5 Photos
Westhampton Beach junior Lily Strebel placed third overall in the county and, in her first cross country season, qualified for the state meet. DREW BUDD
Westhampton Beach sophomore Caeden Dorn finished within the top 10 of the county last week. DREW BUDD
Westhampton Beach senior Oona Murphy placed 11th in the county. DREW BUDD
Westhampton Beach senior Trevor Hayes finished fifth in the county last week. DREW BUDD
Marcus Haynia, left, and Trevor Hayes with their All-County plaques. DREW BUDD
Although things may not have worked for the Westhampton Beach boys and girls cross country teams at the Section XI Championships at Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park on Friday, there were some happy individuals.
The Westhampton Beach girls, touted as one of the favorites to possibly win the Suffolk County Class B Championship race, wound up taking second place with 55 points. Sayville had a little bit of better grouping and won the race with 45 points. Westhampton Beach head coach John Broich said it was a tough finish because his team had beaten just about every top team in the state at various invitationals throughout the season and would have had a good shot at doing well at the state meet.
But it was a successful race nonetheless. Junior Lily Strebel, who has had a strong first cross country season, placed third overall in the county in 19:17.34 to qualify individually for states. Then eighth-grader Fina DiBiaso snagged the fifth and final individual placement for states, crossing the finish line in 20:14.33 and joining Strebel upstate.
Sophomore Caeden Dorn rounded out the top 10 finishers of the girls’ “B” race, finishing in 20:43.76. Senior Oona Murphy finished right behind her at 20:50.74. Senior Sophia DePierro finished in 22:00.40, freshman Madison Klammer finished in 23:11.86 and sophomore Maiya Boughal finished in 23:32.42.
The New York State Cross Country Championship is this Saturday, November 11, at Vernon Verona Sherrill High School, which is about a 30-minute or so drive east of Syracuse. The girls Class B race is expected to begin at 12:30 p.m., while the boys Class B race is expected to be at 2 p.m.
The Westhampton Beach boys weren’t as much of a favorite as their female counterparts to win a county title in their respective race on Friday. But had a few things gone their way, the boys could have been in the mix for one. That didn’t happen, though.
The Hurricanes wound up placing fifth out of eight teams in the county with 103 points. Harborfields, the favorite to win the race, did so with 47 points.
Westhampton Beach senior Trevor Hayes was the fourth individual qualifier for the state meet and will be making his third trip upstate, finishing the race in 17:05.11. Junior Marcus Haynia was one placement off from qualifying for states, but had nearly a 30-second personal best in 17:44.32. John Reilly, a sophomore, was next in line for the ’Canes, finishing in 18:48.88, followed by junior Ezekiel McCrary at 19:05.19, senior Sean Ryan at 19:23.19, sophomore Nathan Perl at 19:53.08 and senior Adrian Caumartin at 20:42.85.
