Conference title for Oceanside

With a win against visiting Uniondale May 2, the Oceanside girls' track and field team raced into rarified air – closing its Nassau Conference I-A season with a perfect mark of 13-0.

And the Lady Sailors were only getting started.

With five first-place finishes on the day, Oceanside notched a runner-up finish at home in the Division 1A championships May 17. Junior Lauren Rullo won the 400 meter hurdles in 65.87 seconds and sophomore Kimmie Williams took the 400 meter dash in 59.65.  Mid-distance sophomore Andria Scaglione broke the tape in the 3000 meter run, finishing in 10 minutes, 59.84 seconds, and junior Kaliee Vaseghi cleared 1.52 meters to win the high jump.

Oceanside's 4x800 meter relay – manned by sophomores Sera King, Scaglione and her sister, Nicola, and junior Christina Moran – posted a mark of 9:38.19 to set a school record and secure the Lady Sailors' fifth win at the Division 1A meet.

"This year was something we've been building towards," Oceanside coach Michael Howley said. "Even though I had high expectations going into the year, this team exceeded all of them. To go undefeated in conference is something special."

Rullo, Vaseghi and Nicola Scaglione received 2017 all-county recognition.  Senior Tatyanna Ogbue – a C. W. Post, Long Island University commit – earned all-division honors in the shot put, with a season-best throw of 9.93 meters at the Section VIII State Qualifier meet June 2 at North Shore High School.

"[Ogbue] threw her best throw in her last ever high school meet," Howley said.  "Kaliee Vaseghi is a natural athlete, but she's still really focused and works on being a good jumper and a good leader. And it was wonderful to see Lauren Rullo win the division championship in the hurdles; that was a goal we've had."

Nicola Scaglione's third-place 7:39.50 mark in the steeplechase at the Nassau Section VIII Class AAA championships May 26 at MacArthur High School was a career best.  Scaglione passed three runners on the final lap to squeeze into the last All-County slot.

"Nicola's so tough and the steeplechase is such a grueling event," Howley said.  "She was in sixth place with a lap to go, but like always she reached down to find some extra strength inside of her. That was one of the highlights of our season."

A youthful squad, Oceanside will see its key runners return next season to defend its conference title. Howley indeed is focused on the future, but wishes, for the moment, to reflect also on the recent past.

"Captains for next year like Christina Moran, Lauren Rullo and Kaliee Vaseghi are looking to keep the team focused and carry us forward," Howley said. "But this has been the most rewarding season for me as a coach because it was rewarding to see the girls improve so much, but also because they are starting to realize how good they are and starting to believe in themselves."