The Oyster Bay High School girls cross country team has kicked off the season with an 11-0 start, with one conference race left against Valley Stream Central and Island Trees.
For the second consecutive season the girls will finish at the top of Conference IV, after sharing the championship with Locust Valley in 2014 (each team had one defeat against 12 wins).
This would mark the first time the girls’ program has finished the season with and undefeated record. The following members of the girls team have already made All-Conference by virtue of their qualifying time at Bethpage State Park: Maggie McNamara, Bella Pace, Laura Angelone, Anna Lee Sadocha, Michela Rutigliano and Elina Leandrou.
Senior Alex Tosi is leading the boys team to another great season. Tosi went all the way to the states last year. He looks to return and improve on that performance. Tosi is closing in on an incredible career as a cross country runner for Oyster Bay. For the second consecutive year he has been unbeaten against an individual in conference IV. He has already run the fastest 5K in program history (16:00 at the Northeastern Championships in Rhode Island in 2014), while also running the fastest time at Sunken Meadow in program history (17:05). He has recently qualified as an All-Conference runner along with seniors Jason Cassella and Steven Sweet, and plans to once again earn All-State status by placing in the top 20 at the State Championships at Monroe Woodbury High School. “One of Alex’s goals is to break 16:00 this season. He would be happy to do it at Bethpage or Warwick. After watching him run 17:05 in the middle of a tropical storm at Sunken Meadow, his teammates and I believe he can do it on both courses,” noted coach Kevin Cotter.
After an odd start to the season in which the boys team was disqualified for missing the start of their race, Tosi has led the team on a ferocious streak of nine victories without a single defeat.
Cotter said, “Certain members of this team are on a mission. When everyone gets on board, this team has the ability to perform better than any team in recent memory.”
The County Championships will be held on Oct. 31 at Bethpage State Park.
