Uniondale sprints to 4x100 national title

The last few weeks for Uniondale's 4x100 have been about one-upping themselves.

They won the state Division I championship at the state meet last Friday. Not content with that, they followed that up the very next day by taking the Federation crown and setting a Nassau record.

Yesterday, the Knights did themselves two better--a national championship and a Long Island record.

The team of Stephen Muir, Derrick Ingram, Will Stanback, and Tresean Goodwin clocked a Long-Island record 41.55 seconds en route to winning the 4x100 national title yesterday in the New Balance Outdoor Nationals at Greensboro, N.C.

The previous Long Island record was held by Amityville in 2002 (41.78 seconds). It was the second time in one day that the Knights earned All-American honors. The team of Derrick Ingram, Will Stanback, Nyder Chardonnette, and Tresean Goodwin took sixth in the boys 800 sprint medley in 1:32.77 earlier in the afternoon.

Other Long Islanders shone as well. Thomas Awad of Chaminade, fresh off of clocking only the second-ever sub-9:00 two-mile in CHSAA history on Friday, came back and won the unseeded section of the mile in 4:11.84. He ended up placing fifth overall to become a two-event All-American.

Kadesh Roberts of Bay Shore took second in the 400 hurdles with a time of 52.80 seconds. Roberts won the state Division I and Federation title in the 400 hurdles last week.

James Sommer of Plainedge followed up his state championship in the 3,000 steeplechase with an All-American showing in the 2,000 steeplechase. The senior took fourth overall in 6:05.00, a little more than ten seconds behind the winning mark of 5:55.79.

In the field events, Mike Brunoforte (St. Anthony's) took fourth overall in the pole vault with a jump of 15-8 1/4 to earn All-American.

The girls meet wasn't short of standouts, either. Bay Shore's Jessica Gelibert was a double national champion, winning the 400 hurdles in 59.54 seconds and anchoring the Marauders' 800-meter sprint medley (Imani McGhee, Anisa Toppin, Brianah Allen, Gelibert) to a Suffolk-record 1:44.39.

Bay Shore held the previous county record of 1:49.64, which they set in 2007. It's the second county record they've set in as many days--they broke their 11-year-old Suffolk record of 4:03.69 in the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay on Friday with a sixth-place finish in 4:02.19.

Friends Academy senior Kelsey Margey capped off her stellar two-week run by winning the national championship in the one mile run. Margey, who won the state and Federation title in the 800 last week, outkicked the field over the final half of the race and clocked a 4:45.84, more than two seconds ahead of second place Wesley Frazier of Raleigh, N.C. (4:48.28).

Garden City's team of Laura Jaeger, Emma Gallagher, Alexis Yeboah-Kodie, and Taylor Hennig took third in the championship 4x400, earning All-American honors with a time of 3:47.42.

Uniondale and Kellenberg each took home All-American honors in the 4x100 shuttle hurdle relay. The Knights squad of Brittney Webley, Adrionna Powell, Tawanda Francis, and Crystal Green took third overall in 59.83 seconds, while Kellenberg's team of Odrine Belot, Melany Belot, Katie Cavanaugh, and Vanessa Lawrence-Fulton was fourth in 59.89 seconds.

Long Island swept both of the freshman miles, as well. Kellenberg's Jazmine Fray won the girls race in 5:06.04, and James Burke of Port Jefferson edged out Luke Gavigan of Blauvent (N.Y.) to take the boys race in 4:22.27.