In 1893, the University of Pennsylvania was looking for a way to make its spring track meet more exciting. What if four men each ran a quarter mile — one lap of the track — one after another? Princeton University was up for the challenge, and sent its track team to Philadelphia to try it out. Princeton ran away with that first relay, now known as the 4-by-400 meters, but Penn didn’t lose heart. The Quakers got their revenge in 1894, sparking so much interest in relay competition that they decided to host an all-relay event at Franklin Field in April 1895, called the Penn Relay Carnival. In 1895, there were nine relay events for high schools, prep schools, and colleges. Today, the Penn Relays is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the country — showcasing more than 20,000 of the world’s fastest athletes.
On Saturday, East Hampton’s 4-by-400-meter relay team — Jasper Samuelson, Emmett Schumann, Hudson Goulart, and Liam Knight — joined the competition. The foursome ran their best time of the season, completing the relay in 3:32.46. It was Bonac’s best 4-by-400 relay time in a decade.
“This is my third time bringing a team here as a coach,” said Sean Knight, the boys’ head coach. “This one was extra special getting to watch Liam [his son] run an amazing time at his last high school performance here. These boys work so hard every day so it’s a pleasure to take them to events like this. I also want to give an extra shout-out to Sean Perez, who is willing to come along as our alternate and show such great support for his team.”
One of the best runners ever to grace the high school track on Long Lane, Ryan Fowkes, class of 2019, also competed on Saturday, with the Bonac team in the stands cheering him on. He placed third in the Olympic Development Men’s Mile Run Elite with a 3:59.81. Fowkes first broke the four-minute mile in August 2025.
Meanwhile, in Hauppauge on April 22, the Bonac boys track team extended their undefeated record with a 75-51 win. The boys were 3-0 as of last week for the first time in over 20 years. They had a home meet on Tuesday, too late for results to be included here.
The athletes of the Hauppauge meet were Liam Knight and Marcus Oransky. Knight was dominant, winning the 400 meters in 51.6 and the 200 meters in 23.5. He also anchored the first-place 4-by-100-meter relay team. Oransky was also a three-time winner, taking first in the pole vault, 110-meter high hurdles, and the 400-meter hurdles.
In other outstanding field event performances, Adrian Bello placed first in the triple jump with 38 feet, 6.5 inches. Eduardo Calle finished first in the long jump with 18 feet, 11 inches, and Hudson Goulart took first place in the high jump.
Samuelson and Watts Comly Bolick placed first and second respectively in the 3,200 meters, which all but sealed the victory for the boys.
“Proud of the entire team — great effort across the board, “Coach Knight said in his message to families. “We’re building something special. Let’s keep it rolling!”
The Girls Report
The girls track team fought through the cold and rain at the Westhampton Beach Invitational Saturday. While Yani Cuesta, their head coach, said conditions were better than last year’s downpour, the pole vault event was canceled because of the rain.
“The cold, wet conditions made it really tough on many of the athletes, especially the explosive action ones,” such as sprinters and field competitors, Coach Cuesta said. “Yet, some were able to find their way to improved performances.”
In the novice 400-meter intermediate hurdles, Kate Vinski ran a season’s best 85.6 to finish in 10th place.
In the 1500 meters, Danett Gonzalez-Alcala ran 5:28.4, which was a personal record.
In the 400 meters, Laura Martinez ran a season’s best 63.84 which earned seventh place. Lai’la Sanders took 10th place with a personal record of 65.51 and Vanessa Rizzo ran a season’s best 65.81.
In the 100 meters, Lucia Mogavero ran a season’s best 13.81.
Bennett Greene continues to improve week after week in the 1,500-meter racewalk. She placed second in the invitational with a season’s best 8:35.58.
In the novice 1500-meter racewalk, Olivia Stiglitz also took second place with a personal record of 8:53.58.
In the novice 800 meters, Gonzalez-Alcala set another personal record of 2:41.22, finishing second.
In the novice 200 meters, Sanders ran a personal record of 29.03 to finish second. Vanessa Rizzo took fourth place with a personal record of 29.19. Vinski ran a season’s best 32.97 and Madison Williams ran a personal record of 37.43.
The 4-by-400-meter relay team of Josie Mott, Martinez, Sanders, and Sara O’Brien placed second with a 4:27.65. In the novice high jump, Sabina Piecyk reached 4 feet, 4 inches and took second place. Lilly Wood-Savarese reached 4 feet, 2 inches for third place.
Leah McCarron took third place in the shot-put, reaching 30 feet, 11 inches.
Coach Cuesta said the challenging weather taught the girls a valuable lesson about preparation. “Many of the girls found that they have to do a lot more work to prepare for their events under such tough conditions. This is a good lesson to learn early on because sometimes conditions for big important meets can be less than ideal and the athletes that will find success will always be the ones that are willing to put in the extra work to warm up, dress for the weather, etc.”
