Miller Place's Tiana and Talia Guevara, plus their mom, make some noise on the track
Tiana Guevara took off in the 1,500 meters, held a substantial lead throughout and flashed a wide grin as she rounded the final turn to begin the last lap of the race.
The smile wasn't just because the Miller Place star knew she had another win in the bag. It was for her mom, who was standing on the track, enthusiastically ringing the bell to signify the final lap during the second day of the Suffolk championships at Connetquot on Wednesday.
"My mom loves that SNL skit with Will Ferrell -- 'We need more cowbell' -- and she asked back at the St. Anthony's Invitational if she could ring the bell and she's been looking forward to it ever since," said Guevara, who won the 800 and 3,000 meter races earlier in the week.
It was truly a Guevara family affair as sister Talia, who finished fourth in the 800 and second in the 3,000 on Monday, finished fourth in the 1,500 race and helped Tiana, Lauren Nolan and Laura Barrecca win the 4 x 800.
"They're such hard workers and are so dedicated to seeing the team do well," Miller Place coach Fran Sullivan said. "They don't want to let anyone down, especially themselves."
Guevara was far from the only athlete to win multiple events. Ashley Lucas of Babylon and North Babylon's Alexia Douglas proved to be the fastest sprinters in their respective division, winning both the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Lucas won the 100 in 12.55 seconds and the 200 in 25.74. Douglas ran the 100 in 12.15 and the 200 in 24.86.
Shannon Ahern of Kings Park won the 800-meter (2:17.78) and the 400-meter hurdles (1:03.73).
Kathleen Cibuls of Bayport-Blue Point not only won two events but set Division III meet records in both. Her 400-meter time of 56.29 and long jump distance of 18 feet, 10.75-inches both set new standards.
Leah Blackall's triple jump distance of 39 feet, 4 inches set a new Division I record and multiple records were taken down in Division II, including D'Jai Baker's impressive double in the 200 (24.50) and the 400 (:55.55). Teammate Jessica Scheriff set a new benchmark in the steeplechase with a time of 7:00.04.
Baker, Scheriff and teammate Nailah Jones -- who won the long jump (17 feet, 9 1/2 inches) and the 100 (12.29) -- were the big reasons behind North Babylon winning its second consecutive Division II title.
In Division I, the Bay Shore dynasty continued to roll. The Marauders won their fourth straight Division I title and 10th in 12 years, scoring 108.33 points. Sachem North was second with 96 points.
Aviana Goode led the way, winning the high jump (5 feet, 3 inches), the 100 hurdles (14.65), was second in the 400 hurdles (1:06.16) and third in the long jump (18 feet, 51/4 inches).
"I knew that I could get my mark down and I just needed to get one good jump to win it," Goode said.
Bayport-Blue Point was the winner in Division III with 131 points, ahead of Kings Park's 77.
The Phantoms were led byCibuls and Kerri Nickel, who won the 100 hurdles (15.3), second in the 400 hurdles (1:07.32) and second in the high jump (4 feet, 10-inches.)
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