Championship Wednesday: Five South Fork Teams Win County Titles Or Advance To County Championships

A handful of South Fork varsity athletic teams either won county titles on Wednesday, or, advanced to their respective county championships.

The Pierson boys cross country team started the day by winning the Suffolk County Class D Championship at Sunken Meadow State Park. With Ben McErlean, P.J. Ramundo and Tom Schiavoni taking first, third and fifth place, respectively, the Whalers finished with 26 points, three points less than Shelter Island, to win the ‘D’ title. McErlean finished his high school cross country career by running the 2.5-mile course in 13:30.66. Ramundo finished in 14:16.37 and Schiavoni in 14:41.15.

The Westhampton Beach boys cross country team then followed by winning their third consecutive Suffolk County Class B Championship. The ‘B’ race was moved up by five minutes with an incoming thunderstorm looming over Sunken Meadow, but that didn't seem to effect the Hurricanes whatsoever. Gavin Ehlers (12:48.97), Max Haynia (13:05.76) and Trevor Hayes (13:37.50) all finished one, two, three to essentially clinch the title for Westhampton Beach, which finished with 24 points, 37 points ahead of second place Bayport-Blue Point.

After a 50-minute lightning delay, East Hampton and host Half Hollow Hills West finally got its Suffolk County Class A semifinal underway. The Bonackers, seeded fourth, upended the top-seeded Colts, 5-1, advancing to their first county final since 2014. East Hampton will face Harborfields, which defeated Amityville, 4-2, in the other county semifinal, this Saturday for the county championship at Diamond in the Pines in Coram at 5 p.m. Eric Armijos got East Hampton on the board 15 minutes into Wednesday’s game, then Nicolas Cifuentas-Diaz scored 15 minutes later to give Bonac a commanding 2-0 lead. Matthew McGovern put East Hampton up 3-0 just over five minutes into the second half. Christopher Pintado and Michael Figueroa also found the back of the net for East Hampton late in the game, and Christopher Barahona made five saves, including one on a penalty shot with three minutes remaining in the first half.

The Westhampton Beach boys volleyball team advanced to the Suffolk County Division II Championships, as expected, with a 3-0 victory over Hauppauge at home. The Hurricanes dispatched the Eagles in set scores of 25-18, 25-17, 25-21. Westhampton Beach will face cross-town rival Eastport-South Manor for the county championship in Manorville this Saturday at 10 a.m. The Sharks defeated the ’Canes, 3-1, in the regular season finale on April 16. Westhampton Beach won the first set of that match, 25-21, but then dropped the next three, 25-19, 25-19, 25-18.

Last but not least, the Pierson field hockey team won its sixth straight Suffolk County C title with a 5-0 victory over Babylon at Centereach High School. Eleana Merola scored two goals and Madison Stuckhart, Emma Racelles and Brooke Esposito also deposited goals for the Whalers. Tahnie Sullivan assisted on two of the goals. Grace Perello wasn’t challenged much in goal and made one save. Pierson will play Carle Place for the Long Island Championship this Saturday at Berner Middle School in Massapequa at noon, or directly following the Miller Place/Manhasset match.

Full stories on all of these teams can be found in next week's editions of The Press and Sag Harbor Express.