Rebecca Caballero put her sensational all-around athleticism on display as the Huntington High School senior mastered five events to win the Suffolk Division II girls’ track and field pentathlon championship for the second consecutive year.
Caballero is a superbly conditioned athlete with an unmatchable competitive streak. Her march to the pentathlon title was interrupted by stormy weather, but the Blue Devil star didn’t let that obstacle or any other deter her from winning another gold medal.
The Huntington senior was exceptional in the competition, winning the 100m hurdles in a new personal best time of 17.19 seconds and taking first in both long jump and in the 800m run. Caballero was second in shot put and sixth in high jump. Remarkably, her point total of 2,501 was identical to last year’s gold medal performance.
Caballero easily outdistanced runner-up Hope Cuomo, a North Babylon junior who totaled 2,151 points. Comsewogue senior Olivia Farmer (2,037) and Comsewogue freshman Lindsay Hannon (1,924) placed third and fourth respectively. Eastport-South Manor junior Kaitlin Mauer (1,828) was fifth and West Babylon senior Cansel Cebaci (1,672) was sixth.
Erika Varady Wins in Record Time
Huntington sophomore Erika Varady captured the 1500m race-walk in a new school record time of 7:08.92. The teenager and her sophomore teammate, Keily Rivas kept pace with each other before Varady ultimately pulled away. Rivas finished second in a fine time of 7:21.23.
The two Blue Devil stars easily turned aside challenges by runners from Smithtown West, Half Hollow Hills West, East Islip and Kings Park, who placed 3-6.
In other action for Huntington:
• Anna Gulizio finished fourth in the 400m dash in a new personal best time of 59.29 seconds.
• Jolena Smith placed fifth in discus with a new personal best throw of 101-04 feet.
• Smith threw a personal best 33.75 feet in shot put to finish fifth.
• Alexandra McKenzie took fourth place in pole vault by soaring 8-06 feet.
• Nicole Abbondandelo overcame illness to place third in the always difficult steeplechase in 7:36.01.
• In the 4x800m relay, Abbondandelo, Sophie Dellecave, Marina Ruzic and Hadley Clayton placed fifth in a season best time of 10.06.01.
“Overall, considering we only brought 13 people to the meet, we did very well, placing fourth with 47 points,” said Shawn Anderson, Huntington’s head coach. “This season has had its up and downs due to sickness or injuries, but we managed to scrap for every point and fight hard. This week the focus is on individuals, with the state qualifying meet having the best of Suffolk County going head to head. The winners will make it up to the state meet.”
