Syosset's Tyler Italiano, William Anderson one-two in Class A at Nassau state qualifier; Garden City's Tim Josephs wins Class B

There's always a silver lining and, for runners who braved the wet and raw conditions Saturday at the Nassau state qualifier at Bethpage State Park, that silver lining might be this -- it was good practice for Canton. The town in upstate New York is where the state public school championships will be held on Saturday and where conditions may not be much better.

For comparison, Saturday in Canton saw temperatures in the low 40s and snow in the vicinity, according to weather.com. Sounds a lot like Bethpage.

"I've heard that the course can get very muddy [in Canton]," Garden City's Tim Josephs, who won the 5k Class B race in 16 minutes, 31.20 seconds and will be headed upstate, said. "Today was the worst conditions I've ever raced in. It was good to get that experience."

Josephs runs in Vibram FiveFingers, shoes that shape the foot so tightly that it gives runners a barefooted feeling. The senior thinks the tight fitting footwear helped him overcome the muddy conditions.

"They help with lower leg strength," Josephs said of the shoes. "That helps with all the mud and the varying terrain."

When the course is as muddy as it was Saturday, "self-awareness is even more important than usual," Josephs said.

"You really have to watch where you're going and look to see if there is firmer ground to run on," he said. "Mental toughness and pushing through the cold and the mud all plays into it."

SEE PHOTOSNassau cross country state qualifier meet

Manhasset won the Class B team title with 60 points. Tommy Fruhauf led the way for the Indians, placing third in 16:59.34.

Syosset (39 points) took the Class A championship thanks, in part, to a one-two finish by Tyler Italiano and William Anderson. Italiano won in 16:25.62 and Anderson was second in 16:28.25.

"The goal was to try and pull my teammates along," Italiano said. "That worked out really well."

As for the weather, Italiano noted the importance of not letting it be too much of a factor.

"Your rain is everybody else's rain," he said. "You just go out, do the same thing, make sure you don't go out too hard, and make sure you don't trip over the mud."

And, after all, mud is nothing that out of the ordinary for Nassau runners.

"Bethpage is muddy all the time," Italiano said. "It was just the rain [that was difficult] today."

Alexander Tosi led Oyster Bay (15 points) to a Class C title. Tosi won smallest race of the day (only 18 finishers), in 17:15.70.