Shot put, long jump wins for Lawrence track

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Lawrence’s track and field programs each crowned a county champion this spring.

Junior Lelani Bernard led a talented group of Tornadoes throwers by winning the Nassau Class A girls’ shot put, while sophomore Angel Bran captured the boys’ long jump title. Both Lawrence teams finished in the upper half of their respective 18-school fields, with the boys taking sixth and the girls tying for eighth in the meet held June 10 at Mitchel Athletic Complex.

“We tweaked the techniques of the throwers and they all came through with personal bests at the county meet,” girls’ coach Dave Calvo said.

Bernard’s shot throw covering 31 feet, 5 inches was 18 inches better than the next-best heave which belonged to senior teammate Danielle Goner (29-9.) Lawrence also took fourth in the event with junior Azoria Rickenbacker half-an-inch shy of 28 feet. “Lelani improved by over five feet,” Calvo said.

Goner also finished third in the county in the discus after winning the Division 4A title in the event, giving her a pair of All-County awards given to the top three finishers in all events. Her best for the season (83-4) came in the division meet. “We added the spin to Danielle’s delivery in the discus and she took her 65- to 70-foot throws and turned them into 80s,” Calvo said. “She picked it up rather quickly.”

In addition to winning the long jump, Bran also placed fourth in the county in the 100-meter dash. “He’s a good athlete who works very hard,” boys’ coach Bud McQuillan said of Bran, who also runs in the 4x100 relay.

Junior Don Smalls III scored in three events, taking third in the high jump and triple jump for All-County honors, and fifth in the long jump. Smalls won the Division 4A titles in the high jump and long jump. “He’s probably going to be the best returning athlete in the entire school in the fall,” McQuillan said of Smalls III, who worked closely with assistant coach Dave Lichtenstein. “It was very impressive what Don accomplished his first-ever track season,” he added.

Junior Andres Valle was the Division 4A champ in discus and settled for sixth in the county. He also pulled double duty this spring and played lacrosse.