Lazard paces Lady Bruins

Baldwin girls track and field coach Paul Schaefer described senior hurdler Regine Lazard’s results at last weekends New York State championships at Vestal High School as “a mixed bag.”

Lazard, who captured Nassau Class AAA titles in the 100 High Hurdles (15.1 seconds) and the 400 Intermediate Hurdles (1:03.7), didn’t qualify for the finals in the 100 but ran a personal-best in the 400 and placed seventh.

“She banged her trail knee in the 100 and that was a factor,” Schaefer said. “She came back in the 400 and ran great. It was an event stacked with talent. Nine of the top 20 kids in the country are from New York.”

Lazard, who is headed to the University of Buffalo, finished in 1:01.78. It was the second time in three weeks she set a new high-water mark in an event. At the county championships at Mitchel Athletic Complex on May 26, she exploded in the 100 HH and edged Brit Webley and Adrianna Powell of Uniondale.

“More than anything else, it was a matter of pure determination,” Schaefer said. “Regine refused to lose. We have an expression that goes ‘make the final, win the final.’

“Her best in the 100 prior to counties was 5.3, and her best this season was 5.6. She wasn’t ranked first, but there was no denying her.”

Lazard’s winning time in the 100 at the state qualifier at Westbury High School on June 3 was 15.7. She was second in the 400 IH that day, which was good enough to advance.

This Saturday at North Carolina A & T, Lazard will compete in the 400 IH and the Sprint Medley Relay at nationals. She’ll run the final leg of the relay, a 400, after fellow seniors Andrea Mask, Tiara Tolen and Dominique Desilus take care of the 100, 100 and 200 legs, respectively. “It’s Regine’s fourth year qualifying for outdoor nationals in an individual event or a relay,” Schaefer said. “She’s had a tremendous career and is headed to a good school for her both academically and athletically.”

The Lady Bruins produced many other fine performances this spring on the way to a sixth-place finish out of 14 teams in Class AAA. Freshman Rose Branch earned All-County honors in the 400, placing third in  59.5 seconds, after winning the Division 1B title in the event.  Desilus scored in two events at the county meet, finishing fifth in the 200 and sixth in the 100. Mask, the division champ in the 400 IH, took sixth in the county, and junior Monice Small was fourth in the Long Jump after capturing the division title in the event as well as the Triple Jump.