Alexandra DeCicco, Diana Vizza qualify for prestigious national cross-country race
Sachem East's Alexandra DeCicco takes first place in the girls Class A race during the Suffolk County New York State Qualifier race held at Sunken Meadow State Park, Kings Park, New York, on Friday Nov. 6, 2015. Credit: Richard T. Slattery
Alexandra DeCicco's cross-country season hung on the refresh button. After placing eighth in the Nike Cross New York Regional Championships at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls Saturday, the Sachem East senior needed to wait until at-large bids were announced to find out if her 18- minute, 23.2-second finish in the 5-kilometer race was good enough to qualify for the Nike Cross Nationals, scheduled for Saturday at the Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon.
Hours after the highly competitive regional race, DeCicco sat at a teammate's house, furiously refreshing Twitter until the good news came. North Rockland, which finished third in the New York Regional team competition, was awarded an at-large bid, pushing DeCicco up in the individual rankings and giving her a berth among the best high school distance runners in the country.
"I was really nervous because, ever since I was in 10th grade, this was a major goal," DeCicco said. "I knew that New York had a really good chance of getting an at-large bid because New York is such a competitive state."
Milesplit, a high school running website, tweeted DeCicco that she had qualified at about 10:15 p.m., ending the suspenseful night.
"I screamed, 'I made it!' " DeCicco said. "It's one thing to talk about your goals. But, to actually accomplish them, is such a great feeling."
DeCicco will join North Shore's Diana Vizza as the lone Long Islanders at the national meet. Vizza, who won the New York State Class B Public School Championship on Nov. 14, qualified outright on Saturday, placing fourth in 18:11.5.
Vizza's time was the second- fastest Long Island time in Bowdoin Park history. DeCicco's was the sixth-fastest, Sachem East coach Dan Shaub said.
DeCicco's Nike regional performance was a significant improvement over the race she ran on the same course a week earlier, an 18:59.5 at the New York Federation Championship.
"I went out too hard [at the Federation Championships]," DeCicco said. "I had to change my approach back to what I had been doing. Since I run the 800 meters [in winter and spring] and am more of a middle-distance runner, I have to come on at the end. I can't go out as hard and die from the front. I have to try to catch people and work the last mile."
With one more race left in her cross-country career, DeCicco said she's optimistic about her chances to run well against a national field.
"This is one of the only times where I'll get to stack up against everyone," she said. "Usually, it's just rankings because you don't get to race people in other states. I'm approaching it with an open mind. Since New York is so competitive, I'll have a really successful race because I'm used to the competition."
