Hempstead's Moore, West Hempstead's Guerrier twins pace LI contingent at track and field state championships

MIDDLETOWN — The 400 meters is the perfect race for Anissa Moore.

She’s dedicated years to mastering her craft, and it’s paid off. The Hempstead senior won the Federation 400 in 55.09 seconds on Saturday, becoming the state back-to-back champion.

“Today I focused more on my own race, which is something I felt I didn’t do yesterday,” Moore said. “I know I have to get to 100 [meters] at a certain time, and I know I have to push at the last 100 meters. Otherwise, I won’t finish as well.”

Moore finds the 400 to be much simpler than the 600, in which she won the indoor state championship this past winter. However, the 400 is far more stressful for her.

That was very well the case on Friday, as Moore (55.72) beat North Babylon’s Samara Lawrence (55.73) by one-hundredth of a second in the Division I final.

“I did think she got me at the line,” Moore said. “When he said it over the loudspeaker, that’s when it finally kicked in. I was like ‘Oh, it actually did happen.’ ”

Moore knows every race is a clean slate, and it doesn’t matter how she did previously. She wants to keep breaking her own records and come out on top.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about execution,” Moore said. “It’s anybody’s race because it matters not about the times you did before, but who performs on that day. I feel like that mentality gets me through the race.”

Two other Long Islanders also set the bar very high at the state outdoor meet.

For as long as they can remember, Victoria and Gloria Guerrier have pushed each other to be the best at whatever they do.

The identical twins are seniors at West Hempstead. Victoria placed second in the Federation 400 in 55.59, and Gloria won the Federation 400 hurdles in 59.76. Both girls won their Division II titles.

“We have been into athletics since we were young,” Gloria said. “In gymnastics, she was a little better than me, so I tried to catch up with her. It was like that back and forth. We did swimming, also, and it would be the same thing. I would try to be at her level, and she would try to be at my level. We would compete in that regard.”

Being at a similar skill level, the two often alternate between who is the better runner. This and their competitiveness is what they say creates a great atmosphere at practice.

At a meet, Victoria said she typically runs first. When she does well, she says her momentum channels over to Gloria and vice versa.

It carries over into the classroom, too. Gloria is West Hempstead’s valedictorian and Victoria is the salutatorian.

“When she does good, I do good,” Victoria said. “It’s a really nice feeling overall.”

The twins will run track at Yale next year.

Daley tops Fulton

Logan Daley had been working toward the state meet all season. She regularly did reaction drills to improve her start and got lots of rest.

It proved to be worthwhile for the Holy Trinity junior. She won the Federation 100 meters in 11.73, setting a personal record. In doing so, she dethroned the defending champion, Elmont junior Ashley Fulton, who came in second.

“All the work that I’ve put in was for this meet,” Daley said. “To come out on top and [set a personal record] and win this meet — I did that. I’m just really excited and happy.”

Just a few races later, Fulton captured the Federation 200 meters in 24.05. This time, Daley placed second.

North Babylon’s 4 x 100 relay team of Djoonicka Buissereth, Norbertude Nerjuste, Shavanna Richards and Lawrence captured the Federation title in 47.57.

Julie Thomas headlined the field events as she threw for 44 feet, 1 ¼ inches to claim the Federation shot put title.

Sophia McInnes, a sophomore at Bayport-Blue Point, took home two Division II titles. She finished the 3,000 meters in 9:43.85, earning third in the Federation, and she finished the 1,500 meters in 4:25.95, earning fourth in the Federation.

“I know this is one step higher,” McInnes said. “There are multiple more steps to go just to be the best that I can be.”