Rivalry Renewed: Mere Points Decide League Titles for East Hampton, Westhampton Beach Boys, Girls Cross Country Teams

It had been four years or so since the East Hampton and Westhampton Beach boys and girls cross country teams competed in the same league together, and when it was known that the two East End schools would be competing against one another this season, both programs had a feeling it could come down to the final meets of the season, when the two would meet for the league title.

Both schools, four teams, boys and girls, kept up their part throughout the season, winning all of their dual meets leading up to winner-take-all meets on Tuesday at East Hampton High School. The victors would take home their respective league titles.

The two East End schools historically measure up fairly equally against one another. According to East Hampton boys head coach Kevin Barry, six of the last seven boys county titles have been won by East Hampton or Westhampton Beach, and when the Hurricanes won county titles in 2018 and last season, the Bonackers were runner ups.

As the meets on Tuesday proved, the two schools are still very competitive as mere points decided both races. The East Hampton girls defeated Westhampton Beach, 27-28, to win their first ever league title, while the Westhampton Beach boys narrowly defeated East Hampton, 27-29, to win their sixth straight title.

“We’re very happy,” East Hampton girls head coach Diane O’Donnell said, after the meet, along with her two captains, Dylan Cashin and Ryleigh O’Donnell. “We talked a lot this week about what it would take, how much it would hurt,” the coach added, bringing a laugh from herself and her two top runners, “and I’m happy to say that every one of them did what they knew they had to do. They all came through.”

All cross country dual meets, when it comes to team scoring, are decided by the top five placements by each team. The team with the lowest score wins the meet so teams want to accrue the top placements.

Cashin won the girl’s race in 15:28 and was quickly followed by Caeden Dorn, who crossed in 15:49 for Westhampton Beach. Oona Murphy was the next to cross for the Hurricane girls in 16:01, but O’Donnell was next to cross for the Bonackers in 16:25 for fourth place. Zion Osei placed fifth for East Hampton in 16:32 while Jamie Kelly and Gabby Wendell placed sixth and seventh overall for Westhampton Beach in 16:53 and 17:09, respectively. Emma Tepan and Briana Chavez crossed the finish line eighth and ninth, respectively, in 17:27 and 17:34, respectively, and then Maya Bougal nabbed the 10th and final placement of the race for the Hurricanes in 17:42.

When all was said and done, the East Hampton girls prevailed by the single point to win the League V crown. Both Cashin and Ryleigh O’Donnell agreed that they’re accustomed to close meets at this point in their careers. They were on the team when it won its first county title in what was a rather lose meet. And then again last season against Sayville for the league title.

As like all runners, the girls are preparing for the Division Championships, which are this Tuesday, October 25, at Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park at 1 p.m. They’ll be looking to push for a Division III title there, and then a Class B county title at the Section XI Championships back at Sunken Meadow on November 4. But it’ll be tough, Coach O’Donnell and the girls said, being that Sayville is once again a formidable threat this season, being ranked second in the state among Class B teams.

Following the girl’s race, the boys took to the 2.5-mile course at East Hampton High School, which more or less is two loops around the property of the school, finishing in the middle behind the away dugout of the varsity baseball field.

Westhampton Beach senior Max Haynia and junior Trevor Hayes are not only considered the top two runners in the league but in the county overall, so it was known going into the meet that they, barring any unforeseen setbacks, would finish one-two. That’s exactly what they did, with Haynia setting a new course record of 12:33, besting the previous record of 12:40 set by Shelter Island’s Kal Lewis in 2019.

With Haynia and Hayes taking the top two spots as expected, Barry knew it was going to up to his runners to finish in a tight pack, which they were able to do, more or less. Brayan Rivera took third place in 13:55, then Diego Rojas (13:58), Liam Knight (13:58), Liam Fowkes (14:04) and Mikey Gilbert (14:05) took fifth through eighth.

It was Adrian Caumartin who came up big for the ’Canes, placing fourth in the middle of Bonac’s pack, in 13:56, and his coach John Broich and teammates heralded him for his effort throughout the race.

Sean Ryan and Marcus Haynia finished ninth and 11th, respectively, in the race for Westhampton Beach, but at that point the race had already been decided by a two-point margin.

Prior to Tuesday’s loss, East Hampton had won 15 straight league meets dating back to September 2019.

“I’m going to be honest, I was nervous coming in here, I was worried,” Haynia admitted after the race. “Adrian came up clutch though. He caught me by surprise. I kept looking behind, okay, he’s in that pack, then I saw him coming and I knew Adrian has got a kick in him and he did.

“It felt really good,” to help the team, Caumartin said. “I think it was a long time in the making. We’ve been training really hard this season. Hard work pays off.”

Like the girls, the boys will be racing for division and county titles in the coming weeks. The Westhampton Beach boys have won the past four consecutive county titles and their goal is to make it five straight, but they said their will be stiff competition from a handful of teams that includes Harborfields, Kings Park, Miller Place, Shoreham-Wading River, and of course, East Hampton.

“There’s no powerhouse, but with these two,” as Broich nodded to Haynia and Hayes, “it’s hard for a team to come back. They’re going to go one-two. If our guys did what they did today they’ve got a real good shot.”