16 Photos
An East Hampton runner turns the corner with a Mount Sinai runner on her tail.
Ava Engstrom was the first Lady Bonacker to cross the finish line.
Bella Tarbet was the second Lady Bonacker to cross the finish line.
An East Hampton and Mount Sinai runner head toward the finish line.
An East Hampton and Mount Sinai runner head toward the finish line.
East Hampton's Amari Gordon is neck and neck with a Mount Sinai down the final stretch.
East Hampton and Mount Sinai runners make their way to the finish line.
East Hampton sophomore Evan Masi was first to cross the finish line of the boys race.
East Hampton sophomore Evan Masi was first to cross the finish line of the boys race.
East Hampton's Evan Masi won the sophomore 5K at the Jim Smith Invitational at Sunken Meadow Park on Saturday.
Sophomore Bonackers, from left, Evan Masi, Amari Gordon and Colin Schaefer, who won the sophomore 5K at the Jim Smith Invitational on Saturday.
East Hampton and Mount Sinai girls take off at East Hampton High School on September 10. KYRIL BROMLEY
East Hampton and Mount Sinai girls take off at East Hampton High School on September 10. KYRIL BROMLEY
East Hampton and Mount Sinai boys take off at East Hampton High School on September 10. KYRIL BROMLEY
East Hampton and Mount Sinai boys take off at East Hampton High School on September 10. KYRIL BROMLEY KYRIL BROMLEY
East Hampton and Mount Sinai boys take off at East Hampton High School on September 10. KYRIL BROMLEY
The East Hampton boys and girls cross country teams hosted their first ever home meets on the grounds of East Hampton High School on Tuesday against Mount Sinai, and they have glamping to thank for it.
The majority of cross country teams in Suffolk County have their meets held at county parks, such as Sunken Meadow in Kings Park, Red Creek in Hampton Bays, and the Bonackers typically host their home meets at Cedar Point in East Hampton. A few weeks ago, East Hampton boys head coach Kevin Barry went to Cedar Point to check on the course and make sure it was set for their first meet of the season. What Barry came across were the glamping sites — the high-end, "glamorous" side of traditional camping — that the park hosts throughout the summer and through September covering up much of the course.
With a new site needed, Barry thought, why not have the first ever cross country meet at the high school? He measured out a flat, 2.5-mile course — the minimum distance needed for a varsity race — that spanned the outer border of the high school campus, and checked with the Mount Sinai coaches that they would be okay with it. They were, and on Tuesday, the two teams met for what were their season openers.
Mount Sinai won both races — the boys won, 34-24, and the girls won, 36-21 — but East Hampton may have still came out with a victory; Spectators, administrators, runners and coaches all loved the meet and how smooth it went and an invitational is now in the works to be held during East Hampton's homecoming week, most likely Thursday, October 3, and will feature East End teams, such as Shelter Island and Southampton.
As for the races themselves, East Hampton sophomore Evan Masi crushed the field individually, finishing in 13:17, about a minute ahead of the next finisher. But the Mustangs took the next two placements, which put Bonac in a tough spot to win the meet. Amari Gordon, a sophomore in his first ever varsity race, finished in 14:10, just a second and a half away from second place, but behind the two Mount Sinai runners for fourth place. Aidan Klarman, another sophomore, was the next Bonacker to cross the finish line in 14:45 and in seventh place.
Barry thought coming into the season that there would be some growing pains for his young team made up of mostly sophomores and freshmen. But, despite the loss, he's thinking there may not be growing pains at all.
"I was really pumped up by these guys. All of our top three guys were sophomores," he said.
The Lady Bonackers were a bit behind the eight-ball going into the meet; Mount Sinai's Sarah Connelly is the reigning New York State Class B Champion and she showed she's still a force to be reckoned with on Tuesday by winning the race. Along with Connelly, the Lady Mustangs possess two nationally-ranked runners and wound up taking the first, second and third placements to win the meet.
Ava Engstrom ran strong for East Hampton and head coach Diane O'Donnell said for her to be within striking distance of Connelly this early in the season was a feat in and of itself. Bella Tarbet finished second for East Hampton, fourth overall, and Dylan Cashin and Ryleigh O'Donnell, both in their first ever varsity meet as eighth graders, were the next in for the Lady Bonackers.
"As I said to the girls after the meet, [Connelly] is peaking now, we have the whole season to catch up," she said. "Really the last meet of the season at the division meet is where the girls usually shine and others who have been training for a long time kind of fall apart. So again, overall I'm happy with what they did and that they still fought hard even though they knew what they were up against coming into the meet."
