Big division meet for Lady Big Red

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Each and every spring outdoor track season, the penultimate goal for many runners is a chance to represent his or her school at the county meet in May. An opportunity to showcase an athlete’s athleticism at the most coveted meet of the year is the supreme accomplishment for an individual, but sending multiple athletes to the county meet each year is the mark of a great team.

The Glen Cove Lady Big Red finished its regular season in successful fashion and will be sending seven representatives to the Nassau County Class AA championships at Roosevelt High School on Thursday.

“The highlight of our season so far is getting a bunch of girls into the county meet,” coach Christian Dottin said. “We have seven individuals going to the county meet in five different events so our team is looking very good.”

An array of talent, the Lady Big Red possess a roster of gifted female runners with multiple girls competing at a high standard in different events at different meets.

At the Glen Cove Big Red Invitational on May 2, senior E’’Shone Cofield showed once again why she has been one of her team’s most consistent finishers for the entirety of her high school track career. Cofield took a first-place finish in the 100 meter finals, an occurrence that has become all-too familiar for her, with a 12.60 seconds finish. That mark was also good enough for Cofield’s season-best time to that point. Cofield finished with a 12.62 in the qualifiers and a 12.46 in the finals of the 100m at the Section VIII Division 3A Championships on May 15.

Junior Nicole Reyes placed top 18 in the 400m with a 1:16.34 time at the Big Red Invitational. Freshman Aryana Souter finished in the 400m invitational finals with a personal-record time of 1:06.44. Juniors Caitriona Greene and Christie Annunziato finished third and fourth respectively in the 100m hurdles finals. Freshmen Holly Farnan and Teresa Melfi both set PR’s up to that point in both the shotput and discus events, and the Glen Cove relay team finished second in the 4x100 relay.

Junior Ayjah Clarke finished at a tie for fourth in the 100m finals with a 13.94 time, her season-best time in the event as well. Clarke also finished seventh in the 400m finals with a 1:10.84 time, a personal-best. Clarke has been an athlete that, since last season, has grown and improved steadily, and her coach believes she is still evolving. “She showed a ton of progression as she is a constant hard worker,” Dottin said. “We’ve had quite a few girls improve and that’s what building a team is about.”

Juniors Mary Thompson and Rose Zavala also added to a talented roster with respectable finishes over the course of the year in the 100m and 1500m respectively.

Cofield, the team’s most successful runner, is the only senior. While bittersweet, the prospective future looks bright for the Lady Big Red. “Bringing back a strong core is our priority,” Dottin said. “This group is great because they’re accountable, they get on each other for not doing the right things and that is great.”