Zaria Fuller wins three events, leading Uniondale to girls title at Nassau Class AAA track and field championships
![Zaria Fuller of Uniondale reaches for the finish line in...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AZTNhYThkZjYtZjMzMi00%3AZjYtZjMzMi00MDNjMDQ0%2Fskntrack180526_web.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
Zaria Fuller of Uniondale reaches for the finish line in her 400-meter win at the Nassau AAA track and field championships in Long Beach on Friday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Zaria Fuller had that look in her eye. This is a very specific kind of look, one that only the most superior of athletes seems to pull off. It’s the “I’m not losing” look and Fuller clearly wasn’t planning on it.
The Uniondale junior, who is as all-around athletic as they come, was trailing Valley Stream Central’s Olivia Nelson after the final hurdle in the 100-meter hurdles at the Nassau Class AAA track and field championships Friday at Long Beach Middle School.
Fuller already had two victories in the meet and wasn’t about to fall just short of a third. So, gathering all the strength she had left, Fuller made up the short steps Nelson had on her, leaning at the line to win in 15.70 seconds. Nelson ran second in 15.73 and Fuller’s triple was complete.
“That was determination,” Fuller said. “I knew she was right there and I knew if I kept pushing, I could get her . . . After I crossed the line, I just laid out. I was done.”
Fuller also won the 400 in 58.32 seconds and the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 4 inches.
“It was tiring,” she said. “I just had to believe in myself. I knew I could get it done. It was just a matter of how. Now that I’m done and I know the outcomes, it’s a breath of fresh air.”
Fuller helped Uniondale win the team title with 104 points. Teammate Brianna McGregor won the long jump, flying 17 feet, 1 1/2 inches. McGregor, along with her teammates Naisha Batson, Michema Guerrier, and Elizabeth Glashen, won the 4 x 100 meter relay in 50.09 seconds.
Elsewhere, Port Washington’s Lucy Hurt won the 2,000- meter steeplechase in 7:12.56 and the 800 in 2:20.42. Hurt held a slight lead in the 800 before being challenged by Mepham’s Emily Moehringer on the final lap. Hurt outsprinted the Mepham freshman in the final 15 meters. Moehringer was second in 2:20.69.
“I knew that I could get out and lead the race,” Hurt said. “As we were coming down the last 100, I just heard everyone screaming and I just wanted to make a final push.”
Uniondale dominated the day on both fronts, winning the boys team championship as well, with 95 1/2 points.
Giordano Williams won the 100 (11.30) and 200 (22.65). The junior debuted a new stance at the start of the 100, opting to put one hand on the ground — a traditional “three-point” stance — before the gun.
“I felt like it helped me get out better,” Williams said. “I think I’m going to use it the rest of the way.”
Jadan Hanson, who has anchored the Uniondale field unit all year, won both the triple jump (46-9) and the high jump (6-2).
Uniondale’s 4 x 400 meter relay, composed of Tyler Edmeade, Isaiah Gray-Jordan, Nathaniel Miller, and Lotrell Lindsay, won in 3:27.95.
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