Manson magic leads Calhoun track

Calhoun’s Sara Manson will be a busy girl at the New York State outdoor track and field championships this weekend.

Despite the Section 8 State Qualifier being interrupted one day by rain, Manson earned a spot in four different categories at North Shore High School last Saturday with victories in the long and triple jumps and as a member of the 4x100 relay team. She also finished second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time that was good enough to qualify.

The senior will make the trip to Middletown High School along with relay teammates Julia Baguiao, Yolina Bastien and Sophia Hines, who will also represent the Colts in the triple jump after finishing just behind Manson in that thrilling final.

Manson qualified for states in both jumping events last year.

“I’ve been doing this since 2008, and I’ve never seen a state qualifying meet like this,” coach Joe Migliano said. “Nassau County jumps are the most competitive it’s ever been. There were four girls jumping in the triple that were top 15 in New York State. It was really cool to watch.”

The triple jump final came down to the final turns. Hines temporarily took the lead on her fifth attempt with a leap of 37 feet, 9.75 inches while Manson fouled to stay at 37-07.75. But Hines fouled on her last try, while Manson recorded a jump of 38-02.75 to win the event.

“Sara is a competitor,” Migliano said. “She hates losing more than she loves winning, and she wasn’t going to let anyone beat her ever. Doesn’t matter if it’s her sister or a teammate.”

Manson was also battling shin splints in the long jump final and struggled out of the gate, going from a distance of 17-01.50 in her first attempt to 15-10 in her third. But she willed her way to a leap of 18-00.75 on her fourth try and that distance held up.

The 4x100 relay team posted a time of 49.47 seconds, less than a minute better than Uniondale. Manson finished the hurdles with a time of 15.15, .32 seconds behind Uniondale’s Chica Akazi.

Calhoun’s spring team had another undefeated regular season to run its winning streak to 90. The Colts went on to finish second at the Class AA championships on May 23, 17 points behind host Valley Stream North.

Hines, a junior, finished second in the 200-meter dash at the counties, .02 seconds behind Baguiao, and third in the triple jump.

A pair of sophomores also impressed at counties. Brooke Cancellarich placed third in the 100-meter hurdles and did the same at the state qualifier with a time of 15.68, just missing her season best output. Kaitlyn Stibritz had season-best times in the 2,000 steeplechase (7:45) and the 3,000-meter run (11:11.44).

In the field events, senior Aleyna Ozay was second in AA in the high jump after clearing 4-8 and Bastien was third in the long jump with a distance of 17-1.75.