B-BP Girls Track Team Completes Incredible Season

Article and photo submitted by Coach Vin Ungaro

The Bayport-Blue Point Girls Track and Field team ended their season the best way possible.

All season long teammates pushed each other to run faster, jump higher and throw farther. Most often, their efforts are rewarded with League or County titles. This season was no exception, however, in a true testament to how difficult a task it is, the team was able to end it with a State Championship! After locking up their twelfth straight league championship and fourth straight county championship, the team continued on to the state qualifier meet and eventually the New York State Championship meet.

The team BBP sent upstate was a strong one and looked to have the potential to accomplish something that was unthinkable only weeks before. Based on the events the girls were placed and what events competing schools had their athletes in, it was possible for the Phantoms to score more points than any small school in the state. While the scoring of more points than all the other small school teams in the state is not a NYSPHSAA recognized achievement, the Bayport-Blue Point girls did just that; if the small school state meet were scored like all other championships are, the phantoms would have won the meet. It is an amazing accomplishment and a team effort as points came from numerous events. 

The team was led by sophomore Kathleen Cibuls, as she was All-State in all four events she was entered in (never before done in school history). In dramatic come from behind fashion, the 4 x 400 meter relay won the state championship in a new school record time. Ashley Magnifico ran a great leadoff leg and Courtney Dooley took the baton and made up a little bit of ground on the second leg. Brigitte Strobl ran a gutsy third leg that gave Kathleen a great shot at second place, and a small sliver of hope for first. Cibuls ran one of the fastest 400 meter splits of the day in the whole state, splitting a 54.8 and overtaking Bronxville for the State Championship.

Senior Stephanie Silver was calm under pressure in the pole vault as the bar kept climbing by one foot intervals, a rare occurrence in meets. It resulted in her placing third in the meet and scoring another six points for BBP as she sailed over ten feet and six inches. Dariya Dolan, Jeami Van Weele and Lauren Hansen competed in the 100 meter hurdles (16.76), shot put (32’4’’) and discus (95’7’’) respectively all pretty close to their personal bests. Kathleen earlier in the day had taken third in the 400 meter dash (56.47) and second in the long jump (18’1’’). Kerri Nickel over the course of two days competed in the pentathlon, which consists of the 100 meter hurdles, shot put, high jump, long jump and 800 meter run. After some great performances she finished third in the state, but even more impressively, took fifth in the federation (all schools in NYS, large, small, catholic and private). Her point total of 2985 is the second highest in school history.

Lastly, to wrap up the victory over all the other small schools, the 4 x 800 meter relay of Courtney Dooley, Brianna Delzell, Taylor Darby and Kathleen Cibuls right after her federation final in the 400 meter dash, took sixth place from the unseeded section scoring the last point of the meet for BBP.

The boys team had two athletes finish all-state as Dan Percival took sixth in the shot put with teammate Beau Kraft finishing fourth. Kraft wasn’t done yet as he became the first BBP athlete in over twenty years to finish all-state in both the shot put and the discus as he took fifth in the disc. At the end of the season twelve school records have been broken, four girls are state champions, eight girls are all-state, three girls all-county, two girls academic all-county and twenty one girls are all-league.

It was a remarkable team and year that saw the girls win their first winter county championship in ten years and then defend it come spring.