The Vikings’ girls track team has always been a powerhouse in Nassau County Conference I-B, and this year is shaping up to be no different. The team boasts strong showings in the field and relay categories, as well as runners in the majority of the sprinting and hurdles events.

Sprinting is a major strongpoint of the Lady Vikings squad. Sophomore Ava Gellis is the fastest Lady Viking in the 100 meter sprint. Gellis is tied for the fastest time in the county among sophomores and seventh in the county, with an impressive time of 12.6 seconds. Other top Vikings runners for this event are junior Melissa Hernandez and senior Beatriz Chevarria, who rank 12th and 20th in the county, respectively.

The 100-meter sprint is just one of Gellis’s strengths. She finished the 200-meter sprint with a time of 27.3 seconds, the fourth fastest time among sophomores in the county. This success is nothing new for Gellis, who had a top ten overall time in both the 100 and 200 meter sprints last year.

“Ava has been performing very well for the team so far,” said junior Davida Harris. “She has been working really hard in practice on her her time and it is definitely paying off.”

These impressive outings in the individual sprinting events have resulted in success in the team’s relays. In the 4×100 relay, Port ranks 11th best in the county with a time of 54 seconds, and in the 4×400 relay, the team stands third in the county with a time of 4 minutes and 25 seconds. The team has also done well in the longest relay, the 4×800, ranking 11th in the county with a time of 11 minutes and 23 seconds.

Junior Sage Gitlin has made a name for herself in the 100 meter hurdle this season. Her best time is 17 seconds, and she currently ranks tenth overall in the county.

“So far the season has been going well for me in my event,” said Gitlin. “My teammates really have been the reason why I’m always improving. They always push me to be better.”

The middle distance events are another strength for the Lady Vikings. In the 400 meter sprint, Schreiber has two runners in the top twelve, including county leader Beatriz Chevarria.  Chevarria holds an exceptional 1:00.45 second time, while sophomore Ava Gellis has a season best 1:03.11 second time, placing her fourth among sophomores in the county for that event.

Chevarria has also displayed her ability to run longer distance, holding a solid eleventh place in the county with a 2:28.6 second time for the 800 meter.

Port has also had some great showings in the 400 meter hurdles, with junior Lucy Hurt ranking seventh in the county in that event with a time of 1:12.5.

“It felt really great to get a good time in this event,” said Hurt. “It is not my main focus right now and I’m just happy to be able to contribute to the team in multiple ways.”

The 1500 meter is one of the team’s strongest events, with 3 runners ranking in the top 16 in the county, including 2 in the top 10. Maria Kogan ranks third overall with an impressive 5:00.46 minute time, while Kogan and Emily Cavallaro rank seventh and sixteenth in the county, respectively.  In addition, Kogan has an incredible time of 10:59.1 in the 3000 meter, tying her for first place in the entire county.

Field events have proven to be yet another forte for the Lady Vikings this season. In the high jump, Celia Christake leads Port with a season best jump of five feet, good for eleventh in the county. Christake also has some impressive scores in the long jump, with a 15 foot, 5.25 inch best so far this season, ranking her 21st in the county. Seniors Ilana Hill and Sarah Goldman lead the team in the pole vault, with season best jumps of 7 and 6 feet, respectively. Both girls are among the top 30 in the county. As far as throwing events are concerned, senior Athena Johnson ranks among the county’s best in both shot put and discus. She ranks sixth in the county for discus with a season best toss of 90 feet, while she ranks 15th in the county for shot put with a season best of 29 feet and eight inches.