Longwood 81, Commack 60. Longwood‘s Jodi Leckie won both the 1500 meter (5:11) and the 3000 (11:31). Kim Kessell of Longwood took both the shot put (39-8) and discus (112-2). April 9

Longwood 81, Half Hollow Hills 60. Kim Kessell set a Longwood record in the discus, winning with a throw of 126-4 3/4, to break her one-year-old record of 116-0. April 22

Kim Kessell of Longwood finished second in the shot put at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia with a throw of 41 feet, 10 inches, the best performance by a Long Island girl this season. April 24

Brentwood 75, Longwood 65. Allison Williams won the 100-meter high hurdles and the 400 hurdles to lead Brentwood. Teammate Endora Kight won the triple jump (33-8) and long jump (17-4). Longwood‘s Kim Kessel won the shot put with a 45-2 effort. April 30

Kim Kessell of Longwood won the discus (121-3) and Northport’s LuAnne Sauck (120-8) took second. Roslyn’s Vera Alleyne threw 116-2 to place third. Endora Kight of Brentwood took second in the long jump (184 3/4), while St. Anthony’s Dotty Farrell (17-1 1/4) took fourth and Niambi Daniels of Brentwood (16-9) took sixth.May 9

Sachem 100, Longwood 41. Kristen Camberdella (triple jump, 400 intermediate hurdles) won two events to lead Sachem. Kim Kessel (shot put, discus) was a double winner for Longwood. May 15

Longwood’s Hotshot Superstar Kessel makes shot-put history in state, credits one of her coaches for tape-measure tosses: [SUFFOLK Edition]

By Mark Herrmann. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 07 May 1987

A cheer went up as soon as the metal sphere hit the ground. The noise came from Kim Kessell’s friends and Longwood teammates, who can gauge shot-put history without a tape measure.

And Kessell realized it before they did. “I knew it as soon as I let it go,” the junior said of her milestone toss in last Wednesday’s home meet against Brentwood.

The tape measure was the last to know, but it provided the most precise reading: 45 feet, 2 inches. That made it official – Kessell had eclipsed her five-day-old mark of 41-11 1/4, which had been the best performance by a Long Island girl this season.

She hugged friends, accepted a handshake from Brentwood rival Lisa Acosta, watched a videotape recording of the toss and, glancing at her feet, asked, “What cloud am I on?”

It would get even better. She learned that hers was the best throw in the state this season and third-best in the nation. It placed Kessell third on New York’s all-time girls shot-put list, and put her in a class with Bellport alumna Cheryl Klein, the state record-holder at 49-8 1/2.

“It looks like we’ve got a new superstar on Long Island,” said Jim Speir, an editor and statistician for Track and Field News.

Kessell had shone earlier this year. She set a Suffolk indoor record (41-6 1/4) in January, won the Eastern States indoor meet last March at Harvard with a toss of 40-1, then placed second at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia five days before she went head-to-head with Acosta.

“I really wanted it today,” Kessell said, alluding to her rivalry with Suffolk’s other shot-put standout. Considering that a throw of 30 or 31 feet is enough to win most dual meets, Acosta’s losing effort of 38-5 was impressive.

Nonetheless, despite Longwood‘s 75-65 loss, the meet was all Kessell’s. “I’ve never seen her so hyped up,” said Longwood‘s weight-event coach, Mike Santarpia. A half-hour before the first toss, Santarpia had said that the 42-foot mark was a realistic goal for Kessell.

“I guess we’ll have to change our goals,” Santarpia said afterward. He called Kessell “a natural thrower.”

But since Santarpia joined the staff as assistant to boys coach Tony Toro and girls coach Chris Duffner last winter, exceptional performances have become second-nature to Kessell.

“Whoever brought him here . . . I’ve got to thank them,” the junior said.

Santarpia, a recent graduate of East Stroudsburg (Pa.) State College, specializes in the discus, shot-put and power-lifting.

His students spend a good deal of time hoisting weights, which is why Kessell is happy that Cathy O’Connor transfered from Vermont and joined her workouts. “It helps – in the weight room with all those guys,” she said.

Santarpia, a first-year staffer who calls the head coach “Mr. Toro,” prescribes plenty of running. “Leg muscles are the strongest in the body. You throw from the legs,” he tells them.

He has refined each pupil’s “glide” motion – stressing the importance of a quick, powerful release. He has even taught them a new way to hold the shot – each of them grips it with the first three fingers of his or her throwing hand and cradles it with a thumb and pinky.

Finally, Santarpia has taught concentration. “He wants us to go in a corner by ourselves to meditate and picture what we’ve got to do,” said Heath Fitzsimmons, a 5-foot-7, 190-pound senior whose 47-9 effort in the shot and 137- 1/2 in the discus last month both won best-of-the-week honors in Suffolk.

Those mental pictures are supposed to keep rolling after the athletes leave the throwing field. Kessell said she and teammates are expected to meditate “just before we go to bed.” Added O’Connor: “That’s how we get to sleep.”

Kessell certainly has enough to dream about. She looks forward to meeting Klein, whom she admires. And she hopes to win a college scholarship. But she put off a friend’s suggestion about the Olympics. “That’s a little too far to set as a goal,” she said.

Longwood 71, Whitman 70. Jodi Leckie finished first in the 1,500- and 3,000 meters and anchored the 4 x 800-meter relay team for Longwood

Girls Track Bay Shore Invitational (Relays in yards, other events in meters)

1,500 Walk – 1. Tashlein (Floyd), 7:54.8. 2. Meehan (Brent), 8:11.3. 3. Damato (Cent), 8:46.3. 1,500 – 1. Certain (HHH), 4:47.0. 2. Little (BS), 5:04.0. 3. Kennedy (Harb) 5:08.4. 100 Hurdles – 1. Chase (Cent), 15.9. 2. Suchan (Harb), 16.0. 3. Carter (HT), 17.1. 100 – 1. Joris (Floyd), 12.6. 2. Ruertuso (Connet), 12.9. 3. Murray (BS), 13.1. 400 – 1. Graham (Brent), 61.9. 2. Wilington (Sew), 62.0. 3. Hanusa (RP), 62.9. 800 – 1. Pariti (Sach), 2:27.1. 2. Diem (Whit), 2:28.1. 3. Turner (BS), 2:36.1. 400 Intermediate Hurdles – 1. Campbell (Harb), 69.9. 2. Connestro (Connet), 70.7. 3. Hughes (Harb), 72.7. 3,000 – 1. Givens (BS), 11:14.4. 2. Vilardi (Floyd), 11:15.3. 3. Covi (RP), 11:28.7. 200 – 1. Welington (Sew), 26.6. 2. Suarez (CI), 27.5. 3. Monroe (Brent), 27.5. Discus – 1. Felder (Whit), 128-7. 2. Acosta (Brent), 105-6. 3. Haeni (Harb), 104-10. Long Jump – 1. Lagengdra (PJ), 15-8 1/2. 2. Kirwin (WM), 14-9 1/2. 3. Owens (Whit), 14-9. High Jump – 1. Lagengdra (PJ), 5-1. 2. Minucci (Sach), 5-1. 3. Grant (Whit), 4-11. Shot – 1. Felderm (Whit), 37-8 3/4. 2. Anderson (HHH), 37-4 1/2. 3. Acosta (Brent), 36-4 1/2. Mile Relay – 1. Harborfields (Allen, Suchan, Hughes, Campbell), 4:16.1. 2. Centereach, 4:22.8. 3. Connetquot, 4:23.2. 880 Relay – 1. Brentwood (Jordan, Graham, Green, Monroe), 1:51.1. 2. Floyd, 1:52.9. 3. Longwood, 1:56.9. Two-Mile Relay – 1. Holy Trinity (Brough, Gray, Ackerman, Galiani), 10:22.1. 2. Bay Shore, 10:33.3. 3. Harborfields, 10:36.2. Team Scoring – Harborfields 54, Brentwood 52, Floyd 46, Whitman 43 1/2, Sachem 39, Bay Shore 39, Holy Trinity 35, Centereach 34 1/2, Connetquot 22, Longwood 20, Half Hollow Hills 20, Port Jefferson 19, Sewanhaka 18, Ward Melville 14, Bellport 14, Rocky Point 13, Central Islip 8, West Islip 4. Scoreboard Badminton Baldwin 5 Berner 2 Calhoun 4 Valley Stream Central 3 Clarke 3 Valley Stream North 3 Farmingdale 7 Uniondale 0 Freeport 7 Oceanside 0 West Hempstead 4 South Side 3 Westbury 5 Island Trees 2 Handball St. Mary’s 5 Monsignor McClancy 0 Boys Tennis Berner 5 Freeport 1 Bethpage 4 Plainview JFK 3 Glen Cove 4 Oyster Bay 3 Hewlett 5 Jericho 2 Long Beach 4 Bellmore JFK 3 Plainedge 6 Carle Place 1 Plainview 6 Hicksville 1 Port Washington 4 Herricks 3 St. Mary’s 6 St. Anthony’s 1

Championships At Connetquot (Running events in meters)

100 High Hurdles – 1. Williams (B) 15.8. 2. Ott (C) 17.3. 3. Holzmacker (SE) 17.5. 100 – 1. Jorif (F) 12.9. 2. Green (B) 12.9. 3. Selder (W) 13.5. 1,500 – 1. Certain (HHH) 4:51.3. 2. Pariti (S) 4:59.2. 3. Leckie (L) 5:03.1. 400 – 1. Weems (NB) 1:00.5. 2. Martinelli (F) 1:01.3. 3. Guzas (S) 1:03.4. 400 Intermediate Hurdles – 1. Williams (B) 1:06.4. 2. Ott (C) 1:09.3. 3. Connestro (C) 1:09.5. 800 – 1. Certain (HHH) 2:19.6. 2. Holgerson (S) 2:25.2. 3. Greiner (WM) 2:27.8. 3,000 – 1. Mullane (WM) 11:18.6. 2. Vilardi (F) 11:28.8. 3. Bowen (WI) 11:41.0. 200 – 1. Jorif (F) 27.1. 2. Jordan (B) 27.9. 3. Hannigan (S) 28.1. 1,500 Walk – 1. Margraf (SE) 7:31.8. 2. Tashlein (F) 7:47.0. 3. Comans (SE) 7:49.2. Long Jump – 1. Owens (W) 15-10 3/4. 2. Riley (W) 15-9. 3. Bamberg (NB) 15-7. High Jump – 1. Brandt (W) 5-2. 2. Marchiano (SE) 5-2. 3. Minucci (S) 5-1. Triple Jump – 1. Waring (C) 32-8. 2. Daniels (B) 32-4 1/2. 3. Owens (W) 31-8 3/4. Shot Put – 1. Anderson (HHH) 37-11. 2. Felder (W) 37-7. 3. Acosta (B) 36-3. Discus – 1. Felder (W) 111-11 1/2. 2. Kessell (L) 110-2 1/2. 3. Sauer (N) 102-2 1/4. 4 x 100 Relay – 1. Floyd 52.5. 2. Sachem 52.9. 3. Whitman 52.9. 4 x 400 Relay – 1. Brentwood 4:10.5. 2. Connetquot 4:12.1. 3. Sachem 4:13.7. 4 x 800 Relay – 1. Sachem 10:11.6. 2. West Islip 10:16.5. 3. Ward Melville 10:27.4. Team Scoring – Brentwood 84, Sachem 79, Whitman 70, Floyd 60, Connetquot 43, Smithtown East 42, Half Hollow Hills 32, Longwood 27, West Islip 22, North Babylon and Ward Melville 21, Northport 14, Patchogue-Medford and Lindenhurst 2. Handball