Port Washington's Ashley Carillo wins 1,000 meters at Nassau state qualifier
Freshman Ashley Carillo of Port Washington was winner in 3,000 after narrowly missing the victory in the 1,500. Credit: James Escher
The bell rang and Ashley Carillo felt alive.
Not that she ever felt all that poorly. The Port Washington freshman had no worries despite being behind late in the 1,000 meters at Wednesday night’s Nassau indoor track and field state qualifier at St. Anthony’s.
But there’s just something about bells. It's an indicator that good things are coming. During the day, it’s the end of a class or, better yet, the school day. At night, it’s go-time on the track. Either way, Carillo fought back from third place in the final 150 meters and won in three minutes, 6.92 seconds, topping seniors Natasha Khazzam of Great Neck North (3:08.08) and Julia Schriefer of Wheatley (3:08.56).
"I was feeling great the whole race, but that bell really gave me the extra boost," Carillo said. "I knew it was the last lap and I knew I needed to place first or second to go to states, so I had determination and ran my heart out."
Carillo qualified for the state championships, scheduled for March 5 at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island. Khazzam and Schriefer also qualified.
"I was aiming for second place," Carillo said. "But when I saw my position on the second-to-last loop, I knew I had this."
It’s been a big two weeks for Carillo and Port Washington. They won the Nassau Class A team championship last week, the first time they’ve won a county title in the winter since 1982. Despite the team’s youth (53 of the 92 points at the championships were scored by eighth or ninth graders), Carillo said it wasn’t a problem refocusing for the state qualifiers.
"We were at a high after winning," Carillo said. "But it was easy to jump right back into it. We knew we wanted to get into states, so we were determined to have great practices and get better each day."
Elsewhere, Jericho’s Ana Markovina won the 1,500 in 4:47.52. She said she wanted to pace teammate Mackenzie Setton toward the state standard of 4:49.54, assuring her a spot at the state championships even if she came in third. But Setton stayed with Markovina the whole way and placed second in 4:47.93, ensuring her qualification.
"I felt really good during that race," Markovina said. "I had enough to really pump my arms and kick it through the line."
Elmont’s Ashley Fulton won the 55 in 7.34 seconds, Mepham’s Camylin Blake won the 55-hurdles in 8.34, and Malverne’s Nicea Jones won the 300 in 40.74.
In the field, Valley Stream North’s Ariana Paul won the triple jump, flying 35 feet. Cold Spring Harbor’s Kaitlyn Jasinski won the long jump (16-7), and Uniondale’s Yashima Mitchell cleared five feet to win the high jump.
