in her first attempt at it the 800 in 2:40.69; Tarbet won the 400 hurdles in a personal-best 80.17, and Cashin, Engstrom, Tarbet, and Greene teamed up to win the 4-by-800 relay.
"It's looking good -- for this year, and for next," Cuesta said.