John Jay Track Takes the Field at Somers

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On Monday April 28, John Jay traveled east and squared off in the league meet at Somers. Second for the boys and fourth for the girls, there’s been a larger mission for new Coach Joe Bachana.

“Chris McCarthy brought us on to build out the field events and create greater depth in the sprinter program,” he revealed.

The girls high jump was the first to pay dividends for the Wolves. Jillian Samuels took first at 4’10” and recalled what brought her to the event in 7th grade. After being introduced by her coach, she said, “I realized I could do it and loved it.”

On this day, the sophomore went the distance to reach the heights. “I’m going further back to gain speed,” said Samuels.

Of course, no jumper always hits the mark and overcoming a downturn is a mental process. “First I get really mad at myself and then I say do better,” she said. “I re-gather, look at the sky, and I just got for it.”

Elyse Hermanto knows the feeling. “Once the bar goes up, it can get in your head, and that’s rough. But I kind of like the unique mental challenge of it,” said the second place finisher.

Coming over at four feet eight inches, the sophomore had her head up going in, which went a long way, according to the Wolf. “I was definitely confident in my form,” she said. “I think I got that down to a T.”

The alphabet isn’t what keeps her striving, though. “I’m trying to get five feet in the books this season,” Hermanto hoped.

On the lower field, John Jay sailed pretty good in the discus too. Olivia Casabona placed third with 64-01 and on the boys side, Owen Campisi also placed third (88-01) and Skyler Monasch dropped just behind at 87-08.

Finally on the field, Kaylee Jean took fourth (26-11.75) in the triple jump and then the runners took over. Up first, Sloan Wasserman breezed in as usual, and her warmup didn’t slow her down in the least. “I did a 5K tempo before this,” said the winner of the 1500k (4:53.18).

On the All-Stater’s coattails, Emma Barniv used her teammate’s success to drive her to second (4:59.05). Getting out hard behind Wasserman, said the junior, “It was very inspiring to have Sloan running in front of me.”

Brodie Albert, on the other hand, had a hard time overlooking the anxiety of running against high schoolers. “There’s always a chance that you’re not going to do great - especially against older kids,” said the 8th grader.

Even so, Albert finished sixth (5:18.22) and maybe it was her true feelings that made the difference. “I run long distance because it’s very soothing,” said Albert.

So was finishing 5th for Maya Serai (5:16.49), and it was very easy for her to accept the long distance call in 7th grade. “I guess that’s where my passion started,” said the 8th grader.

The middle schoolers aren’t going unnoticed either. “I’m definitely proud of them,” said Andy Condon.

First place in the 1600 (4:21.01) certainly did his part, and while the league meet isn’t winning the states, the senior still remains in stride. “It means a lot to our school to try and come out here and do the best we can. So I come out and try my best,” said Condon.

The effort apparently rubbed off. “We just had five guys go faster than 4:50,” said Condon. “We haven’t had that the whole time I’ve been here.”

All in for the team, it’s the type of leadership Bachana is looking for, and the All-Stater isn’t alone. “The seniors have been fantastic and are all helping with the younger kids,” he concluded.