Eastport-South Manor's Maddie Laezza breaks own Suffolk record at Sunken Meadow
Maddie Laezza of Eastport-South Manor takes first place during the Suffolk girls cross country Class B finals on Thursday in Kings Park. Credit: Dawn McCormick
The more Maddie Laezza runs, the easier Sunken Meadow State Park’s 5-kilometer course looks.
The Eastport-South Manor junior made Suffolk history for the second straight week as she won the Class B girls cross country championship in 18 minutes, 1.8 seconds at the Suffolk state qualifier on Thursday in Kings Park. The time shattered the Sunken Meadow course record for a Suffolk runner, which Laezza set with an 18:09.1 only 10 days earlier.
The former soccer player’s distance running hobby is putting her in the history books. Nobody is more shocked by that than Laezza.
“Going into this meet, I was just hoping to break 19 minutes and settle in the 18:50s,” she said. “I just never expected to be this good, and it feels very rewarding . . . So many amazing people have run this course for so long, and it’s crazily rewarding that I’m able to do this.”
The finish clinched a spot in the public school state championships, scheduled for Nov. 15 at Queensbury High School.
With her growth as a cross country runner coming at an exponential rate, a state title might seem realistic. However, Laezza is trying to not get carried away with her expectations.
“I don’t want to think about it too much because I don’t want to get too confident about it,” Laezza said. “It’s definitely a goal, either this year or next year, to be a state champion.”
Sayville scored 40 points to win the Class B team title and qualify for the public school state championships. Northport won the Class A team championship with 53 points and Bay Shore senior Maggie McCormick took home the individual crown in 18:16.6. Center Moriches senior Emma Gold won the Class C race for the second consecutive year in 20:30.2 and Bayport-Blue Point scored 27 points to win the team title.
Class D featured a promising member of Suffolk’s future, as Pierson seventh-grader Evelyn Rizzo won in 19:48.9. Rizzo broke 20 minutes during a dual meet on a flatter course during the regular season, so she set out a game plan to do the same on Sunken Meadow, one of the state’s most difficult courses.
She compared her splits from that regular-season meet to her past 5K splits at Sunken Meadow and figured out exactly where she was going to have to pick up the pace.
It is safe to say that her research worked.
“It feels really good, and I’m really excited to see what I’m going to do when I’m older,” Rizzo said. “I’m really excited because this whole season I’ve been training really hard to make states, and now I’ve made it.”
Port Jefferson won the Class D team championship with 28 points.
Girls Cross Country Suffolk State Qualifiers
Sunken Meadow, 5-kilometer course:
CLASS A INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS
1. Maggie McCormick, Bay Shore, Sr., 18:16.6
2. Olivia DiGaetano, Connetquot, Sr., 18:37.1
3. Lexie Cole, Comsewogue, Jr., 18:44.4
6. Leah Nowakowski, Sachem North, 8th, 19:31.6
8. Isabella Horn, Ward Melville, Fr., 19:46.4
CLASS A TEAM QUALIFIER
Northport: 53 points
4. Fiona King, Fr., 19:14.4
5. Jane Tucker, Fr., 19:15.7
7. Mia Wickard, Jr., 19:41.2
9. Kayla Forsch, Sr., 19:52.9
31. Isabella Reilly, Soph., 21:30.1
35. Audrey Gillespie, 7th, 21:50.1
37. Lyla Quinn, Fr., 22:00.6
CLASS B INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS
1. Maddie Laezza, Eastport-South Manor, Jr., 18:01.8
2. Sayla Fives, Harborfields, Jr., 19:01.3
3. Cali Gabrielson, Mount Sinai, Soph., 19:39.3
4. Emma Tjersland, Hauppauge, Sr., 19:50.3
6. Camryn Szokoli, Glenn, Sr., 19:57.1
CLASS B TEAM QUALIFIER
Sayville: 40 points
5. Marianna Duffy, Jr., 19:54.8
7. Christina Duffy, Fr., 20:00.7
10. Elizabeth Butruch, Soph., 20:17.3
12. Aislyn Beach, Soph., 20:30.1
15. Aubrey Vitale, Soph., 21:24.5
22. Rachel Frawley, Sr., 21:57.8
30. Megan Lankowicz, Sr., 22:34.1
CLASS C INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS
1. Emma Gold, Center Moriches, Sr., 20:30.2
2. Emma Leary, Center Moriches, Sr., 20:52.1
5. Rachel Kubetz, Mattituck, Fr., 22:00.7
8. Cassidy Hayes, Babylon, Sr., 22:34.1
9. Hayden Gilmartin, Southampton, Sr., 22:40.1
CLASS C TEAM QUALIFIER
Bayport-Blue Point: 27 points
3. Isabella Klein, Soph., 21:06.7
4. Elaina Borowski, Jr., 21:20.5
6. Phinnea Pernice, Fr., 22:05.1
7. Emma Caliendo, Sr., 22:31.1
11. Jordan Devers, Soph., 24:04.1
16. Angela Cavuto, Soph., 24:45.7
18. Elise Leonard, Fr., 25:17.6
CLASS D INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS
1. Evelyn Rizzo, Pierson, 7th, 19:48.9
3. Sara O’Brien, Pierson, Sr., 22:12.3
4. Emily Kaelin, Southold, Jr., 22:32.8
5. Josephine Mott, Pierson, Soph., 22:59.3
9. Amara Goodale Cajamarca, Shelter Island, 8th, 24:19.2
12. Bennett Greene, Pierson, Sr., 24:34.4
CLASS D TEAM QUALIFIER
Port Jefferson: 28 points
2. Leilani von Oiste, Fr., 20:50.2
6. Myla Kelly, Fr., 23:13.4
7. Bridget Grossman, 8th, 23:33.7
8. Isabella Fratticci Cseri, Fr., 23:47.4
10. Cayden Veit, Sr., 24:21.2
11. Magdalena Layne-Stasik, Sr., 24:32.6
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
