Strong finishing kick for Oceanside

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Oceanside girls’ winter track racked up number of achievements this season, highlighted by seven-All County finishes among five girls.

Before that, the team had earned many top placements in its Jan. 30 conference championship meet at St. Anthony’s High School.

In the 3000-meters in the Jan 30. meet, senior Andria Scaglione was crowned champion with a time of 11 minutes and 43 seconds, with fellow senior Sera King finishing as runner-up. Nicola Scaglione, Andria’s twin sister, won first place in the 1000-meters, finishing at 3 minutes and 12 seconds.

Praising the Scagliones, Oceanside coach Michael Howley said, “They’re the reason why we’ve had the success that we’ve had. They’ve been everything you can ask for as a coach. They lead by example, they’re always looking for ways to get better and their work ethic is contagious.”

Andria and Nicola placed second and third, respectively, in the 1500 meters, and represented half of the 4x800 relay team along with King and senior Ashley Segarra that finished in second place. The team’s top sprinter, Kimmie Williams, placed sixth in the 55-meter dash.

Howley said he was particularly proud of Segarra, who’s run with the team as a freshman and earned her first points in a championship meet. “She’s run with those girls since she was a freshman,” he said. “The team was very happy for her.”

In the field events, sophomore Madeline Levine scored points in the hurdles and the triple jump. “Being able to do those different events, they’re not similar,” Howley said. “It’s not only athletically impressive, but requires a lot of mental focus.”

In the county championship meet one week later on Feb. 6, also at St. Anthony’s, a balanced effort between the distance races, relays, and field events helped propel Oceanside to a sixth-place finish among more than 20 schools.

Andria earned the team’s lone county championship in the meet in the 1500-meters with a time of 4:57. She was also part of a second-place 4x800-relay team along with Nicola, King and freshman Jada King, who is Sera’s younger sister. Nicola took third place in the 3000-meters with a time of 11:05.

In the field events, junior Kendra Parmelee in the long jump, and Levine and sophomore Amanda Bentsen all earned points in the pole vault to contribute to Oceanside’s overall score. Levine became the first All-County Pole vaulter during the five years Howell has been coaching there.

Four athletes represented Oceanside in last Thursday’s state qualifying meet, again at St. Anthony’s, and their performance was highlighted by their third-place finish in the 4x800 meters, with the same foursome of the Scagliones and the Kings.

Howell noted that both Scagliones will run at Manhattan College next year. Sera King will run at SUNY Cortland, and Williams is headed to Molloy College.

“They’ve made it fun to go practice each day,” said Howell. “I look forward to it because it’s so great to see them improve not only race-to-race, but from freshmen to seniors and watch them grow each year. It’s tough to say goodbye but it’s been great to see them as mentors to the younger girls.”