?By Jordan Lauterbachjordan.lauterbach@newsday.com  @jlauterbach1

He ties the season’s best time as the Friars win both the boys and girls

Perfection is paramount for Heron Maurisseau-O’Neal. The St. Anthony’s sprinter walked out of the Yale Invitational last weekend with a 55-meter gold medal around his neck and the third fastest time in the state this season to his name. But, he still wasn’t happy.

“At Yale, I ran 6.43 [seconds], but I stumbled,” Maurisseau- O’Neal said. “ . . . I ended up winning the race, but was kind of disappointed. Basically, I got a little too powerful [at the start]. This stuff happens.”

The dissatisfaction led to a week of hard work at the starting line, in hopes of achieving the explosiveness that he claimed to have lacked. Fast forward to Sunday morning, and Maurisseau-O’Neal exploded all the way to the top of the state leader board. The senior won the 55 in 6.39 seconds at the CHSAA league championships at St. Anthony’s, which ties the fastest time in the state for the 2017-18 campaign, matching Carlon Hosten of Taft in the Bronx, who ran the same time on Dec. 16 according to milesplit.com.

“I think I got off really, really powerful,” Maurisseau-O’Neal said of Sunday’s victory. “That was the main thing. Like I said, last week I stumbled. So, that’s what I’ve been trying to correct this entire week . . . I realized I was stepping a little too hard on the second or third step. Eventually, I started getting the hang of it, and I did pretty good.”

Maurisseau-O’Neal, who was named track MVP of the meet, added a second victory when he, Julian Chung, Jake Maltese, and Bryan Petersen won the 4 x 200 relay in 1:34.35.

Maurisseau-O’Neal’s victories helped St. Anthony’s (87.5 points) capture their ninth consecutive boys league title, according to coach Tim Dearie. Dearie’s son, Brendan, set the victorious tone early in the meet with a 9:49.87 victory in the 3,200. And teammate Mason Gatewood, the defending cross country state federation champion, won the 1,000 in 2:39.28 and the 1,600 in 4:30.48.

St. John the Baptist’s David Amelemah flew 42 feet, 11 1⁄4 inches to win the triple jump and was named field MVP.

On the girls side, Sacred Heart’s Ellen Byrnes won the 300 in 41.67 and the 600 in 1:37.41. Byrnes ran 1:34.45 in the 600 at the Molloy Stanner Games on Jan. 13, the third fastest time in the state entering Sunday, according to milesplit.com.

Byrnes ran in a pack of three for most of Sunday’s 600, not completely losing the field until the final turn.

“I heard my coaches screaming at me, so I knew I had to go a little harder,” said Byrnes, who was named track MVP. “I honestly thought they were still on my back and about the pass me.”

Kellenberg’s Maureen Lewin won the 1,000 in 3:04.57 and the 1,500 in 4:48.09. Lewin fought back on the final lap of the 1,500 to top Sacred Heart’s Maggie Maier, who finished second in 4:49.67. Maier won the 3,000 in 10:27.86 earlier in the meet.

St. Anthony’s won the girls team championship with 85 points. Brianna Burkley won the 55 in 7.45, Mikyla Rogers took the shot put with a 38-7 throw, and Bianca Skelton cleared 9 feet to win the pole vault. Rogers was named field MVP of the meet.