The Mineola High School track and field teams are having a strong season. As coach Kristin Frazer said, the teams are off to a record-breaking season.

In the first meet of the season, seniors Julia Yan and Samantha Hegmann set school records in their respective events. Yan broke her own school mark in the 400m hurdles with a time of 74.1. She's since broken that record two more times to run a 73.1 Hegmann set a record in the shot put with a throw of 32'9''. She also broke her own school record in the discus with a throw of 109'1''. In league competition, Hegmann was undefeated as of this writing in the discus and has placed second only one time in the shot put. Her efforts have earned her the distinction of being profiled in Hi-Five in the May 3 edition.

Sophomore Nicole Wissler has set a school record in the 1,500 meters with a time of 5:22.4 Wissler also came within six seconds of the 3,000 meter record in only her second time running that event. Her time was 12:14.6. Senior Jaimie Silva set a school record in the triple jump with a leap of 29'3''.

Coach Frazer pointed out that there have been many other highlights this season. "The senior class of Bethany Brown, Liz Campbell, Samantha Hegmann, Lauren Massa, Christine Medlock, Lauren Napolitano, Jaimie Silva and Julia Yan have done a great job of leading the team this season. Brown has been improving her times in the 200 and 400 and even tried the 100 high hurdles. Campbell consistently finishes second (behind Hegmann) in the discus and has placed in every league meet in the shot put. Hegmann has gone undefeated in the discus and set a school record in either the shot put or discus nearly every time she competes. Massa has been a great role model to the young team. She is coming off an injury and recently returned to running. However, she attended every single practice to serve as a motivator to her teammates. Her return to running has gone well. She continues to improve her times in the 1,500 and 800. Medlock has set a personal record in the 400 meters with a 65.2. She remains a strength in the 400, 200, 4X400 and 4X100. Napolitano has led the team in the 100, 200, 400 and with her spots in the 4X100 and 4X400. Silva has been a leader in the triple jump and long jump, consistently scoring points in every league meet. Yan has set a school record in the 400 hurdles with a time of 73.1. She has also scored points in every meet in many events including the 400 hurdles, 100, 800, 200, 4X100, 4X400, 4X800 and long jump and high jump. She'll also be competing in the pentathlon this season to showcase her many strengths. The pentathlon tests an athlete in five varied events - the shot put, high jump, long jump, 200 high hurdles and the 800.

The underclassmen have proven they are ready to take over next year when the seniors graduate. Juniors Alia Fater and Jenn Pawlowski have been leading the team in the 400, 800, 4X400 and 4X800. Pawlowski has been improving her times on a weekly basis and races with a determination that is unmatched. Fater has returned from injury and has been running very good times. Her patience through rehabilitation has led to her success. She was able to earn a spot on the 4X400 relay team that competed at the Penn Relays.

Laura Restrepo has been a welcome addition in the 100, 200 and 400 and earned a spot on the 4X100 relay team that also competed at the Penn Relays. Nicole Wissler leads a talented sophomore class, which includes Meredith Minsky, Jess Pawlowski and Vanessa Martins. Pawlowski, the younger sister of Jenn, has been a strength in the 100, 200 and 4X100. She also qualified for a trip to the Penn Relays. Martins has been strong in the 200, 400 and recently the 800. Minsky has been a force in the shot put. She has placed in every meet, consistently throwing over 25 feet. Isabel Reis has proven to be a strong sophomore. She runs the 400 hurdles and 100 hurdles each week. She also competes in the 100, 200 and 400. Shantel Glover and Nicole Vlavianos have been constantly improving their times and supporting their teammates in the relays. The two freshmen on the roster have been scoring at each meet. Tanya Figueiredo is a fixture in the 100, 200, 400 and 4X100 relay team. Allie Lisonek is become a talented middle distance runner. She competes in the 800, 1500 and 4X800 relays. Juniors Jenn Port, Karen Diaz, Sabrina Graham and sophomores Yesenia Cardona, Jenelle Fiori and Jamie Medlock have improved their times and performances through the season.

Obviously, coach Frazer and her team have been experiencing an enjoyable season. The final league meet was May 2. Stay tuned for an update on that as well as the Division Championships and the County Meet.

The Mineola boys track and field team took second place in their second squad meet of the season at North Shore High School. The 50 points the boys scored bested their total from the first meet. The highlights included a sweep of the discus by Dave Gouveia (118'7''), Rob Kiss (116'2'') and Rob Olszewski (107'3.5'). The Mustangs unit of Claudio DeMatos, Chris Vera, Danny Sanches and Joe Wellbrock took first in the 4X800 relay. Olszewski also took first in the shot put with a throw of 44'5.5'' while Kiss and Gouveia took second and fourth. DeMatos also took first in the mile with a personal record of 4:58.2. Coach Mike Santa Maria also pointed out other highlights from the meet at North Shore.

Claudio DeMatos - 2nd in the 800 meters

Danny Sanches - 3rd in the 1,600 and 3rd in the 3,200

Joe Wellbrock - 2nd in the 3,200

Tobin George - 3rd in the 400, 2nd in the high jump

Chris Vera - 4th in the 3,200

Tiago Barbosa - 3rd in the high jump, 2nd in the triple jump

The next squad meet was at Oyster Bay High School. "Despite missing nearly half of the team, the boys turned in several outstanding performances," said coach Santa Maria.

For the second straight week, the trio of Rob Kiss (125'7''), Dave Gouveia (112'2'') and Rob Olszewski (110'8'') swept the discus. Olszewski (43'4''), Kiss (40'10'') and Gouveia (30'6'') swept the shot put as well and collected 20 points for the team. Tobin George won the high jump (5'6'') and anchored second place 4X400 relay team, which also included Joe Wellbrock, Greg Lapin and Kevin Sung. Chris Vera won the 3,200 in spite of battling sharp leg pains throughout the race. Also performing well at Oyster Bay:

Joe Wellbrock - 2nd in the 800 meters

Matt Siwinski - 3rd in the 100 meters

Kevin Sung - 4th in the 200 meters

The Mineola boys squad has also competed in the Derrick Adkins Invitational at Mitchell Field, the Baldwin Freshman-Sophomore Meet at Baldwin High School, the Frank Maier Invitational at North Shore High School and the Cold Spring Harbor Invitational. They're, of course, also pointing toward the Conference Championships and they may make some noise in the Nassau County Championships.