BBP's Bailey Walker wins 55 hurdles, triple jump, long jump in League V meet

Debuts can be nerve-wracking. With no past experience to draw from, each new event brings unseen challenges. But don't tell that to Bayport-Blue Point's Bailey Walker.

The senior made her season debut in both the 55-meter hurdles and the triple jump at Saturday's Suffolk League V Championship at Suffolk CC-Brentwood.

Was she nervous? Of course. Did it hurt her performance? No way.

Walker won both her debut events, clocking in at 9.23 seconds in the 55 hurdles and jumping 32 feet, eight inches in the triple jump. She also won the long jump, an event she has competed in this year, with a distance of 15-11.

Those numbers helped her team run away with their third consecutive league title, amassing 174 points in the process.

Knowing her athleticism could lead to points, Walker has been preparing for the 55 hurdles for weeks -- practicing both her down starts and hurdling skills.

"I had a rough start, but finished well," Walker said. "I just tried to pass the person in front of me. It pushed me to go faster."

Walker's teammates, Casey Hasher and Lindsey McGovern, also scored in the 55 hurdles. Hasher placed second in 9.33 seconds and McGovern finished fourth in 10.29.

Bayport-Blue Point took control of the meet after placing first, second, and third in the triple jump. Walker led the way, followed by eighth-grader Dariya Dolan, who jumped 32-1. Freshman Kathleen Cibuls rounded out the trio, flying 31-11.

Walker relishes her role as leader of the triple-jump unit.

"They're like my little minions," she said with a smile. "I take them under my wing and lead by example."

The two younger jumpers look up to Walker, striving to carry on the success that she'll soon be leaving behind.

"She's really good at everything," Cibuls said. "It makes me want to beat her. I want to be as good as her when I'm a senior."

That certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility, either. Cibuls won the high jump, skying 4-10.

The championship was both a testament to what the program has become and what it has to look forward to.

"The seniors had to learn the hard way how to win" coach Vin Ungaro said. "Now, the eighth and ninth graders have been given a blueprint [for] what they need to do to succeed."

Call it the Bayport-Blueprint.