Pierre leads youthful Lady Bulldogs

Hewlett finished no worse than second in the Nassau Class AA girls’ track and field championships for a fifth straight year and added an undefeated regular season (13-0) and the Division 3A title this spring despite an influx of youth.

“We lost seven All-County performances from last spring and I came into the season thinking we’d rebuild a little,” Lady Bulldogs coach Stephen Honerkamp said. “We had 33 sophomores or freshman and only nine juniors or seniors, but everyone did an amazing job. We scored more points [199] in the division meet than any other girls team in the county.”

Senior Vanessa Pierre was Hewlett’s heart and soul, Honerkamp said, and capped her career in style with an unprecedented fourth county championship in the Long Jump (17-feet, 7-inches) to help the Lady Bulldogs finish runners-up to Garden City. “Vanessa is a pretty impressive athlete who goes about her business quietly,” Honerkamp said. “She’s fast, but she’s also strong. I think the thing that stands out most is her ability to shine in big moments.”

Pierre, who is headed to Towson University, just missed qualifying for last week’s state meet in the Long Jump. She came within an inch of doing so at the state qualifier at Westbury High School June 1 after a best jump of 17-11 ¼. Clarke’s Kaitlyn Kieser jumped 18-1. “It would’ve been great to see Vanessa make states, but she qualified for nationals [this weekend in North Carolina] and leaves us with six county titles between winter and spring,” Honerkamp said. “She’s a special kid.”

Pierre also won the division title in the Triple Jump and went on to place third in Class AA. She was part of Hewlett’s third-place 4 x 400 relay in the county meet as well.

Honerkamp also gives Pierre some credit in helping junior Jayla Therancy take her talents to another level. Therancy won the 100 High Hurdles and the 400 Intermediate Hurdles in the division meet and was second and fifth in the events, respectively, in Class AA. Her time of 16.0 seconds in the 100 HH at the county meet is a school record.