On a bitterly cold and windy day, seven Bonac athletes decided it might be fun to splash around in some frigid water. It was part of the Rod Cawley Steeple Fest Plus Invitational in Port Jefferson on April 8, a track and field competition that includes the steeplechase, a race with hurdles and water jumps. While the photos show what an incredible contest the steeplechase is, they don’t illustrate how much work and practice it takes to even attempt it.
“Coach Nick DeLuca has been working with the girls on steeple. This event requires a lot from the athletes: aerobic endurance, good flexibility and hip strength for hurdling, and the specific techniques for clearing the fixed barriers and the water hazard,” said Yani Cuesta, their head coach. “Nick has worked with the athletes just beginning, with walkover drills, and then with all of them on developing ‘fearlessness’ to attack the barriers to maintain momentum.”
The 2,000-meter steeplechase features 18 barrier jumps and five water jumps over five laps of the track, which is roughly a mile and a quarter. Olivia Stiglitz participated in the freshman steeplechase, her first time in the event, and finished in 10:58.13. Danett Gonzalez-Alcala took second place in the novice girls steeplechase, setting a personal record of 8:45.82. Sophia Figueroa and Kate Vinski finished in 10:08.26 and 10:51.84, respectively. It was their first time trying the steeplechase.
Sara O’Brien finished eighth in the open girls steeplechase, running an 8:21.16. Josie Mott finished in 8:46.70. Bennett Greene came in at 9:30.65.
What might be even more impressive than their times is the fact that the girls competed without practicing on a real water hazard. East Hampton’s track doesn’t have one.
“Distance runners in the weeks leading up to the race will spend a lot of time doing basic hurdle mobility and drills. I encourage them to hurdle as many barriers as possible,” DeLuca said. “I also teach them how to ‘step-on, step-off’ the barriers in the event that they cannot hurdle the barriers. For the water barrier, I’ll have athletes practice with a barrier over the jump or sand pits. This is the best way I can mimic a water jump since we do not have a water barrier to practice with.”
Water or not, DeLuca said it’s all about building confidence. “Since they had the confidence, I think the vast majority of them had a blast in the event despite the cold water and windy weather.”
The girls also competed well outside of the steeplechase that day. In the discus, Leah McCarron threw 89 feet, 1 inch for third place. Amy Fleming threw 62 feet, 9 inches, which was a personal record. In the shot-put, McCarron threw 32 feet, 2 inches, a season’s best that earned her fourth place. Fleming threw 22 feet, 8.5 inches, which was another personal record.
In the 100-meter high hurdles, Figueroa finished in 17.82, a season’s best that put her in seventh place. In the high jump, Sierra Stumpf hit 4 feet, 4 inches, for 10th place.
