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Max Haynia, running in East Hampton on October 18, won the overall division meet on October 25. DREW BUDD
Although this is the first official season John Broich has been the head coach of the Westhampton Beach boys cross country team, it’s clear he knows his top runner, Max Haynia, pretty well.
“Max doesn’t let anything get in his way,” he said of the senior, who won the overall division championship 5K race at Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park on October 25 in 16:38.10, despite a number of variables going against him, and just about everyone else, last week.
Personally, coming into the meet, Haynia had been dealing with a sinus infection the days prior. Although he was feeling better the day of the race, Broich said he still had a low-grade fever.
On top of that, Haynia had to deal with what were somewhat extreme running conditions at Sunken Meadow. When the sun came out in the latter part of the boys championship race, already high temperatures mixed with high humidity, making for hotter-than-usual, late October running. It got to the point that county officials decided to postpone four of what was supposed to be the meet’s six races to October 27, due to a number of runners going down with heat-related illnesses.
And then, as Haynia pointed out, the course was soaked from the rain that had come through the area in the days prior, and when Connetquot’s Gregory Baldinucci took the group out fast at the start, it messed Haynia’s game plan a bit.
“He brought it out really fast which might have taken a toll on me coming up Cardiac and coming back down Cardiac,” he explained. “My plan at divisions was apply pressure throughout the snake position, where most runners falter and not try as hard. That was the game plan coming in, but I couldn’t do that so I had to pay the price and lengthen my stride coming down Cardiac.”
Although he called it one of the toughest races he’s ever competed in, and finished the race nearly 20 seconds slower than he previously ran at Sunken Meadow earlier this season — all times were slower than usual due to the conditions — Haynia wasn’t shocked he was still able to top the entire field, which included all of the top runners from Suffolk County.
“I wasn’t that worried about winning the race. I was really going for a course record, but with the conditions the way they were, that wasn’t really in the cards for me that day,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to the state qualifier.”
That race, which is also known as the Section XI Championships, is this Friday back at Sunken Meadow where everyone will be hoping for more fall-like racing conditions. Haynia and his boys squad will be looking to win a fifth straight county title and a return trip to the New York State Championships, which are at Vernon Verona Sherrill High School on November 12.
In order to do that, the ’Canes will have to run better than they did at divisions, where they were expected to vie for the Division III title. But, being that the conditions were what they were, Westhampton Beach placed fourth out of five teams. Miller Place won the division tittle with 36 points.
“I went into that race expecting us not to win, just because it wasn’t the more favorable spot for us to be in, with our three through seven not being acclimated to that type of risk environment,” Haynia explained. “It was a good learning experience. We talked as a group and state quals is where we’ll have to win.”
Trevor Hayes, who was expected to finish with, or close to, Haynia, had to pull himself out of last week’s race due to what Broich called a significant injury he suffered the week prior but was exacerbated by the conditions. If the ’Canes are going to win their fifth county title, Broich said Hayes is a vital part of that.
With Hayes out, junior Sean Ryan was the next finisher for Westhampton Beach at divisions, finishing in 19:32.1., which placed him 17th. Marcus Haynia, Max’s younger brother who is a sophomore, finished 22nd in 19:51.3.
The conditions for the girls championship race, which ran right after the boys, might have been even worse. The Westhampton Beach girls were in the same exact situation as their male counterparts, with a legitimate shot at winning the Division III title, or at least pushing Sayville for one. But the girls finished in third place, behind both Shoreham-Wading River and Sayville, which wound up winning the overall meet. Westhampton Beach junior Oona Murphy placed seventh in the division in 21:15.9 and freshman Caeden Dorn finished ninth in 21:49.5.
