Sachem’s Margaret Atwood Wins Racewalk State Championship

Sachem’s Margaret Atwood Wins Racewalk State Championship photo thumbnail88021
Another track season gone by, and another dominant racewalking performance for Sachem.

Sachem East’s Margaret Atwood captured a New York State championship in the 1,500-meter racewalk. She won with a time of six minutes, 49 seconds.

“At this meet, a lot of people have a lot of energy,” she told Newsday after the race. “So, when I first went out, a couple girls went out really hard. But, I didn’t have it to scare me, so I just stayed close and maintained my pace throughout the race.”

Atwood follows in the footsteps of Sachem racewalk greats Lauren Harris, who holds a number of national indoor and outdoor records and currently competes at Marist College, and Maria Michta-Coffey, a two-time Olympian and Sachem Hall of Famer, who has been a mentor and coach for Atwood, as Michta-Coffey still supports the program to this day.

Sachem East’s Chelsea Benedict placed sixth in the racewalk with a time of seven minutes, 19 seconds.

In the 600-meter race, Sachem East’s Jess Nischo finished at No. 16 with a time of one minute, 38 seconds.

Sachem North had a strong showing in the 1,500-meter run as Jordyn McDonnell (4:45.06) and Molly Ramirez (4:45.97) placed ninth and 10th, respectively. Longtime track and field Sachem coach Alex Young said he could not recall a time in the last 30 years when two Sachem runners finished in the top 10 in a state championship 1,500-meter run like this.

Sachem East’s 4x800 relay of Shayna Arrigo, Bridget Abraldes, Kaitlyn Famigletti and Rachel Ruggiero finished fifth in the state with a time of nine minutes and 17 seconds. 

Abraldes, Arrigo, Famigletti and Angela Consalazio also ran the 4x400 relay and finished at No. 8 with a time of four minutes and six seconds. 

Sachem North’s Molly Kearns threw 34-11.00 in the shot put, which was good enough for No. 17 in the state.

On the boys’ side, the single competitor at states was Sachem East’s Justin Allone, who finished at No. 16 in the 3,200-meter run in a time of nine minutes, 33 seconds.