Lily Strebel Earns All-State Honors for Second Year in a Row

Lily Strebel walked up to the finish line with her fellow Suffolk County runners, ready for the gun to go off to start the girls Class B race of the New York State Cross Country Championships at Queensbury High School on Saturday when she had a quick moment of clarity.

“I got on the line with all girls from Section XI, and we’d all been very supportive of one another, so I closed my eyes and I immediately got this sense that I was thankful to be at states for the second year in a row, and just praying for it to be a good day, to be light on my feet, have no pain. And it was a good day.”

That it was. The Westhampton Beach senior placed ninth overall out of 121 runners, crossing the finish line in 18:37.3 to claim All-State honors for the second year in a row. Last year, in her very first year of running cross country after having played soccer previously, Strebel placed seventh in the state in 19:18.4.

Strebel was very happy with her performance on Saturday, considering she was battling a hip injury for half the season. But she went into the race feeling healthy and came out of it feeling fine as well, which should bode well for her this weekend when she runs in the New York State Federation Championships at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls on Saturday. The Federation encompasses all schools — public, private, Catholic and New York City — in one race. Strebel placed 17th in that race last year.

“I’ve set pretty big goals for myself, but I’m considering [Saturday’s race] a victory in my book,” she said. “I guess this is a good start to the end of my high school career, and I’ve got two more races to go so I’m really happy so far.”

Westhampton Beach head coach John Broich said with all of the setbacks due to that injury Strebel had, he was impressed with how she’s been able to run this postseason.

“That injury set her back about three and a half weeks during the season. It’s hard playing catch up,” he said. “Now she’s starting to feel really good and we’re hoping for her to improve her time at the Federation meet. But she’s doing very well right now.”

Strebel was in good company in Saturday’s race. Section XI had five girls finish within the top 10, including Bayport-Blue Point senior Sophia McInnes who won the race in 17:45.5. The Suffolk County “B” girls were looking to repeat as sectional winners between the state’s 11 different public sections, and as strong as they ran they placed second to Section I (Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, Westchester counties).

“We left Friday morning and got on the bus with all the Section XI kids and hung out all day, had a pretty good time,” Strebel explained. “Saturday came around and we’re all sitting in the hotel room and overall we were a little nervous. But it was a good day. Couldn’t have asked for better weather. It was 60, sunny, no wind.”

“Last year we placed first overall as a section and we said to each other we all thought we had a good chance this year,” she added. “We all went into the race as teammates and we talked about how we could all be state champs together, so I think everyone was running with a purpose and for each other.”

Strebel said she ran with Harborfields sophomore Sayla Fives and Mount Sinai freshman Cali Gabrielson for much of the race.

“We all pushed each other to get our best finishes,” she said. “I finished right behind Cali who said she had suffered a calf cramp during the race so she didn’t have her best race. Unfortunately we didn’t win, Section I won, but I was really happy with how the team came through. We all got to the finish line and had smiles on our faces. It was a good day to be a part of Section XI.”

Strebel will be rejoined by her teammate, freshman Fina DiBiaso, this weekend, who will be running the open race at the NXR Nationals, which is coinciding with the Federation Championships this year. Both Westhampton Beach runners have also signed up for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships Northeast Regionals, which will be run up in Boston November 30.

Strebel said she expects to run well this weekend at Federations and is expecting a strong time considering she’s run the course a few times now. But overall she’s just looking to have fun in her last two races.

“These will be the last two 5Ks I’ll run. In college they run a 6K, so I’m just trying to have fun with them,” she said. “Right now I’m probably in some of the best shape in my life. I have no pain at all. So Fina will be up there with me, we’ll have fun and hopefully it will be a good meet.”