By Mitch Abramson
Akashi spent the night before at her senior prom. By the time she arrived home, dusk had changed to dawn and she was having second thoughts on why she had chosen track as a sport. So she slept for two hours and rushed to meet her teammates at the Briarwood school at 8:15 a.m. for the ride to Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island.Once there, she shook off her fatigue and performed brilliantly, setting a new school record in the pole-vault with a height of nine feet and nine inches and winning the championship comfortably over Gina Allen of St. Anthony's (nine feet).With the win, Akashi qualified for the State Championships on June 3 in Syracuse, New York.”I told her to come in her prom dress and bicycle shorts if she had to,” said Molloy track coach Jerry Dunne. “I think she surprised people with her competitive will today. She's just around five feet and 100 pounds, but she has a great will to win.” Rebecca Power of Molloy came in third with nine feet, breaking Akashi's freshman record of eight feet and six inches. Power took third because she had one more miss than Allen.Following the competition, Akashi chose not to bask in the glory of her victory, opting instead for the comfort of her home in Hillcrest. She had a reunion with her pillow to think about.”I was very happy with how I did,” she said during a phone interview. “I was surprised with what happened. I didn't expect to do so well. I was motivated by the other competitors, especially by Rebecca. I didn't expect for this to happen. I was tired when I went to the meet. The Red Bull I drank didn't do anything. That was the first time I ever tried it.”Akashi, who holds all but one record at Molloy and has not lost a CHSAA meet in two years, will attend Baruch College on an academic scholarship in the fall. Since Baruch doesn't have a pole-vault team, Akashi intends on maintaining her competitive edge by participating in club matches.”This sport is too addictive to give up,” she said. “I can't quit.”Molloy's Isabella Katsarelis differentiates herself in the shot-put and javelin competitions by intimidating her opponents. As she tosses the equipment, she also unleashes a barrage of shouts and screams that is somewhat unsettling. To drive home the point further she often attempts her initial throw in the javelin from a stand-still position, causing her adversaries to huddle with their coaches in a panic.”They will go back to their coaches and say: 'Did you see what she did? She didn't even run before throwing,” said Katsarelis, who also plays goalie on Molloy soccer team. “Maybe that makes them a little nervous.”Katsarelis was up to her old tricks Saturday as she won the shot-put championship with a distance of 34 feet and 10 inches. She also established a new meet record in the javelin by throwing for 119 feet and 7 inches, beating second place St. Anthony's by seven feet. She qualified for the state championships in both events. In the fall, she is attending the University at Albany on a track and field scholarship.In the team competition, Molloy came in fifth with 27 points. Bishop Loughlin came in first with a score of 42 points.Reach reporter Mitch Abramson by E-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300 Ext. 130.
