Lady Spartans cap big spring

Valley Stream North senior Uzoamaka Aniagba became just the fourth track and field athlete in school history to win a New York State championship, capturing the Division II title in the Shot Put last weekend at Caledonia-Mumford High School in Rochester.

Aniagba, who last month helped the Lady Spartans to a runner-up finish behind North Shore in Nassau Class A by taking the county title in the event, had a personal-best throw sail more than 41 feet.

“It came down to the last throw and Uzo threw two feet longer than her previous best,” North coach Mike Frazer said. “We had a large group of kids upstate and none were competing at the time the shot was going on. Everyone got to root her on, and I think it made a difference.”

After edging Floral Park to win the county championship, North’s 4 x 100 relay consisting of senior Chell Burke, junior Shanice Johnson, sophomore Daena Lewis and freshman Loundy Desire finished fourth to earn All-State honors. They completed the race in a school-record 49.52 seconds, besting their time from the county meet (50.2) by a few strides.

“We had changed parts in the relay quite a bit,” Frazer said. “We had seven girls in the mix and all ran well during the year.”

Burke and Johnson also qualified for the state meet in individual events. Burke was 11th in the Triple Jump, while Johnson finished ninth in the 200-meter dash. They were fourth and second, respectively, in those events in the Class A meet, and Johnson added fourth in the 100, one spot behind Desire.

“Chell is going to Brown and I’m proud of how she was able to keep her academics and athletics at such a high level,” Frazer said of Burke.

Freshman Anointing Onuoha was All-State in the Triple Jump (sixth place, 36-3) following a second-place finish in the county. She was also second in the county in the Long Jump. 

Senior Betina Mondelice gave the Lady Spartans a pair of All-State finishers in the Shot Put by placing fifth with a throw of 37-7 ¼. She was fourth in Class A. Aniagba, Mondelice and senior Sarah Craig totaled 31 points in the county meet between them. In the Discus, Aniagba placed second, Craig was third and Mondelice was fifth.