East Meadow's Zaria Hall sets school record, qualifies for state championships in the 800 meters

Zaria Hall continues to show that age is just a number. Although she’s just a sophomore, Hall continues to dominate on the track and has broken four East Meadow school records.

On the first day of the Nassau track and field State Qualifying Meet -Thursday at Syosset High School -  Hall won the 800 meters in 2 minutes, 12.47 seconds. It was a personal-best time that qualified her for the outdoor state championships, scheduled for June 7-8 at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.

“I’m so happy knowing it was a personal best, a school record, and I get to go to states,” Hall said. “This is all that I was looking for.”

Katherine Marsh held the previous school record, clocking a 2:13.14 in 2019, East Meadow coach Mike Ringhauser said.

“It’s amazing,” Ringhauser said. “She’s been chasing Katherine Marsh for quite a while, and for Zaria to come out as a sophomore and break her record says a lot of great things about where her future is going to go.”

At the Nassau Class AAA Championships last week, Hall scored 30 points after winning the 800 (2:17.25),1,500 (4:44.23) and 3,000 (10:43.21).

“That’s something I don’t think any East Meadow runner has ever done before,” Ringhauser said. “She’s really leaning into the training and realizing the level she’s worked to be at.”

Although she’s satisfied with her qualifying time, Hall believes she can be even faster - and she hopes to accomplish that at the state championships.

“I’m trying to drag a little more out of myself,” Hall said. “I still feel like I have a little bit more left to give.”

Elsewhere, MacArthur’s Natalie Longobucco is finally on her way to the state championships after winning the 400 in 57.05 seconds.

“My freshman year, I had the standard, but I didn’t qualify, and last season I was injured,” Longobucco said. “So being able to come in first today and compete in the state championships is a really great feeling.”

Syosset's Melissa Tanyeri won the 400 hurdles in 1:06.29 and teammate Jessica Alessi won the 3,000 in 10:14.37.

In the field, Calhoun senior Sophia Hines is one step closer to her goal of becoming a state champion in the triple jump. She jumped 38 feet, 10 1/4 inches to win Thursday.  

“I came in and I didn’t jump my best,” Hines said. “But in the end, I really picked it up. I knew I had to hold my phases and finish the jump, and I’m happy with the result.”

The Molloy commit has only been on the team for two years, but her dominance showed early on.

“When I worked at Calhoun, I saw her in gym class as a freshman,” Calhoun coach Joseph Migliano said. “She was the only one trying, and I could tell she could be a great athlete, so I asked her to join the track team.”

She didn’t end up joining until her junior year.

“When I first started, I didn’t really have an event that was for me, I kind of just ran anything,” Hines said. “When I was introduced to jumping, I took off from there.”

Taking off is an understatement.

Hines went from having no experience in the triple jump to finishing seventh in the state in less than a year. At the indoor state championships in March, she flew 38 feet, 8 3/4 inches and finished second. Now, all that’s left is becoming a state champion.

“I’m really hoping this season I can become a state champion,” Hines said. “It’s going to be a tough reach, but I’m confident in myself and my abilities.”

Valley Stream North's Nattaly Lindo won the discus with a 123 foot, 2 inch toss.