4 Photos
East Hampton junior Amari Gordon placed third overall in Tuesday's Division IV race at Sunken Meadow Park.
Bonacker Brayan Rivera battles through some cramps as he approaches the finish line. DREW BUDD
East Hampton freshman Liam Fowkes. DREW BUDD
East Hampton senior Manny Vilar. DREW BUDD
Despite missing two of its top seven runners, the East Hampton boys cross country team finished a respectable third at the Division IV Championships, ran at Sunken Meadow Park in Kings Park on Tuesday afternoon.
The Bonackers were missing its top runner in Evan Masi, who continues to rehab a broken ankle he suffered this past summer, and Mike Gilbert, who was away on vacation. That meant the team’s next best runner needed to step up, and that was Amari Gordon. He placed third overall in 14:30.30.
Brayan Rivera was the next Bonacker to cross the finish line in 14:56.96, which placed him ninth overall. Liam Fowkes and Manny Vilar finished right behind one another in 15:48.29 and 15:53.79, respectively. Colin Schaefer rounded out the team’s top five, crossing in 16:16.53.
Miller Place edged Islip, 42-43, for the division title, followed by East Hampton and Southampton. Gordon said his time on Tuesday may have been his best yet at Sunken Meadow, which is encouraging being that he hadn’t ran there in about a year and a half.
“Missing two of our runners from the top seven is rough, but when our top guys are out, you just got to step up, next man in line, and that’s what I felt like I had to do today,” Gordon said after the race. “We have a team of young guys, so I felt like I had to take charge and step up.”
East Hampton, which won the League VII title by going undefeated this season, was hoping to have a good enough race on Tuesday so that it could advance to the Section XI Championships, the season’s final race, which is next Thursday, April 22, back at Sunken Meadow. They accomplished that feat, giving both Masi, the team’s only state qualifier back in 2019, and Gilbert a chance to get their final races in.
“I’m happy. I love running out here with these guys,” Gordon said. “They’re the best, so I’m glad we can stay another week.”
The East Hampton girls, who won their first ever league title last week, run in their Division IV Championship race this Thursday, April 15, at 5:15 p.m.
