Miller Place: small school, big results

Fresh off an outstanding cross county season, Miller Place is yet again set to dominate Suffolk County small schools.

The Panthers showed that “small school” is only a bookkeeping adjective in the fall, reighning supreme over every team in Suffolk and taking the team title at the Division Championships.

Now, those distance superstars are ready to take their talents inside and compete for a second consecutive small school winter championship.

Tiana Guevara, the Newsday girls cross country runner of the year, will anchor a strong distance unit. She is the defending public school state champion in the 1,500, clocking a 4:39.88 last March. Guevara is also the defending Suffolk Small School champ in the 1,500, running a 4:50.31 last season. Tiana won the 1,000 at the League IV championships last season in 2:57.22.

Talia Guevara, Tiana’s twin sister and a 2013 Newsday girls cross country first-team All- Long Islanders, is the defending small school champion in the 3,000, running a 10:34.48 last season. She was won the League IV 3,000 in 10:24.79 and was second in the League IV 1,500 in 4:53.79.

Laura Nolan, the third Panther on the 2013 Newsday girls cross country All-Long Island first team, proves that this squad doesn’t stop with the Guevara twins. Nolan finished second in the small school 3,000 in 10:34.76 last season. She also finished second in the League IV 3,000 in 10:24.99.

Now that cross country is over, coach Fran Sullivan can showcase even more of his talented team. Marie Williamson competes in both the 55-hurdles and the shot put. She threw 26 feet, five and a quarter inch at the small school county championships last season.

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Kirstin Kaessinger will lead the Panthers jumping unit. Kaessinger placed second in the high jump, going four feet, 10 inches at a crossover meet earlier this season. She will compete in all three jumps this year, Sullivan said.