North Shore's Diana Vizza finishes eighth to lead Long Islanders in state federation meet
Diana Vizza of North Shore finished with a time of 18:26.4 at the 2015 New York State Federation Cross Country Championships held at Bowdoin Park, Wappingers Falls on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015. Credit: Errol Anderson
As far as North Shore's Diana Vizza is concerned, there's no place like New York. Week-to-week, the level of competition gets stronger, with courses that are both difficult and strategically intriguing.
And few have mastered them like Vizza. The senior, who won the state public school Class B cross-country championship last weekend, entered a much deeper field Saturday at the state federation meet and continued to assert herself as one of the top athletes in the state.
Vizza placed eighth in 18 minutes, 26.4 seconds in the Bowdoin Park meet, one that pits all public school classes and private schools against each other in one 5-kilometer test of superiority. She was the highest Long Island finisher. Corning's Jessica Lawson won in 17:46.8.
"New York is such a great state to race in," Vizza said. "You never know what's going to happen. It's so competitive. I love that spontaneity. I'm trying to get better at reacting to that and get better at being competitive at the next level."
Vizza said the Monroe-Woodbury course she won on last week, generally considered one of the toughest New York has to offer, prepared her well for the Federation championship.
"I think most of the state is really geared up for this week and next week because of the hills we had last week," Vizza said. "There's one big hill here. The whole course is pretty rough, downhill, and is pretty unique because you need strength for the first half and speed for the second half. It's a different combination of strategy. But, I love this course. It's one of my favorites. I know it pretty well."
The 'next week' Vizza referred to is the Nike New York regional championship at Bowdoin Park, where runners will compete for a bid to the Nike Cross National Meet, scheduled for Dec. 5 in Portland, Oregon.
Vizza said she plans to alter her strategy by the time she returns next Saturday to the park nestled on the outskirts of Poughkeepsie.
"Next week I'm going to try and pass more people on the hill," Vizza said. "Right at the top of the hill, everyone is so close. That hill is a killer. You either have to push up it or you're done. I have to not let girls create a gap and always stay with them."
Shoreham-Wading River's Katherine Lee finished 15th in 18:50. Lee said the Bowdoin Park course was a lot easier than last week's Monroe-Woodbury set up. "Last week was a lot of rolling hills," Lee said. "This course, you just keep going uphill and then you really get the downhill ending to widen your stride and do what you can."
Sachem East finished fourth in the team competition with 187 points, the highest Long Island finish. Alexandra DeCicco finished 19th in 18:59.5. Saratoga Springs won with 77 points.
"This is the first time for Sachem since 1998 that we've been able to place in the top five," DeCicco said. "So it's really exciting."
