McGovern paces Long Beach runners

Matt McGovern enjoyed a breakout campaign for the Long Beach boys’ cross-country team, leading the Marines to a solid seventh-place finish in a field of 16 in the Nassau Class I championship meet at Bethpage State Park.

McGovern placed fourth out of 112 runners with a time of 16-minutes, 40.71-seconds to earn All-County honors. Only champion Tyler Italiano of Syosset, runner-up William Anderson of Syosset, and East Meadow’s Michael Grady completed the 5K course ahead of the Long Beach senior who went on to represent the team at the state meet on Nov. 8.

“Matt surprised some people for sure,” Marines coach Greg Milone said. “He came into the year as our No. 1, but the level in which he performed was higher than anyone could’ve predicted. He trained a lot on his own and really stepped up.”

McGovern finished sixth in the Class A State Qualifier on Nov. 1 in 16:48.93, and a week later was at SUNY-Canton just outside of the Canadian border competing in the state championships. “He was in the top three or four in every league race,” Milone said. “He was always looking for the best kid in each race and going after them.”

Long Beach’s top six runners all set personal bests in the county meet, Milone noted. Sophomore Asa Euster was its second finisher, crossing the line 34th overall in a stride under 18 minutes. “Asa is an ultra-competitive kid with the right attitude,” Milone said. “He’s still learning his way a bit, but his times were consistent all year.”

Euster and senior Steven Hurst earned All-Conference recognition. Hurst, a captain along with McGovern, finished 42nd in the county with a time of 18:19.77. “Steven was solid,” Milone said. “You know he’s going to put forth a good effort every time he steps on the course.”

Sophomores Brian Thurston, Finian Ashmead and Tanner Owen completed the top six for the Marines, who went 8-5 during the regular season. “All of those guys ended the season in the low 19s,” Milone said. Thurston and Ashmead both ran 19:05 in the county meet.

On the girls’ side, senior Claire Sweeny and junior Sarah Kelliher led the way. Both qualified for the State Qualifier meet.