Sachem East's Bella Galeas is double-winner at Suffolk large school girls track championships

Sachem East’s Bella Galeas wins the girls 300 meter dash (41.66) at the Section XI Large School Team Championship at Suffolk Community College’s Suffolk Credit Union Arena in Brentwood on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. Credit: /Jonathan Singh
There could not have been a better time for Sachem East sophomore Bella Galeas to have her breakout performance.
On Sunday at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood, Galeas proved herself to be one of the top girls track athletes in Suffolk as she won the county’s large school championship in both the 300-meter run and the long jump.
In the 300, Galeas ran a 41.66 to narrowly beat the 55 dash champion — West Islip senior Adilia Trim — by just 0.68 seconds. In the long jump, she flew 17 feet, 8 ¼ inches on her first of three jumps in the championship flight to clinch it by 7 ¾ inches.
“It’s cool knowing that I can walk around now and the other track athletes can be like, ‘She’s the county champ,’ ” Galeas said. “Now I have a reputation and I have to hold it.”
The most nerve-wracking part of Galeas’ day was not even the championship events themselves, but rather the trial races in which 17 runners ran to qualify for the official 300.
“I knew there were a lot of good girls competing and I just wanted to make sure I had my placement and that I actually deserved to be in the finals,” Galeas said. “I was honestly more relaxed knowing that I made the finals and that I could get the points for my team.”
Her pair of titles helped Sachem East win its first indoor county championship since 2018 by a landslide, scoring 86 points, which was 50 clear of second-place Bellport. Galeas almost claimed a third title in the 55 hurdles, but the state’s top hurdler — Smithtown East sophomore Rayshelle Brown — slammed the door on that.
Brown ran an 8.33 in the event to claim her first career county championship.
“I never thought that I would be here,” Brown said. “Everybody at school, my parents, my coach, they’ve all been so supportive. So I think, along with my dedication and hard work, it’s just their support that makes it so special.”
Other individual champions from Sachem East were seniors Sarafina Scavo and Gianna Mauri. Scavo ran a 1:38.5 to win the 600, while Mauri had a winning time of 6:45.52 in the 1,500 race walk to break the meet’s all-time record.
Also, the team’s 4 x 800 and 4 x 400 relay squads won their events, as well. In the 4 x 800, junior Camryn Goodman, freshman Abigail Erickson, Scavo and senior Adriana Roa combined to run a 9:44.63 to win by over 11 seconds. In the 4 x 400, eighth-grader Aaliyah Hollis, senior Alexa Nieves, sophomore Shana Lightell and Scavo ran a 4:14.06 to take it.
Whenever somebody beats Floyd senior Zariel Macchia, it is a rare occasion, which is something that Bay Shore junior Maggie McCormick experienced en route to becoming the 3,000 champion. McCormick engaged in a chess match with Macchia for the first half of the race, but she managed to distance herself throughout and wound up beating her by over eight seconds, finishing in 9:57.17.
“I think this whole season, I’ve just had a lot of determination, especially coming off a disappointing finish to my cross country season,” McCormick said. “This whole season, I’ve had a lot of discipline and motivation to do everything I possibly can to run my best. I think that definitely plays into how I was able to be here today.”
McCormick gave props to Macchia after the race.
“She’s super tough,” McCormick said. “She’s a really great racer and can definitely be intimidating. She’s also unpredictable on what she’s going to do. But it’s super exciting and motivating to get the opportunity to run against someone so great.”
Do not feel too bad for Macchia, as she is still a county champion. She redeemed herself by winning the 1,000 with a 3:02.06. In the 1,500, Northport junior Kayla Forsch narrowly beat her teammate — eighth-grader Jane Tucker — by just 0.66 seconds with a 4:52.43.
In the 4 x 200, Bellport’s quartet of junior Ava Cooley, senior Inocencia Rodriguez and juniors Shania Creary and Arielle Ross sprinted a 1:50.01 to squeak by Longwood by just 0.54 seconds.
In the field, Smithtown West junior Kaitlyn Montusi flew 35-10 ¼ in the triple jump, Riverhead senior Kayleanne Campbell cleared 5-1 in the high jump and Connetquot senior Essence Wright threw the shot 34-7 ¼ to round out the large school county champions group.