St. Anthony's girls track and field's Gianna Bowman wins three events at NSCHSAA championships
Gianna Bowman of St. Anthony's accelerates down the track in the 200-meter race during the NSCHSAA track and field league championships at St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington on Saturday. Credit: Derrick Dingle
Gianna Bowman’s Saturday journal entry will probably be her most cheerful one yet.
The St. Anthony’s junior won all three of her events at the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA outdoor track and field championships Saturday at St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington. Her dominance began with a 12.53-second victory in the 100 meters before taking the 200 in 25.29. She later anchored the Friars’ 4 x 100-meter relay to victory in 49.01.
Bowman’s showing came almost two years to the day since her former teammate, Camryn Daley, now a sprinter for Manhattan University, put on an identical performance. It was Daley’s calmness before races that the ever-nervous Bowman admired.
Bowman has always known that she is fast enough to win like Daley, but she never quite figured out how to achieve such level-headedness — until she started journaling. Every night, she writes out her feelings about how she performed that day, which releases her emotions.
“I just try to write about how I’m feeling throughout the day because that makes me feel better,” Bowman said. “I get it out. That way, while I’m on the track, I’m not thinking about it; I’m thinking about my race. When I feel less pressure, I end up performing better.”
Journaling has not only helped Bowman defeat her nerves, but also every other sprinter in the league. Bowman’s Saturday perfectly encored her indoor NSCHSAA championships performance when she won the 55 and 300.
Bowman helped provide St. Anthony’s with 18 of its 126 team points en route to its sixth-straight NSCHSAA team title Saturday.
“I think this all came with confidence,” Bowman said. “I knew I could run, but I didn’t really believe it. Once you start believing it, it feels great.”
Sacred Heart senior Maeve Going was the only other multi-event winner, as she took the 800 in 2 minutes, 14.71 seconds and the 1,500 in 4:43.6. Kellenberg junior Maya Hadpawat clocked a noteworthy time by cruising to the 400 championship in 56.93, moving her into the state’s top 20.
Higher rankings raise expectations, but those do not hurt Hadpawat. In fact, quite the opposite.
“I honestly feel more comfortable,” Hadpawat said. “Even though I would win in these meets, I always felt I didn’t deserve it, because in other meets, my times would’ve gotten me fifth or sixth place. It’s great to know that I’m winning with times I’m finally happy with.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
