East Hampton’s track and field teams turned up the heat at the Suffolk C County Championships at Kings Park High School on May 27. The girls scored 86 points for a second-place finish. That’s the highest point total for girls track in East Hampton High School history. It’s also the first time that the girls track and field team has been named the Suffolk County C championship runner-up.
“I’m most proud of the hard work the girls keep putting in at each meet,” said Yani Cuesta, the head coach. “This is the best performance we have ever had as a team. I know it hasn’t happened since I started coaching 20 years ago, but I truly can’t recall this kind of performance in the team’s history.”
The boys took fourth place in their Suffolk County C Championship, scoring 65 points, just five shy of third place. It was their best performance in over a decade. Liam Knight contributed 32 of those points and was crowned the 400-meter champion, with a time of 51.25 — a mind-blowing performance in his last county appearance.
“We’ve had an amazing senior class. Coaching Liam since seventh grade has been an absolute gift,” said Sean Knight, the team’s head coach, and Liam’s dad. “His determination and willingness to do all the work on and off the field has made him one of the best all-around runners we’ve had in a long time here. If he’s not on the track and he’s not in the pool, he’s down in the basement lifting and then doing his recovery work like ice baths after. It’s great to know that this journey is not over. There’s so much more he’s going to produce in the future.”
Girls Results
The girls placed second in four events for a total of 32 points. C.J. Echavarria finished the 100-meter hurdles in 16.93, Sara O’Brien finished the 400-meter hurdles in 1:07.72, Laura Martinez ran the 800 in 2:24.53. All three girls earned all-county honors. The 4-by-400 meter relay team — O’Brien, Vanessa Rizzo, Martinez, and Lai’la Sanders — finished in 4:10.11.
Five girls took third in their events for a total of 30 points, and were all named all-county athletes. Sophia Figueroa did the 100-meter hurdles in 17.18. O’Brien ran the 400-meter dash in 1:00.96. Vicky Chen reached 9 feet, 6 inches in the pole vault and earned all-county honors. Lilly Wood-Savarese cleared 4 feet, 8 inches in the high jump. And in the pentathlon, Sierra Stumpf reached 1.37 meters in the high jump, 7.23 meters in the shot put, and 4.39 meters in the long jump. She also finished the 100-meter hurdles in 18.19 and the 800-meter run in 2:52.22, for a total of 2,142 points.
The team had four fourth-place finishes for a total of 16 points: Figueroa did the 400-meter hurdles in 1:11.13; Rizzo reached 9 feet in the pole vault; Leah McCarron reached 30 feet, 10 inches in the shot-put, and the 4-by-100 meter relay team — Figueroa, Lucia Mogavero, Echavarria, and Chen — finished in 51.58.
The 4-by-800 meter relay team — Danett Gonzalez-Alcala, Maggie Greenwald, Olivia Stiglitz, and Josie Mott — earned two points for their fifth-place finish of 11:07.72.
Sabina Piecyk also earned two points for taking fifth in the pentathlon. She reached 1.42 meters in the high jump, 6.87 meters in the shot put, and 3.75 meters in the long jump. She also finished the 100-meter hurdles in 20.11 and the 800-meter run in 2:52.05, for a total of 1,849 points.
Four girls placed sixth in their events for an additional four team points: Sanders ran the 400-meter dash in 1:03.31; Greenwald did the 400-meter hurdles in 1:12.04; McCarron reached 90 feet, 5 inches in the discus, and Sydney Powers reached 33 feet, 4 inches in the triple jump.
In other notable finishes, Stiglitz was seventh in the 1,500-meter race walk. Lizzie Daniels was seventh in the discus. Angie Castillo finished eighth in the pole vault. Bennett Greene was ninth in the 1,500-meter race walk. Mogavero got ninth in the long jump. Alexis Salazar finished ninth in the pole vault. Gonzalez-Alcala was 10th in the 800-meter run, and Powers was 10th in the long jump.
Boys Results
Coach Knight called this an incredible week for East Hampton track and field, adding that of the 65 points the boys scored, “every point represented the hard work, commitment, toughness, and belief these athletes have shown all season long.” It was a dramatic improvement for a team that scored only four points and finished in 14th place just a year ago.
In addition to Liam Knight’s first-place in the 400-meter dash, the boys also won the 4-by-400 meter relay. Those first-place finishes earned 20 points. The relay team — which is typically Emmett Schumann, Liam Knight, Sean Perez and Jasper Samuelson — entered the race ranked third and had to make a quick adjustment, with Perez sidelined because of blisters on the bottom of his feet. Marcus Oransky jumped in and they sailed to victory. Knight led off in first place and handed off to Oransky, who ran a 53.25 split. Schumann followed with a 52.35, and Samuelson sealed the deal with a 51.97. The entire team received all-county honors.
Samuelson also took second place in the 1,600-meter run, earning eight points for his team with a 4:33.26 finish that also earned him all-county recognition.
The team had four third-place finishes for a total of 24 points. Knight ran the 200-meter dash in 23.06. Oransky ran the 400-meter hurdles in 1:01.96. Samuelson broke the two-minute mark in the 800-meter run for the first time, finishing in 1:59.06. All three received all-county recognition. The 4-by-100 relay team — Nelvin Suchite, Aaron Torres-Garcia, Eduardo Calle, and Knight — finished in 44.71, a season best. They missed the school record by just 0.1 seconds.
“Jasper Samuelson had one of the best triples that we’ve had in county history as well, placing third in the 800, coming back for a second in the 1,600, and then anchoring our 4-by-400 with a 51.9,” Coach Knight said.
Hudson Goulart had two fourth-place finishes, which were good for eight points. He ran the 200-meter dash in 23.31 and the 400-meter dash in 52.99.
Adrian Bello had two fifth-place finishes, which earned the team four points. He reached 20 feet, 6 inches in the long jump and 38 feet, 0.75 inches in the triple jump.
Oransky took sixth in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing in 17.6 and earning the team another point.
In other personal achievements, Goulart (11.55) and Suchite (11.92) ran their best times in the 100-meter dash.
In the 200-meter dash, Suchite also ran a best time of 24.15, along with Schumann, 24.33, and Aaron Torres-Garcia, 24.48.
Schumann also ran a personal-best time of 53.75 in the 400-meter dash.
Andrew Perez had a P.R. of 2:14.69 in the 800-meter run.
Max Oransky broke the 5-minute mark again in the 1,600-meter run, with a P.R. of 4:59.48.
“As we head into the state qualifier, Coach [Davin] Johnson, Coach [Thomas] Brierley, and I could not be more proud of the dedication, toughness, and grit of this team,” Coach Knight wrote. “These athletes continue to step up in the biggest moments, and they have helped bring E.H.H.S. track and field back to being one of the strongest sports in the school.”
The boys and girls travel to Comsewogue High School today and tomorrow for the Section XI state qualifier meet.
The 2026 New York State Public High School Athletic Association Outdoor Track and Field Championships will take place on June 13 and 14 at Webster Schroeder High School in Webster, N.Y.
