After 40 long years, the girls indoor track and field team took first place in the county championship.  Keeping the success from the cross country season going, the girls took home the title in a well-deserved victory.

Led by Coach Pope and star runners like Paige Netteshiem and Eve Siff-Scherr, the girls won their meet at St. Anthony’s.  They took the title of County Champions, despite being a small team of just 20 girls against 17 other teams.  Schreiber’s team edged out other top schools like Massapequa, last year’s county winner.  After Massapequa’s victory last year, the Schreiber girls entered the new season determined to win.  It had been a long time since Port Washington had brought home the county title so they practiced hard all season, and clearly it paid off. 

Many team members received high placements and awards, such as All-County honors for their performances.  The ladies had an all-around great performance that culminated in a title win.

This was not an easy season for the group.  The ongoing pandemic provided many obstacles the girls had to overcome en route to their eventual triumph.  In Dec., the Omicron variant caused a major COVID-19 outbreak in school, and several sports teams temporarily lost a large sum of their players.  Fortunately, the girls managed to evade the virus and emerged victorious on the other side of the outbreak.

“Wearing masks definitely wasn’t easy at first, especially indoors, as we had to learn to adapt to something we’ve never done before.  We had to be extra careful when cases were high in school and many other sports teams were getting it, so it was tough.  However, we’re a really close team, so it was just a little bump in the road for us.  We stayed responsible and did what we needed to do to stay healthy and help each other do the same.  Being there for everyone was so important because we’re all going through this together,” said junior Grace O’Rourke.

Huge performances from Ashley Carillo, Eve Siff-Scherr, and Paige Nettesheim helped the girls to bring home their victory.  Ashley placed second in both the 3000m and the 1000m races, running an impressive 11:02 in the 3000m race, and Eve finished soon after, coming in at fifth place. 

Senior Paige Netteshiem ran a great 600m race and took first place in a very close race, beating the opposition by a mere .001 seconds.  Makena Romero and Joanna Weber placed fourth and fifth in the race as well, helping secure the win.

“Throughout this season, everyone has pushed and supported each other in helping one another reach their highest potential, thus contributing to the greater goal of success as a team,” said sophomore Eve Siff-Scherr.

Eighth grader Samantha Benson-Tyler placed second in the 1500m race walk, clocking in with a time of 8:40.  Her event, along with various field events, also helped the girls earn points.

Bella Lucas earned an All-County Award for her performance in the Triple Jump and the High Jump, bringing in valuable points that significantly contributed to the team’s success.  More big performances from Ashley Carillo and Eve Siff-Scherr in the 1500m race, along with an impressive showing in the relays, secured the victory for the girls.  Alexa Benun’s third place and Emily Benson-Tyler’s fifth place in the 300m race further contributed to the win.

The girls team achieved an impressive victory this year, overcoming obstacles like COVID-19 and a small team size to work hard and to bring home the victory.  Hopefully, the girls team continues to remain on top next year, and keep their winning streak alive.  Young stars like Eve Siff-Scherr and Ashley Carillo are waiting until they can help the team win another title soon, and hopefully the girls can continue to reach the same degree of success that they achieved this year.

“I really appreciated this year’s season because it was great to run with the girls and bring home the victory.  It’s been a long time, almost 40 years, so it felt awesome to win counties for our school!” said Nettesheim.