The only way to describe the Mineola High School girls outdoor track season is very successful. Considering there are no seniors on the 31-member team (seven juniors, nine freshman and 15 sophomores) plus all of the honors the squad garnered, the future is bright.

In thinking about the spring season, coach Kristin Degnan pointed to the first ever trip to the very prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia. "The trip was a huge honor because you have to meet very difficult qualifying standards to be accepted into the competition," she said.

The 4X400 relay team of Julia Yan, Christy Peter, Christine Medlock and Lauren Napolitano shattered the old school record by 14 seconds with a 4:28. The 4X100 relay team of Peter, Napolitano, Jaimie Silva and Ashley Volino ran a season best 56.5. Both relay teams have already been invited back to next year's competition because of their fabulous performances.

The Mustangs were on to the division championships where the girls squad finished third in the May 11 meet at North Shore High School. Eleven different girls earned All-Conference honors. They are: Lauren Napolitano in the 100 and 200-meter dashes; Julia Yan in the 400-meter hurdles and 800-meter run; Samantha Hegmann in the discus and shot put and Jessica Donahue in the shot put and discus. Hegmann was the division champion in the discus while Donahue won the division title in the shot put.

Two relay teams also earned All-Conference honors. The 4X400 team of Christy Peter, Katie Keegan, Alia Fater and Christine Medlock and the 4X800 team made up of Jamie Silva, Alia Fater, Jen Pawlowski and Lauren Massa earned honors. Coach Degnan pointed to the work done by Pawlowski and Massa because both ran the 1,500-meter and 3,000-meter runs as well as the last two legs of the 4X800 relay race.

In the county meet at Mitchell Field, the young Mustang squad also had success. Samantha Hegmann and Lauren Napolitano both earned All-County honors. Hegmann won the county title in the discus. Napolitano took third in the 200-meter dash. Also at the county meet, Julia Yan and Jess Donahue won fourth place medals. Yan's medal came in the 800-meter run while Donahue won in the shot put.

The relay teams continued to impress. The 4X400 team of Napolitano, Peter, Medlock and Yan set an impressive mark of 4:23. The 4X800 team shattered the school record by more than two minutes. Fater, Massa, Pawlowski and Silva combined to chalk-up an 11:16.

Finally, at the state qualifying meet, Julia Yan ran a personal best 2:36 in the 800-meter run. Samantha Hegmann won the discus and qualified for the New York State Track and Field Championships in Syracuse. Hegmann finished 12th at the state meet, an incredible performance for a sophomore.

Coach Degnan concluded by saying, "I congratulate all of the girls on a great season. I'm thankful for all their hard work and dedication. I'm definitely looking forward to next season with this squad."