Locust Valley shows it's a sport of inches . . . and half points

The phrase is heard so often around track circles that it borders on cliche. Every point matters. But in the case of Locust Valley's victory over Friends Academy and Clarke in a tri-meet Tuesday, the phrase isn't completely accurate. It should be "every half-point matters."

That's all that separated Locust Valley and Friends, with the Falcons winning 65-64.5.

Some tri-meets are decided before the final runner is off the bus, but this one went down to the wire, and those influencing the outcome could feel it.

"You can see it on people's faces when they're putting in a lot of effort," Locust Valley's Callie Catacosinos said. "Everyone was working hard and putting in all they had. You could really see that. You could tell it was going to be close."

Catacosinos did her part, winning the 100-meter hurdles in 18.6 seconds and the high jump, clearing 4 feet, 10 inches. She also tied for second in the 100 in 13.7 seconds. Her teammate, Stephanie Reyes, tied for fourth in the same race in 14.2 seconds. Reyes' tie awarded the final half point to the Falcons, deciding the meet.

"I just tried to sprint it out until the end," Reyes said. "You have to have a really good start, which I did, and finish it out. Even though you're not the first runner, you should still keep trying because it can make a difference."

All three of Catacosinos' events came within 10 minutes of each other. By the time she took her final high jump, she was feeling the fatigue.

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"I thought about how bad I wanted to win and just jumped," Catacosinos said. "I was exhausted. I fell over the bar twice before [the final jump]. But on that jump, I didn't think. I closed my eyes, and jumped over the bar."

Siobhan O'Neil took care of the triple jump, winning it at 29-10 1/2.

"There were a lot of good jumpers, so I was nervous," O'Neil said. "But because it was on our track, I thought we deserved it. I sprinted through, got my steps down and my jumps were some of the best of the season."

The Falcons' 4 x 100 relay team, composed of Kaylyn Olivera, Alex Vassallo, Katie Ello and Jean McCabe, won in 59.5 seconds. Their throwing unit of MacKenzie Mavros, Rosario Jimenez and Claire Lynch took second, third, and fourth in both the discus and shot put.