Marisa D'Angelo age 15, a sophomore at St. Anthony's wins the pole vault competition at the CHSAA High School Track and Field Intersectional Championships, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020, in Staten Island. Credit: Corey Sipkin

By Mike Ruiz  February 8, 2020  Newsday

One of Marisa D’Angelo’s goals as a pole vaulter is to give fans a performance they’ll remember for some time.

And on Saturday afternoon, the St. Anthony’s sophomore certainly put on a memorable display, breaking three records simultaneously.

D’Angelo set program, league and meet records, according to St. Anthony’s vault coach Jim Henderson, while winning the girls pole vault (11 feet, 4 inches) at the CHSAA Intersectional track and field championships at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island.

“I just want to set the bar as high as I can and one day in like 20 years when people look back they’ll be like ‘Oh my,’” said D’Angelo, who was named the Outstanding Field Performer of the Day. “Since I’m only a sophomore, I still have time for that.”

St. Anthony’s won the girls team championship with 40.5 points, while Cardinal Hayes won the boys team championship with a score of 29 points.

D’Angelo, along with the day’s other winners, will return to Ocean Breeze on March 7 after qualifying for the state championships.

“I was pretty happy and just hoping she would get 11 feet,” Henderson said. “She had cleared 11 in practice during the week with the bungee . . . so I was hoping for good things and got a little more than I even bargained for.”

D’Angelo’s mindset entering the meet was to simply enjoy the moment.

“I just wanted to have fun,” D’Angelo said. “I don’t really see anyone as my competition because we don’t all really have the same goals. I just really wanted to do my best and know what I’m capable of.”

Junior Fernando Sanchez was also a record-setter for St. John the Baptist, setting the school mark in the boys 600-meter run with a victory in 1:21.29, according to coach David Wood. The previous record of 1:21.49 was set by Danny Harris, who went on to run at Georgetown, in 2005.

Wood called Sanchez’s feat “fantastic.” Sanchez said he had set his sightson breaking the mark. “That’s insane,” Sanchez said. “I’ve been trying to break that record since last year.”

Sanchez’s teammate, Brian Healy, won as well, taking the boys 1,000 (2:35.22).

“I just wanted to get out fast and get good positioning so I could stay smooth the whole race and not worry about being trapped behind people,” Healy said.

Laila Gedeon also won for the Cougars in the girls triple-jump (35-1 1/4).

Another top performer was Sacred Heart’s Alexandria Earle, who finished as a double-winner with victories in the girls long jump (16-6 3/4) and high jump (5-3).

Earle said her focus is on one component of her craft as she prepares for the state championships.

“Formwork, formwork, formwork,” Earle said. “That’s all I’m working on at this point.”

Other winners included Joseph Pelio in the boys weight throw (53-10) and Larisa Dorrian, Julia Ostermann, Kelly Parker and Lindsay Schwasnick in the girls 4 x 800-meter relay (9.50.95) for St. Anthony’s. Chaminade’s Jack Keys, Sean McDermott, Liam Going and Frank Naudus won the boys 4 x 800.