GIRLS

Nefertari Cameron, Roosevelt, Jr.

Her improvement has been exponential, as she threw 38 feet, 9 inches in the shot put on May 1 to take the top ranking on Long Island and the No. 8 ranking in the state. It was the second consecutive meet in which she broke 38 feet, as she threw 38-7 ½ the previous week. She entered the spring season with a personal record of 34-9. She is also Long Island’s fourth-best discus thrower now at 118-3 (16th in the state), which is 32 feet, 3 inches better than her top distance from last year.

Olivia Francis, Bellport, Jr.

She entered the season with a personal record of 16.71 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles and ran 17.4 in her final race of the 2025 outdoor season. She has trounced those marks consistently this season, running as fast as 15.38, ranking her seventh on Long Island.

Wilorda Frenel, Islip, Soph.

She continues to climb the leaderboards among Long Island’s top sprinters. She currently ranks seventh on L.I. in the 200 with a new personal record of 25.09 — down from 25.52 — placing her in the state’s top 25 at No. 22.

Adetola Gold, Mount Sinai, Fr.

Gold — who has been running at the varsity level since seventh grade and doing the 400 hurdles since last year — set a new personal best on April 25 by finishing in 1 minute, 5.24 seconds, which ranks fourth on Long Island and 15th in New York. That time is down from 1:08.91 last year.

Kendra Gordon, Uniondale, Jr.

After debuting as a seventh grader with Uniondale in 2022, she moved to Springfield Gardens and ran there for three years, then moved to Westbury and ran for its team this past winter. She moved back to Uniondale at the start of the spring and has looked right at home, as her 12.04 in the 100 on April 11 — her first race back with the team — has her ranked third on Long Island and tied for eighth in the state. It is down from 12.31, which was tied for 31st in the state a year ago.

Maya Hadpawat, Kellenberg, Jr.

She is on fire right now, as her 1:03.18 in the 400 hurdles currently leads all Long Island athletes by nearly two seconds and ranks seventh in the state. It is more than five seconds faster than the 1:08.32 she owned before this season. Her 57.71 in the 400 is sixth on Long Island and among the top 25 in the state at No. 23, as she has shaved over four-and-a-half seconds off her previous best.

Kali Law, Connetquot, Jr.

In her first meet of the season, she flew 18-4 in the long jump, which is 1-1 ¾ further than her previous best jump from last spring.

Brooke Lin, Herricks, Sr.

She is heating up at the right time. Her personal records of 12.3 in the 100 and 58.74 in the 400 on May 1 both gave her the No. 7 ranking on Long Island. She rounds out the state’s top 25 in the 100 with that time.

Valeria Paez, Hewlett, Jr.

She made a name for herself as one of Nassau’s best steeplers in 2025, but she has taken it to another level this year. Her personal record of 7:29.81 in the 2,000-meter steeplechase has already dropped to 7:20.26 — third on Long Island and 21st in New York.

Julia Schmitz, Ward Melville, Jr.

She is almost four seconds faster — 3.98, to be exact — in the 800 this year. Her 2:14.13 places her fifth on Long Island and 19th in the state.

BOYS 

Luke Albert, Lindenhurst, Jr.

He has vastly improved in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, as he currently ranks third on Long Island and 10th in the state with a personal-record 9 minutes, 50.26 seconds. He entered the season with a personal record of 10:28.45 in the event.

Nicholas Carentz, Oceanside, Sr.

He has flown as far as 22 feet, 10 inches in the long jump, ranking him atop the Long Island leaderboards and tied for 17th in the state.  That is a personal record by 6 ½ inches.

Ethan Hinds, Valley Stream South, Sr.

He is in his fourth year of running the 200 at the varsity level, but he had never run faster than 23.14 entering this spring. On May 2, he clocked a 21.96, ranking him eighth on Long Island and 19th in the state.

Tyrell Holder, Baldwin, Sr.

His 10.64 in the 100 on April 7 leads Long Island and ranks third in the state. The new personal record is 1 ½ seconds faster than his 2025 best of 11.14. He also sprinted a 21.84 in the 200, which is 3 ½ seconds faster from his previous best of 25.34. The improvement ranks him fifth on Long Island and ties him for ninth in the state.

Saishun Lamour, Uniondale, Jr.

He had run as fast as 50.97 in the 400 last year, but in 2026, he is just over two seconds faster at 48.96, which ranks fourth on Long Island and 15th in the state.

Paul Lee, Roslyn, Sr.

He entered this spring with a personal record of 151-10 in the discus throw. On April 11, he chucked the disc 175-1, which ranked first in the state until last week. That still leads Long Island and is the second-best number in the state.

Charles Leune, Garden City, Jr.

His strong winter in the 600 projected him to have a strong spring in the 800, which is exactly what has happened. Regardless if his performance was expected or not, it is still a big breakout, as his former personal record of 2:01.26 in the 800 has dropped over five seconds to 1:56.09 this spring. That ranks him fourth on Long Island and within the state’s top 25 at No. 22.

Matteo Monter, Eastport-South Manor, Jr.

For the second straight year, he has improved by over 20 feet in the discus, as he entered the year with a personal best of 144-2 and is now at 168-7. That ranks second on Long Island and seventh in New York.

Daniel Pimenta, Hampton Bays, Soph.

He is much faster in the 400 meter hurdles, as he entered the season with a personal record of 58.53 and has eclipsed that with a 56.18. His new high-water mark ranks him fourth on Long Island and 15th in the state.

Aiden Renois, Lynbrook, Jr.

He has added another seven inches to his top long jump distance, now sitting at 22-9, which ranks second on Long Island and 21st in the state.

By Mike Anderson

michael.anderson@newsday.com

Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.