Tara Byrnes Wins Suffolk Shot Put Crown to Lead H-ton
Identical twin sisters Tara and Ellyn Byrnes finished 1-2 in the shot put at the Suffolk Small Schools Girls’ Indoor Track & Field Championships to lead Huntington High School to a fifth place showing in the team standings at Suffolk-West in Brentwood.
In their first season in the sport after playing basketball for many years, the Byrnes’ surprised the rest of the talented field and put smiles on the faces of Blue Devil coaches Debra Cheskes and Shawn Anderson. Tara Byrnes, who before this winter had never before thrown the shot put, launched the weighted ball 33’11½ to edge her sister, also new to the event, whose best throw was measured at 30’1½, which placed Ellyn Byrnes second in Suffolk in the event.
“Making the transition from basketball to track was seamless because of the support of Coach Cheskes and Coach Anderson,” Tara Byrnes said. “The two of them work incredibly hard every day to support and prepare all of us as individual athletes and as a team. My teammates are also amazing, always there pulling for one another, just like a family. The atmosphere and positive energy make it easy to come in and work hard every day. They say that that’s one the greatest things about the track program here at Huntington and I would have to agree.”
Huntington sophomore Nina Cartwright (26’6½) and freshman Betty Huitt (26’6) placed 17th and 18th in shot put, respectively. With four athletes performing at such a high school, the Blue Devils completely dominated the event.
“Tara and Ellyn push each other through every workout and meet,” said Cheskes about the juniors. “To be county champion and runner-up in their rookie season is outstanding.”
“I feel really proud of this personal accomplishment and I am particularly lucky to have the opportunity to compete with and against my sister, Ellyn,” Tara Byrnes said. “She came in second place and she is my toughest opponent. Frankly, I was fortunate to have edged her out to take the title. Coming in first and second in our first-ever county meet and representing Huntington High School is a memory that we will always share.”
The Byrnes’ worked closely with Huntington boys’ indoor track and field head coach Ron Wilson, a throwing specialist and Blue Devil strength training coach Todd Jamison
“I would like to thank Coach Wilson for working with me on my throwing technique,” Tara Byrnes said. “Without his help it would have been hard to win the county as I had never thrown the shot put before. I would also like to thank Coach Jamison, who has worked with me throughout the season, helping me to increase my strength and conditioning. His support and encouragement for my sister and I has helped us to set goals and improve our performance by consistently working with us to raise our personal bests.”
In other Huntington action at the county meet:
• Kiara Roman toughed it out and finished eighth in the 3000m run in 11:34.09. “Kiara is quite a team player and probably the toughest girl we have on the team,” Anderson said. “There’s a lot of fight in that small frame!”
• Marina Ruzic ran a personal best time of 7.83 seconds to advance to the 55m dash finals, where she finished sixth in 7.92. “Marina continues to amaze me,” Cheskes said. “There is no event she can’t run. Her versatility knows no bounds.”
• In the 1000m run, Suzie Petryk notched a personal best time of 3:07.47, just a few seconds off the Huntington record. Petryk placed third in the event. Teammate Katerra Griffin turned in a personal best time of 3:38.18 to finish 17th.
• In the 1500m race walk, Huntington’s athletes continued breaking Blue Devil records with Christine Simpson and Kayla Eidle turning in sensational performances. Simpson broke the elusive 8:00 barrier, setting a new school standard of 7:58.01, which was good enough for eighth place. Eidle was just four seconds behind with a time of 8:02.26, which also broke the previous school record. Huntington’s China Celestin was clocked at 8:39.40 as she crossed the line in 15th place. “These girls have been nothing but hardworking,” Anderson said. “They drastically improved over the course of the season.”
• Alexandra Koumas enjoyed a very solid showing in the 600m run, finishing third in a time of 1:43.1. While it wasn’t a personal best, the time put her in contention for the state qualifying meet.
• Petryk was superb in the 1500m run, her second race of the night. She finished the distance in 4:59.56, breaking her own school record. “She closed really strong,” Anderson said. “The 1000 and 1500 meter races were a big breakthrough for Suzie.”
• In the 55m high hurdles, Hayley Drace (10.13 seconds), Naomi Medina-Jaudes (10.22), Catherine Koumas (10.27) and Latoya Shand (10.48) turned in solid efforts.
• Marina Ruzic finished 10th in the long jump with a leap of 15’¾.
• Savannah Richardson (32’5¾), Hayley Drace (31’), Morgan Mars (30’10¼) and Lexi Mills (29’5¾) had fine performances in the triple jump.
• The 4 x 800m relay team of Kiara Roman, Louise Koepele, Alexandra Koumas and Suzie Petryk were impressive. The Blue Devils placed fifth in a new school record time of 10:29.63, which easily bettered the previous mark by 4.86 seconds. “Suzie really stepped it up, running three very hard races in a two hour stretch and having personal bests in all three,” Anderson said. “Kiara gave a great lead-off with her personal best and from there it was a race against the clock.”
• The 4 x 200m relay was the final event of the night. The relay team of Morgan Mars, Latoya Shand, Marina Ruzic and Catherine Koumas raced to a third place finish in 1:55.94.
The close of the meet was a bittersweet moment for Cheskes and seniors Hayley Drace, Catherine Koumas, Morgan Mars, Christine Simpson, Naomi Medina-Jaudes and Caitlin Yabroudy. The group shed tears realizing it was the final time that would compete under Cheskes’ tutelage. The coach remarked how much of a “pleasure” it was to work with these athletes over the span of as many as five seasons. “They will truly be missed,” Anderson said.
Final team scores: 1. Bayport-Blue Point-62; 2. Miller Place-57; 3. Comsewogue-49; 3. Westhampton Beach-49; 5. Huntington-41; 6. Kings Park-38; 7. Hauppauge-28; 7. Harborfields-28; 9. John H. Glenn-20; 10. Eastport-South Manor-17; 11. Shoreham-Wading River-14; 11. Babylon-14; 13. Islip-10; 13. Southampton-10; 15-Bellport-6; 15. East Hampton-6; 17. Port Jefferson-4; 17. Rocky Point-4; 17. West Babylon-4; 20. Sayville-1; 20. Amityville-1; 20. Deer Park-1; 20. Bishop McGann-Mercy-1.