After a 10-0 start this season, the best start in recent memory for the Oyster Bay High School Girls’ Cross Country team, a duel with Friends Academy was the final victory needed to stand alone on top of conference 4.
Senior Linda Cameron and eighth- grade speedster Maggie McNamara earned All-Conference by running a pre-determined qualifying time. They were expected to run a fast race and lead teammates Laura Angelone, Anna Lee Sadocha, Elina Leandrou and Bella Pace (all of whom made All-Conference as well) to personal bests, and another victory. While the Lady Baymen ran a fast-paced competitive race, it was Friends Academy who emerged victorious.
Coach Kevin Cotter noted, “Friends ran a better and smarter race, overall. Four of their top five runners are seniors and they know how to race. Three of our top five are first year varsity runners and they ran aggressively. But in the last half mile of the race, a Friends Academy runner overtook one of our girls on four occasions. Our effort was phenomenal, we just came up short.”
Still, the Lady Baymen are Conference Champions along with Locust Valley, as each team shares a 12-1 record. Although the Lady Baymen beat the Falcons head to head earlier in the season, a co-championship was declared.
“Locust Valley has a great coaching staff in Bill Wilson and Jim Rogan,” Cotter stated. “We have practiced with their team in the past, and there is a lot of mutual respect there. We congratulate them on a job well done.”
