Thursday, October 1, 2026
Senior Noah Serrette captured Nassau Class A track and field titles in the 400 intermediate hurdles and the 100 high hurdles, and junior Alberto Laguerre took the 200 meter dash to lead Lawrence to a second-place finish in the 19-team event held at Cold Spring Harbor High School on May 24.
Valley Stream North romped to the county crown with 139 points, 84 more than Lawrence. North Shore was third with 54, and Friends Academy finished fourth with 46.
“Considering how dominant Valley Stream North is, our goal was second place,” Golden Tornadoes coach Bud McQuillan said. “I figured it would come down to us, North Shore and Lynbrook. We split with both of them between the regular season and division meet, so it was nice to finish ahead of them both. Every point mattered.”
Serrette, considered the favorite in both hurdle events, didn’t disappoint coming off a stellar regular season and conference meet. He won the 110 HH in 15.12 seconds and the 400 IH in 55.93, beating out Mineola’s Andrew Ariza both times. Ariza finished in 15.24 and 56.74, respectively.
“Noah’s a four-year track athlete and I knew he was going to be a star early on,” McQuillan said of Serrette, who had a breakout year in 2015 but wasn’t healthy for the county meet. “It takes some time to learn hurdles because there’s a lot of mechanics involved.”
Serrette was also part of Lawrence’s 4x400 relay, which finished two seconds behind North Shore with a time of 3:30.57. Laguerre and seniors Damario Hussey and Kalechi Victor Ezihie ran the other legs. “We were hoping to win the relay,” McQuillan said. “That’s the one event where the kids were disappointed.”
Laguerre, who placed fourth in Class A in the 110 HH, held off Friends Academy’s Johndee Baptiste and Malverne’s Maurice Teachey to win the 200 with a time of 22.82. “Angelo had no time to rest between events,” McQuillan said. “The 200 is right after the 110 hurdles, but he hasn’t lost a 200 race all year.”
Sophomore Ishmael Bobb tied for second in the high jump (5-10), while classmate Kevin Nalisa just missed scoring with a best of 5-6. “Ishmael’s our feel-good story of the year,” McQuillan said of Bobb. “He’s a newcomer to the team and his first jump was 4-8. He won the high jump in the division meet, which gave him a confidence boost.”
Sophomore Chris Collier finished fifth in the county in the 100, crossing the line in 11.79 seconds. In the triple jump, senior Eli Trought picked up a few key points for the Golden Tornadoes with a fifth-place finish.
Lawrence’s girls’ team placed seventh in Class A, with sophomore Jessica Bilbro, who was second in the long jump and third in the 200, leading the way. “Jessica is a heck of an athlete,” McQuillan said. “She’s a hard worker who takes competing seriously.”
Freshman Porsha Muhammad was fifth in the 400, freshman Daisia Bolton was sixth in the shot put, and junior Katherine Cameron was sixth in the pole vault.
