Top Sports Stories 2015: What a year for SWR’s Lee
It was a dominant all-around season in 2015 for Shoreham-Wading River runner Katherine Lee, so much in fact, she was honored as the News-Review’s female athlete of the year in June for Shoreham. Not bad for a freshman.
Lee compiled two stellar seasons on the track, beginning last winter in the indoor season. She ran the fastest 3,000-meter time of any runner in Suffolk County. At the small-school county championships, she won both the 3,000 and 1,500 while also running as part of the team’s 4×800 relay.
At the Section XI State Qualifier, Lee repeated as the champion in the 3,000. She faced a much stiffer test with Sachem East’s Valerie Romero and Smithtown East’s Jaclyn Gallery chasing close behind her. Lee held on to win the race in 10 minutes 11.12 seconds to narrowly beat out the next two runners.
Lee built on her success in the indoor season and put together an even better outdoor season. She posted a school record time of 9:54.16 in the 3,000 at the Section XI Individual Championships and was one of only two runners in the county to crack 10 minutes. She also won the 1,500 in 4:34.94, the top time of any girl in the county.
Lee became an all-state runner in Albany and then went on to win the one-mile freshman race at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C. She finished the race in 4:57.65 and was the only runner in the 27-girl field to crack 5 minutes.
Photo Caption: Shoreham-Wading River’s Katherine Lee runs the 3,000 at the state championships in Albany. (Credit: Joe Werkmeister, file)
Previous 2015 Top Stories
SWR baseball reaches county finals
Riverhead relay team matches record
League champion girls soccer team
Riverhead wrestler wins county crown
A county champion tennis player
Long recovery for Riverhead football player
