Pierson’s Justin Gardiner Nabs Best Time, Place at States; Pierson Girls Finish Fifth in Team Standings

The third time proved to be the charm for Pierson senior Justin Gardiner.

The runner, in his last time competing in the Class D state cross country championship event, pushed himself further than he’s ever gone before to dash to a personal best 17 minutes, 14.6 seconds, which landed him at 23rd place in a pool of 115 runners at Vernon Verona Sherrill High School Saturday.

“The atmosphere was amazing and energizing, and it was fun to be around so many other outstanding runners,” Gardiner said. “I was a little nervous before the race, but it was easy to get hyped in such an electric environment. Watching other races before my own also made me very excited, and I felt ready to compete.”

Knowing the landscape after completing the 5K course last year also proved beneficial.

“I had a better understanding of the layout of the course and the terrain,” Gardiner said. “It was easier to judge how far I was into the course, and it helped me push myself harder in parts of the course I may have lost time last year. I like the course a lot. It’s faster than Sunken Meadow [State Park], where we usually have our meets, due to there being less hills.”

Hearing the roar of the crowd also gave him some extra motivation down the stretch, though the senior admitted he was disappointed to fall three spots behind one of his personal goals, which was to finish in the Top 20 to earn All-State recognition.

“There are a lot of spectators in the last part of the course due to its open layout, which adds energy to the race and helps me run fast and hard through the finish line,” Gardiner said. “I ran a personal best, which was another one of my goals, so overall I feel great about my performance. I really gave it my all. It was a much faster race than last year, and very competitive.”

That’s partly because of the repeat runners, who all improved on their times by at least 30 seconds. Gardiner’s head coach, Joe Amato, called the showing his All-County runner’s best of the year. The senior was the 15th male athlete from Suffolk County to cross the finish line, going faster than several runners who had beat him during the Section XI championships.

“Justin is one of the best athletes and individuals I have worked with in my 34 years at Pierson,” Amato said. “He had a great tapper and hit it hard at Vernon Verona Sherrill High School. I think running the course last season helped him, and we were also able to give the other four Pierson athletes in the boys race some great insight into how to run the course.”

Gardiner was also able to give the other four Pierson boys some great insight into how to run the course. Junior Edmar Gonzalez-Nateras finished 70th (19:13.6), freshman Ben Kriegsman placed 89th (20:12.6), senior Chad Federico was close behind for 93rd (20:13.9) and junior David Kriegsman finished in 106th place (20:41.2).

Gardiner said he can’t thank his couch enough for his training and encouragement. The road to states started over the summer for the senior, where Amato ensured he ran longer distances, consistently.

“That definitely helped,” Gardiner said. “Coach Amato has been a great role model and leader of our team, helping us to reach our highest potential. Performing my best at the state race was my main focus during offseason training, which kept me motivated. It feels great to see the results of all of my hard work.”

Pierson Girls Cross Country Team Finishes Fifth in State

This young group of Pierson runners are showing a lot of promise.

On Saturday, the entire girls cross country team exceeded expectations, outrunning state Class D predictions to power the Whalers to a fifth-place finish in the school standings. The girls had earned sixth place last season, which was also where they were seeded prior to the race at Vernon Verona Sherrill High School Saturday.

“I already felt very proud to have an entire team of seven girls making it all the way to this level in my first season as their coach,” Yanina Cuesta said. “But finishing in fifth was another proud moment for me. They did well. The idea is for us to keep working hard and chipping away every chance we get.”

And each girl did that, with all seven meeting their coach’s challenge of improving their times to lead to the jump in the standings.

Sophomore Sara O’Brien crossed the finish line first for the Whalers, clocking in at 21 minutes, 22.7 seconds for 31st place out of 111 runners, but two of her teammates were incredibly close behind. Junior Greylynn Guyer nabbed 32nd with a time of 21:22.9 and eighth-grader Josephine Mott earned 33rd with a time of 21:23.3.

“It’s typical of them to remain pretty consistent with one another and push each other along the way,” Cuesta said. “At practice, you can find all three of them in a pack, and sometimes we’ll see the same in a race. As long as they’re each running their best and not holding back in their races, I don’t have a problem with it. It’s a great facet of the cross country community.”

Sophomore Bennett Greene finished 68th (23:09.3), eighth-grader Maggie Greenwald grabbed 78th (24:12.9), junior Briana Torres ended in 89th (25:06.3) and classmate Marissa Walter took 106th (28:18.5) to boost the team’s standing.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with the girls all season,” Cuesta said. “These athletes will always be competitors, but they also watch out for one another, even from team to team. It’s an inspiring aspect of the sport to be a part of. They worked hard and improved along the way, so I really couldn’t ask for more. I’m very much looking forward to next year and seeing what else we can build together.”