Suffolk XC: Shoreham ekes out a win, Northport rolls

Everybody figured that yesterday’s dual meet between defending Suffolk Class B champion Shoreham-Wading River and rival Bayport-Blue Point would be a close one.

It lived up to its billing—and then some.

In what could be a potential preview of this year’s county championship, Shoreham-Wading River edged Bayport-Blue Point, 28-29, Tuesday afternoon in League VII on Sunken Meadow’s three-mile course.

“I figured it’d be no more than three points,” said Shoreham-Wading River coach Bob Szymanski of how close he thought the meet would be. “Maybe one to three would win it.”

Ryan Udvadia won in 15:42 to lead the Wildcats, who also had runners come in fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth.

But it was the unheralded sixth man who came up big for the Wildcats. Joe Whelan came in 11^th overall, one spot ahead of Bayport-Blue Point’s fifth runner, to provide the final one-point margin.

“That was one of the better races that [Whelan] ran,” Szymanski said. “It was his first time running in our top seven, so we’re happy that he was the sixth man.”

Adam LaFemina came in second for Bayport-Blue Point in 15:49, a time that drew quite a bit of praise from Szymanski.

“When you break 16 [minutes] in the three-mile and get second, this shows how tough the meet was,” he said of LaFemina’s run.

Shoreham-Wading River started its Class B title defense in very much the same way that they won the county crown in the first place. They tied Harborfields with 47 points last November, but won the title because their sixth man came in 19^th overall—just four seconds ahead of Harborfields’ sixth man.

This year, the Class B battle should come down to Shoreham-Wading River and Bayport-Blue Point (who took third at counties last year). If this meet was any indication, we may be in for another thriller this November.

Said Szymanski: “I won’t be able to sleep for next two months.” 

Now, on to a few more notable dual meets. Each race below is the three-mile Sunken Meadow course, unless otherwise noted. As always, this is not an exhaustive list—you can find a complete list of boys meets results here, and a complete list of the girls results here.

Northport 19, Ward Melville 42: A battle between traditional Class A girls powerhouses ended in Northport’s favor as Brigid Brennan—the fastest returning runner in Suffolk—won in 18:53. The Tigers’ five-girl average time was 19:34, showing just how deep they are.

Miller Place 19, Shoreham-Wading River 38: Twins Tiana and Talia Guevara and freshman Lauren Nolan all breezed to a 1-2-3 showing in 19:20. Miller Place has a squad that is as talented as it is young, and they'll challenge Bayport-Blue Point in Class B.

Bayport-Blue Point 15, Center Moriches 43: Speaking of the Phantoms... yeah, the defending Class B champs aren't going to make it easy, especially with all their depth. Katie Saroka, Courtney Dooley and Brianna Delzell all cruised to a 1-2-3 outing in 20:18 as the Phantoms swept the top five spots.

Whitman 25, North Babylon 31: Mike Damato, James Vallar and Zach Cammer came in second, third and fourth for Whitman, while Kris Moran finished first for North Babylon in a battle of two of the top teams in Suffolk Class A.

Islip 17, Comsewogue 40: Mike Watts came in first in a very strong time of 16:06 for Islip, who could be a sleeper in Class B this season.