Wednesday, December 11, 2024
The seniors on the Oceanside boys’ cross-country team went out with a bang, and nearly led the Sailors to their first country title.
Three had their personal best times, helping Oceanside finish a close second in the Nassau Class I championships at Bethpage State Park on Nov. 2. The Sailors were edged out by Port Washington.
“I think we did great,” Oceanside coach Al Lyson said. “Of course, our hopes are to win the county. We had a really deep team this year, we wound up losing by 10 points. That’s not a whole heck of a lot in cross-country. So, that was a little disappointing. But a bunch of the guys had a personal best that day. So I can’t ask for more than that. It was a really good season. These guys did a great job, so I’m proud of it.”
A year after finishing third in the county championships, Lyson had an inkling his squad would again be one of the top three teams this year. Fortunately, the Sailors were able to stay relatively healthy throughout the season and when the lights were their brightest, the seniors led the way.
“It’s a great feeling when I see my seniors really show up at that county race and give their best performance of their lives,” Lyson said. “I have a great sense of pride in that. They work so hard and so much goes into this and to see it pay off in that county race, I'm really happy for them.”
Leading the way was senior Tyler DeCiantis, who finished third in 16:31.70, behind Farmingdale’s George Thomatos (15:55.70) and Lukas Derasmo of Port Washington (16:21.30).
“He's a very talented runner, he's done great all year,” Lyson said. “I was super, super proud of him. He did better than I thought he was going to do, honestly. He's just really talented and he showed it that day for sure.”
Jonathan Davi took fifth in 16:30.50. It was the first race this season the sophomore wasn’t the team’s top finisher.
“He's just an incredible talent and runs well all the time,” Lyson said. “Tyler just edged him out in that race, but I expect great things from this kid, moving forward for sure.”
Matthew Laudicina took 11th in 17:00.00, one second behind Port Washington’s Gael Ogmen. That, too, was the senior’s best time of his high school career, a testament to the work Laudicina put in after being hurt most of his junior season.
The third senior to record a personal best was Cole Rinn. College lacrosse is likely in his future, yet he finished 22nd in 17:14.00.
Dylan Herzog took 34th place in 17:45.00, the junior showing vast improvement year over year.
He’s part of a strong returning group that includes Davi, freshman Christian Carbonaro, and juniors Brendan Kilby and Kevin Fernandez, who will be chasing Oceanside’s first county title next fall.
