Connetquot eighth-grader Elycia Wilkerson makes statement with win in 300-meter dash at Suffolk state qualifier

On the biggest stage of her young career, Connetquot eighth-grader Elycia Wilkerson proved that she is already one of Long Island’s elite.

The budding star defeated Port Jefferson senior Alexa Jacobs and Sachem East junior Bella Galeas in the 300-meter dash on Day 2 of the Suffolk track and field state qualifiers in Brentwood on Tuesday. She sprinted a personal-record 40.04 seconds to win the sectional championship and clinch an automatic bid to the state and Federation championships on March 6-7 in Staten Island. Jacobs was second in 40.25; Galeas third in 40.37. 

Going up against Jacobs and Galeas, the No. 4 - and No. 13-ranked runners in the 300 respectively, is a daunting task for any middle schooler. Wilkerson said she didn't approach the race with the intent of winning. Rather, she focused on getting a good time and just trying to place in the top three so she can qualify for the state meet.

Well, first place is definitely in the top three.

“I don’t know how to describe this in words,” Wilkerson said. “I’m baffled. I’m super excited to go. It was so tough to beat them, and I’m so surprised I was able to. Before, I was very doubtful because I had never beaten them, but this helps me put it into perspective how if I can beat them, I can beat anyone else.”

Jacobs and Galeas still qualified for the state meet in the 300. “However, qualifying in the 300 was hardly their biggest achievement across the two nights.” 

Jacobs won the 55 in 7.01 on Day 1 of Suffolk’s state qualifiers on Monday night, momentarily tying her for the top ranking in New York with Roosevelt senior Esmia Thomas and Paul Robeson junior Janelia Williams.

Jacobs and Thomas train together at Speed Island in South Farmingdale.

“Esmia’s a great person to share this No. 1 spot with,” Jacobs said.

Later on in the same night, at St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington for the Nassau track and field state qualifiers, Thomas ran a 7-flat to break the three-way tie and take sole possession of the state’s top ranking.

Just before the 300 on Day 2, Galeas flew 19 feet, 8 ½ inches in the long jump — a personal record by a foot and an inch-and-a-half. That distance makes her one inch clear of Schuylerville (Saratoga) senior Meghan Lynch for the state’s No. 1 ranking.

Galeas spent lots of her free time, including during lunch periods in school, studying film on other long jumpers with similar forms to her. That allowed her to make a mechanical adjustment to her takeoff, leading to the 13-and-a-half-inch gain.

“I knew I had so much more in me,” Galeas said. “What I was doing wrong in the past was I’d be looking down instead of looking up. I was also having trouble with keeping my right arm up [while jumping]. I knew if I kept my arm up, it would force my left knee to stay up, and the rest of my body would go with it.”