East Hampton’s boys cross-country team finished third in the Section XI championships last Thursday at Sunken Meadow State Park, a huge stride for a team that didn’t make it to last year’s meet.
“It was a good performance,” Coach Kevin Barry said. “Last year, we didn’t even qualify for this meet. This year, we were seeded sixth out of 10 teams, and six of our seven kids ran their best times.”
Jasper Samuelson led the pack, finishing the boys’ 5K in sixth place with a personal best at the course of 17:10 — a more than two-minute improvement over last year. That’s the fastest 5K an East Hampton sophomore has ever run at Sunken Meadow, but the field was so strong that he failed to qualify for the state championship. Coach Barry hopes the near-miss will motivate Samuelson next year.
“He knows it’s hard work to get to the states,” Barry said. “I think this is fuel to get there.”
Liam Knight, a senior and a team captain, ran the best race of his career — an 18:02 that was good for 15th overall. He received academic all-county honors this year for his work on and off the course. Watts Comley-Bolick, a sophomore;
Sean Perez, a senior; Andrew Perez, a junior, and the freshmen Chase Bonsack and Carson Diamond rounded out the third-place team.
About a month ago, the boys and girls started working out together, which really helped both teams, Barry said. Laura Martinez finished 40th among the girls with a time of 21:12, qualifying the junior for the all-county team.
“Girls Class B is so fast. It’s probably the best section in New York State,” Barry said. “Laura had a tall order, but she made all-county.”
