Hewlett continues track and field success

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Paced by three event winners, Hewlett finished runner-up in the Nassau County Class AA girls’ track and field championships held June 9 at Mitchel Athletic Complex.

Junior Jamira Llanos won the shot put, sophomore Charlotte Moscovici captured the pole vault, and eighth-grader Kayleigh Jamieson took a thrilling 400-meter dash to lead the Bulldogs. Hewlett’s 80 points was good enough for second place behind Valley Stream North in the 15-team field.

“We had a smaller roster than usual so we didn’t put a lot of emphasis on some things,” Bulldogs coach Stephen Honerkamp said. “We won 10 regular-season meets and were low-key in the division meet. Then in the county meet, some girls really stepped up and did extremely well and we finished second.”

Llanos was a clear-cut winner in the shot put (33 feet, 3 inches) and also led a deep group of Hewlett hurdlers. “It’s an interesting double Jamira pulls with the shot and hurdles and next year we’ll look to add a third event,” Honerkamp said. “She’s a strong, athletic kid and when she’s focused she’s tough to beat.”

Moscovici cleared the pole vault bar at 9-feet to win the county title, six inches better than senior teammate Ariella Ziarno and VSN’s Micaela Creo who finished tied for second. Moscovici was also runner-up in the triple jump (33 feet, 6.5 inches) which also saw junior teammate Shira Gamson place fourth. “Charlotte had a great day,” Honerkamp said. “She was so close to being a double county champion. She also placed fifth in the 100 hurdles after being seeded 11.”

Jamieson (59.23 seconds) closed strong to nip Elmont’s Alexandra Williams (59.26) by the slimmest of margins to take the 400 in what essentially was a two-girl race. The rest of the field finished more than four seconds behind. Jamieson also scored in the 800 later in the day with a fifth-place finish.

“Kayleigh has been geared to the 800 and working hard on her speed,” Honerkamp said. “She’s only the third eighth-grader we’ve had on varsity. For her to run the Elmont girl down in an event that she’s not fully comfortable with was very impressive. She really wanted it.”

Hewlett took second, third and fifth in the 100 hurdles with Llanos (17.69), junior Bianca Francis (18.31) and Moscovici (19.82), respectively. In discus, senior Paula Sominski finished a solid third with a hurl of 93-09. Junior Esther Babalola finished fourth in the long jump, with a best of just a shade under 16 feet. Junior Samantha Almonte, described by Honerkamp as one of the team’s hardest workers, placed sixth in the shot put.

“It was a unique season and we had a bunch of kids in and out of the lineup for various reasons,” Honerkamp said. “We fought through it and now we’ll look forward to next winter with most of the team coming back.”