By TONY BELLISSIMO
The Spartans had three top 40 finishers and squeaked past North Shore to take the Nassau Class B crown. ³I knew we had three powerful seniors to lead the way, but you can¹t win without a deep team,² coach Mike Frazer said. ³We had a couple of kids switch sports in the fall, and they solidified our lineup.²
Seniors David Monteiro, Steven Carey and Carlo Balbo placed 24th, 25th and 39th, respectively, in the county race that featured 183 participants. Sophomore Anthony Russello (49th) and senior Joe Paraszczuk (79th) had solid performances as well and rounded out the team¹s scoring. North¹s 205 points gave it fifth place in the entire county, while North Shore was sixth, 18 points behind.
³North Shore was our closest rival all year,² Frazer said. ³We went up against them in the first dual meet, and our kids were fired up to go. We came out running.²
Monteiro¹s combination of speed and endurance made him the Spartans¹ top finisher in every meet but the Nov. 10 state championships at Norwood High School. He set the school record earlier this season with a time of 17 minutes, 4.0 seconds, and logged a 17:22.8 at the county meet. ³David¹s an extremely consistent runner who unfortunately battled through a cold in the state meet,² Frazer said. ³He always goes out there and gets the job done.²
Carey, a four-year varsity member, was the glue that held the team together according to Frazer. Carey ran his best time of the year at the state meet, placing 52nd in 17:23.4, two seconds faster than he completed the course at Bethpage a week earlier. ³Steven ran a faster race on a tougher course, and that¹s encouraging for the winter season,² Frazer said.
Balbo had his sights set on a top 25 finish in the county, but he still ran well and backed it up at the state meet by placing 62nd in 17:37.3. ³Carlo takes his running seriously and wears his emotions on his face,² Frazer said. ³He came through for us all season long.²
Russello, a former soccer player, was North¹s fourth-place finisher in each of the last two meets. He ran 17:50.4 at the county race and 18:03.3 at states. ³He¹s so athletic, all he needed to get ready for the season was summer training,² Frazer said. Paraszczuk, a four-year runner, persevered through an injury and proved a key piece to the title. Junior Michael Rossi, a former football player, and junior Jamie Toro, made steady contributions and shaved their times considerably.
Junior Brianna Cano paced the Lady Spartans, placing 19th in the county and qualifying for the state meet for a third straight year.
Comments about this story? tbellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
