Three champs for Lady Cyclones

South Side enjoyed another successful track and field campaign, finishing fourth in a stacked Division 3A while crowning three individual champions.

“North Shore, Westbury and Hewlett had very strong teams this spring, but we still accomplished a lot of goals,” Lady Cyclones coach Chris Webster said. “We had a good mix of seniors and underclassmen on the roster, and some of our young athletes showed a lot of promise.”

One runner that’ll be tough to replace is senior Jackie Bellando, who peaked at the division meet and captured the 3,000 meters title and finished runner-up to junior teammate Cathryn Ryan in the 1,500. “Jackie ran a great 3,000 at divisions and set a new PR [personal record] for the season,” Webster said. “She was consistently one of our top distance runners for three years and served as a captain.”

Bellando crossed the line in the 3,000 in 11-minutes, 29.0-seconds, and there was plenty of distance between her and second-place finisher Alannah O’Rourke, one of South Side’s up-and-coming freshmen who also picked up fourth place in the division meet in the 400 Intermediate Hurdles. In the Nassau Class AA championship meet at Mitchel Athletic Complex on May 25, Bellando was fifth in 11:37.1.

Ryan, who Webster said “is learning more and more how to race and pace,” hit stride at the right time as well. She won the division title in the 1,500 in 5:08.1 and went on to finish eighth in the county meet. Ryan was also sixth in the 800 in Class AA and anchored the Lady Cyclones’ second-place 4 x 800 relay. Sophomore Sam Ford was the leadoff runner, followed by Bellando and O’Rourke.

“All the girls were focused on the relay,” Webster said. “They were able to run two years together and they worked real well in practice. They were conference champs in the winter and came back with a strong spring even though we didn’t run the relay in a lot of meets.”

Junior Liz Textor claimed the division and county High Jump titles and was the team’s top point producer during a 10-3 regular season. Under the watchful eye of assistant coach Bill Toumey, Textor cleared the bar as high as 5-2 this spring. “It was great to see Liz win,” Webster said.

Senior captain Megan Devine scored in two events in the division meet, placing second in the 100 High Hurdles (17.1) and fifth in the 400 IH. “Megan’s been a hurdler for four years and her experience was a key for us,” Webster said. 

In sprints, South Side was led by senior Aja Vanderhall, junior Kim Prayor, sophomore Alison Bartoldis and freshman Charnae Jenkins. They also comprised the 4 x 100 relay.