Ella Lehmann hitting new heights in 3,000 for Bay Shore

Ella Lehmann has peaked.

Don’t worry, that’s a good thing. The peak is the moment that all racers look forward to, a moment that the entire season is built around. It’s the moment where optimum performance takes over and the arduous task of ramping up is done. True racing can commence.

Problem is, lately Lehmann hasn’t found a race. Not with a ton of competition, at least.

The Bay Shore senior thought she found some in the 3,000 meters at the North Shore High School Invitational at the Armory in Manhattan on Dec. 30, but it was not to be. Late scratches in the field left Lehmann racing herself, something she did quite well.

Lehmann won in 10 minutes, 31.12 seconds – her personal best and 8.45 seconds ahead of the field.

Lehmann said she realized early on that she wouldn’t have anyone to race and just concentrated on hitting splits designed to bring her to a personal best time. Soon, she was trying to pass racers that she had already lapped, anything to manufacture a little more adrenaline.

"I just looked at the girls who were in front of me from the lap before and would do a 10-step to them on the turns," Lehmann said. "You pick it up for 10 steps and then you go back to normal pace. I was just listening to my coach for my splits and maintained the pace."

Last week, she ran 5:02.79 in the 1,500 at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood, another race that she won by a large margin. The big victories come shortly after a successful cross country campaign. Lehmann finished seventh in Class A at the Suffolk state qualifier and ran a personal best 19:58.20 at the state Federation championships.

Last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cross country was run in March and April to make up for a canceled fall 2020 season. This meant that winter track came first on the schedule, altering the training and fitness of many distance runners. Lehmann said that having cross county back in the fall is a major reason why she’s run so well in the winter.

"I feel like I'm at my peak now, especially with cross country first," Lehmann said. "In cross country, the training is way more intense. So now, going into the 3,000 and the 1,500, it's not easy, but it's definitely easier."

Paul reads her way to win

There’s nothing like a little light reading, especially when it leads to a lot of winning. It was mid-December and Valley Stream North’s Ariana Paul was on the bus headed to a meet when she read a triple jump article that changed the course of her season.

Don’t overthink the first phase of your jump, the article said. That first phase – the hop – is a problem for many and Paul was determined not to let it hold her down.

"By the time that (jumpers) land back out on the second (jump), they're not able to propel themselves forward to have a good second phase," Paul said. "So, what I did was just kind of focus less on my first jump and run through my first phase, so that my second phase was a decent length. It helped me get a season (personal best) and from there, I've just been getting better."

Paul jumped 35 feet, 9 ½ inches on Dec.13 at St. Anthony’s, her indoor personal best, and jumped 35-4 to win at the North Shore High School Invitational at the Armory in Manhattan on Dec. 30.

After two underwhelming attempts at the North Shore Invitational triple jump, Paul said she focused on hitting over 35 feet in her third try. The presence of that specific number calmed her.

"I didn't feel nervous anymore," Paul said. "I felt that I was just going to do what I could do best."