Sachem East's Alexandra DeCicco wins Division I 3,000 and 800 meters
Sachem East's Aexandra DeCicco runs during the girls 800-meter Division 1 at the Suffolk girls track and field division championships on Tuesday, May 26, 2015. Credit: Richard T. Slattery
The Suffolk girls track and field division championships are only half over, and Sachem East's Alexandra DeCicco already is 2-for-2. DeCicco won the Division I 800 meters in 2 minutes, 17.08 seconds and the 3,000 meters in 10:18.77 on Tuesday at Northport High School on the first day of the two-day meet.
DeCicco said it was her first time successfully running the 800-3,000 double. It also was her first two spring division championships.
"I was really nervous," she said of her mind-set before the start of the meet. "I just had to stay controlled in the beginning and not do everything. It felt really good to win."
DeCicco ran her 3,000 about an hour and 15 minutes after her 800 victory. Despite feeling some tightness in her legs early in the race, the junior won by nearly seven seconds. With three laps left, she began to separate from the field for good.
"You have to be mentally tough," she said. "But I knew that everyone else was hurting at a certain lap. When I was hurting really bad, I thought I should push it. I just kept going."
Eastport-South Manor's Taylor McClay won the Division II 3,000 in 10:18.19. Shoreham- Wading River's Katherine Lee won the Division III 3,000 in 10:28.60.
Mercy's Meg Tuthill had to withstand a late charge by Lee in the Division III 800 meters to take it in 2:17.76. Lee cut into Tuthill's lead in the final 150 meters, sneaking up behind her and, in an effort to will herself to a championship, flinging herself across the finish line in 2:17.77, one-hundredth of a second behind Tuthill.
Being that runners are generally taught not to turn their heads, Tuthill, who was staring straight ahead as she strode evenly down the final straightaway, did not fully realize what was occurring.
"I heard people yelling, but sometimes you don't know if they're yelling to make you go faster or if she's really there," Tuthill said. "When I saw it was Kat Lee [after the race], I wasn't that surprised. She's an amazing runner."
Despite coming up on the short end of that race, Lee said she wasn't that disappointed about finishing a hair behind Tuthill.
"I got a personal record and I'm really good friends with Meg," Lee said. "So I was happy for her."
Huntington's Suzie Petryk won the Division II 800 in 2:16.18.
The second and final day of the girls division championships is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday at Northport High School.
New hope for justice Theresa Cerney's killing is one of at least 66 cases of dead women being reviewed by Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney's new cold case unit. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn and Newsday investigative reporter Sandra Peddie have this exclusive story.
New hope for justice Theresa Cerney's killing is one of at least 66 cases of dead women being reviewed by Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney's new cold case unit. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn and Newsday investigative reporter Sandra Peddie have this exclusive story.
