Sports

2011 Top Sports Story No. 4: Riverhead track star brings home three state titles

GARRET MEADE FILE PHOTO | Melodee Riley won state titles in the long jump and triple jump last spring.

While only a junior, Riverhead’s Melodee Riley was already making her third trip to a state championship in track and field when she arrived at Caledonia-Mumford High School last June.

She arrived at the championship filled with confidence after her stellar performance at the Section XI Championship a week earlier. There she set a school record in the triple jump with a mark of 41 feet 3 1/2 inches, which easily put her as the favorite going into the state championship. Her jump was also one of the best in the nation that year. The school record she broke was none other than her own.

The state championship began with the Division I competition. Riley won both the long jump (18-9 3/4) and triple jump (39-9).

From there, she was just beginning. Next up was the federation competition, which encompasses public and private schools. She shined again in the triple jump, winning another title against the top competition in New York with a mark of 39-3. In the long jump she settled for fifth place with a mark of 18.

“It’s pretty cool,” Riley said afterward. “It’s cool to know that you’re number one out of a lot of schools, a lot of kids.”

At the same meet McGann-Mercy had its own success when its 4 x 400 relay team won the Division II championship. The foursome of senior Kayleigh Macchirole, senior Olivia Schumann, junior Sasa Vann and senior Lauren Woodhull clocked a winning time of 3 minutes 57.43 seconds.

The group set a school record.