Cross-country title for Lynbrook

With five runners finishing in the Top 20, Lynbrook captured the Nassau Conference III girls’ cross-country championship at Bethpage State Park on the last Saturday in October.

The Lady Owls, who compiled a record of 12-1, turned the table on regular-season champion South Side en route to winning their first conference title since 1986.

“The girls knew they had the talent to do it and really brought their best that day,” Lynbrook coach Joe Beyrer said. “They were extremely motivated.”

Freshman Hannah Carlson, who emerged as the team’s top performer in early October, finished seventh in the conference meet in 21-minutes, 44.7-seconds. It earned her All-Conference honors for a second straight year.

Juniors Hannah Deegan and Kacey Carter both won numerous races during the regular season and finished 11th and 13th, respectively, in the conference race. Deegan crossed the line in 21:55.2 and Carter completed the 5K course in 22:00.3. In between them was senior Sammy Harris in 21:58.3. All three picked up All-Conference accolades.

Beyrer said Deegan “is a strong, steady runner who always gets the job done.” He described Carter as the team’s “vocal leader,” and Harris as “a tough runner with an eye on competing at the college level.”

Sophomore Marissa Bellusci made her presence felt in her debut season, scoring in every meet including the conference race (20th place, 22:33.6.) Eighth-grader Hannah Barosso (22:53.2) and sophomore Stephanie Mertz (23:55.7) also produced strong races, finishing 24th and 32nd, respectively.

“We stayed injury free and everything seemed to click at the right time,” Beyrer said.

Boys finish fifth

Sophomore Peter Lithen paced Lynbrook’s boys’ team in the Conference III championships, placing 24th with a time of 18:53.6. Senior Joseph O’Connor, freshman Paul Papandrew, sophomore Brian Donaldson and sophomore Matt Campbell rounded out the scorers for the Owls.