Not that Juliana Marcucci minded, though.
Marcucci has been an enthusiast of the 2,000-meter steeplechase ever since she first tried it last year. "It's my favorite event," the Riverhead High School freshman said. "It's kind of an adventurous race."
Now, one year after her introduction to the rather unique event that requires competitors to clear four barriers and splash down in a small pool of water behind one of them, Marcucci is a county champion. Her latest steeplechase adventure saw her win the Division II race in the Suffolk County Division Championships at Comsewogue High School's Tom Cassese Athletic Field last Thursday. Not only did the top-seeded Marcucci win, but she did so in a personal-best time of 7 minutes 34.64 seconds. She completed the race well before the second-place finisher, Kings Park junior Alex Taylor, who was clocked in 8:03.54.
"It's definitely encouraging," Marcucci said, "but even if I didn't win, it still wouldn't take anything away from the experience."
Marcucci's victory was one of the highlights of the two-day meet for the Riverhead Blue Waves, who finished third among 17 Division II teams with 66 1/2 points. The North Babylon Bulldogs took the team title with 98 points, followed by the Kings Park Kingsmen with 95 1/3.
The Bishop McGann-Mercy Monarchs, bolstered by a triumph in the 4x400-meter relay and a pair of school records, finished seventh among 19 Division III teams. Three slots below them were the Mattituck Tuckers. The Mount Sinai Mustangs collected 145 points to win that division.
Marcucci said her approach entering races isn't to be preoccupied with winning so much as "always wanting to improve and pursue excellence."
Riverhead Coach Rebecca Winkel can attest that Marcucci has been doing that. "Every time she runs, she just gets better and better," said the coach.
Marcucci, who was brought up to the varsity team last year, recalled what it was like to run the steeplechase for the first time. "It was scary," she said. "I've never done anything like it."
Winkel sees the steeplechase as a good fit for Marcucci. "She's physically strong, and she's fearless," said Winkel.
For the record, Marcucci confirmed that the water was cold. But she quickly added, "It doesn't really bother you because you're so focused on your race."
Katie Skinner and Melodee Riley also turned in winning performances for Riverhead. Skinner, a junior, finished first in the 3,000 meters in 10:37.15 in addition to taking second in the 1,500 in 4:45.96. Riley, a freshman, was the winning triple jumper at 36 feet 1 inch. She also took second in the 400 in 59.22.
McGann-Mercy closed its participation in the meet on a positive note, winning the 4x400 relay. The foursome of Bridget Straub, Tori Cataldo, Kayleigh Macchirole and Olivia Schumann breezed to victory in 4:05.54.
Schumann, a sophomore, had cause to feel good about walking away with several medals as well as a school record in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles. Schumann led the race until the final hurdle, when Mount Sinai senior Ashley Callahan passed her before crossing the finish line first in 1:07.43.
"I was so close," Schumann said. "I wanted to beat her so bad."
But Schumann's second-place time of 1:08.48 was good enough for a school record. She nicked fractions of a second off Ali Smith's one-year-old mark of 1:08.62.
Schumann also finished fourth in the high jump at 4-8.
Samantha Di Resta competed in the pentathlon for Riverhead. The junior took second in the 100 high hurdles (18.33), third in the high jump (1.32 meters), third in the long jump (3.99 meters) and fourth in the shot put (6.13 meters).
Emily Ianno of Mattituck had a couple of first-place finishes in the Division III pentathlon. The junior took first in the 100 high hurdles (18.17) and the long jump (4.55 meters). She was also second in the high jump (1.32 meters), third in the shot put (7.81 meters) and fourth in the 800 (2:49.92).
Mattituck triple jumper Chelsea Ficner covered a distance of 34-1/2, which brought her third place.
Several Riverheaders picked up fourth-place medals. Quiera De Costa was fourth in the 400 intermediate hurdles in 1:09.18. Alex Budd took fourth in the high jump, clearing 4-8. The 4x400 relay team of Ellie Markewitz, Fatima Brown, Marcucci and Riley was fourth in 4:09.89.
Caiti Derenze brought McGann-Mercy a school record in the triple jump with her effort of 33-9. That jump, which landed her fourth place, bettered the previous record of 33-5 that she set earlier this season. Derenze also ran a leg on a fourth-place 4x800 relay team that included Tiffany Holohan, Emily Venesina and Rebecca Troyano. They posted a season-best time of 10:40.76.
McGann-Mercy's top 1,500 race walker, Francesca Arturi, recorded a personal record of 8:06.72 to take fourth.
bliepa@timesreview.com