Ava Lingen leads Hauppauge to Suffolk Class C track and field title with wins in 800, 2,000 steeplechase
Ava Lingen of Hauppauge during the Suffolk Class C track and field team championships on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 in Kings Park. Credit: Kelvin Loarca
There were several reasons to think that Hauppauge sophomore Ava Lingen might not be a county champion this year. She was seeded fourth in the 800 meters, almost six full seconds behind the projected winner. She was the second seed in the 2,000-meter steeplechase, but her season-best time still trailed the top seed — Comsewogue junior Lexie Cole — by almost eight seconds.
Lingen had not competed in the steeplechase in 25 days before Wednesday — on May 2 at the St. Anthony’s Invitational. That previous attempt did not exactly paint the picture of a soon-to-be county champion, as she fell in the water pit on her first lap and then later tripped over a barrier.
Lingen’s performance that day may have upset her, but when the Suffolk Class C outdoor track and field championships were held at Kings Park High School on Wednesday, she upset everyone else. She ran the 800 in 2 minutes, 24 seconds to narrowly win a county title by just 0.53 seconds, pulling off the day’s biggest surprise victory. Later, she redeemed herself with a clean performance in the steeple, winning it in 7:26.02.
“I care about this sport a lot and I wanted my hard work to pay off, and I really wanted our team to win today, so I just really wanted to do well for them,” Lingen said. “I changed a negative mindset into a positive mindset, and changed ‘I can’t do this’ into ‘I can do this.’ It’s easier said than done, but when you’re on the line, you’ve just got to tell yourself that you are capable.”
Lingen’s performance helped Hauppauge finish with 126 points, winning the team title for a second consecutive year. The school also got wins from seniors Alexandra Wetterhahn, Katherine Dituro and Katelyn Oliveto. Wetterhahn won the 100 in 12.37, Dituro took the 1,500 racewalk in 7:26.04 and Oliveto threw the discus 120 feet, 8 inches.
The other girls double individual champions were Eastport-South Manor junior Maddie Laezza (1,500 in 4:34.79; 3,000 in 9:55.79) and Islip sophomore Wilorda Frenel (200 in 24.96; 400 in 57.8). Frenel also led off for Islip’s victorious 4 x 400-meter relay, which finished in 4:07.85.
“These opportunities are so big for me, and this takes the cake,” Frenel said. “Track is basically my life. It gives me purpose and a reason to wake up every day, so this feels really, really good.”
Hauppauge also had the only boys double champion, as senior Jake Parrett won both the 110- and 400-meter hurdles in 15.74 and 1:00.15, respectively. He overcame an injured right hamstring in doing so, but it was not about overcoming the physical pain as much as it was about conquering the mental stress the injury caused him.
He was projected to win both races, but the injury made that seem more difficult in his mind. When he won the 110 hurdles — his first event — he was so relieved that he celebrated, which the typically quiet Parrett never does.
“I was super worried,” Parrett said. “I was up late last night thinking about everything that could’ve gone wrong . . . I didn’t get what I wanted in the winter, so that just gave me more motivation to take this season more seriously. I’m pretty happy with the outcome.”
Amityville won the boys team title with 110 points, getting victories from seniors Eghosa Ojo (100, 11.14), Jayden Adebola (triple jump, 41-11 ¾) and Noah Robinson (long jump, 21), as well as junior Maiziah Stewart (pentathlon, 2,584).
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.
