Southampton's Jeorgiana Gavalas, Tanner Marro Qualify for New York State Cross County Championships

The Southampton cross country program is sending runners to the New York State Championships, and for the first time in seven years, a girl will be making the trip.

At the Section XI Championships, also known as the state qualifier, at Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park on Friday, November 4, Tanner Marro, a sophomore, qualified for the boys race, continuing a long tradition of a boy reaching states — Billy Malone went just last year — while junior Jeorgiana Gavalas qualified for the girls race, the first to do so since Michelle Gagliardo did it as a freshman in 2015. Prior to that, Hannah Connolly-Sporing had qualified in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014. Southampton head coach Eddie Arnold was happy that Gavalas was able to get the girls back in the mix at the state competition.

“I remember speaking to Jeorgie when she was in eighth grade, because she also played field hockey, and I told her, ‘If you run the way you did as an eighth-grader, you have a chance to be a state qualifier. As long as you work hard, together we’ll set goals and you’ll go to states,’” he said. “Sure enough, our plan worked, our blueprint worked.”

Gavalas finished the 5K race in 21:52.95, which placed her seventh overall in the Class C/D race. Mattituck won the Class C race, so with its individuals taken out, the next five individuals qualify. In that respect, Gavalas easily finished within those next top five with Babylon junior Kayla Hayes, who won the overall race in 20:25.28, the only other runner to finish ahead of her.

Gavalas explained how it was a tough season in a sense because she was running by herself most of the time with many of the younger runners on the team being behind her in terms of times.

“I ran a lot of races by myself, so that was kind of sad, but a lot of teams would bring me in, let me run with them,” she said. “It was a tough race, but I did it.”

Marro finished the boys 5K race in 19:16.44, which placed him 15th overall. Among Class C runners, with Class C Champion Mattituck runners taken out, Marro took the fourth individual spot to the state meet. He was glad he was able to do so, but sad for senior captain Evan Simioni, who was the next in line to go, finishing the race in 19:30.81.

“It feels really good being able to go,” he said. “Upset my team can’t come with me. But it was another PR and I’m hoping I can top it even more at states.”

As for the rest of the boys and girls who competed for Southampton, Arnold said about 80 percent combined finished their seasons with personal bests, which is all he could ask for. He would like to see, though, a stronger commitment overall to the team and the sport going forward. The Mariners got better and better as the season wore on and Arnold thinks that if they had started to run sooner than the first official day of practice the third Monday of August, things could have went differently, such as more individuals qualifying for states, or even better, an entire team.

“To be one of the more successful cross country programs you really have to start after July 4,” he said. “And something has to give, whether it’s travel soccer, travel lacrosse, travel basketball, like AAU. These programs hurt the individual cross country athlete, who, if they’re going to run in the fall, they need to focus on this. When they don’t, they’re behind the other runners come the first official practice in August.

“It’s a self-motivated sport, you have to be able to put the work in, but to be a part of the boys and girls cross country program here, you have to be locked in, as far as what your responsibility is to prepare for the season.”

Arnold thanked his captains — Gavalas, Simioni, Dylan Koszalka and Elizabeth “Biz” Terry — who all helped push the teams throughout the season and helped continue to create the family-like atmosphere the team typically has year in and year out.

“Biz, she was the pulse of the program,” Arnold said. “She really kept everyone together, with family dinners, driving people around. She was the sister to all the boys and girls and they all got along well. It was a very young team, but it was a family. I wish we had a little more running over the summer, that might have made a difference, but, everyone performed, everyone peaked, which is great.”

Both Gavalas and Marro turn their attention to states this Saturday, which they’ll be competing in at Vernon Verona Sherrill High School, which is just east of Syracuse. It’ll be the first time for both competing at the state level and therefore Arnold isn’t going in with any expectations.

“This will allow us to raise next year’s goals and raise the bar where we can possibly win a county championship, place at states and maybe go home with some hardware by making All-State,” he said. “I don’t know where they’ll finish this weekend, but I am thrilled for Tanner and Jeorgie, and like I always say, you have to visit the experience to know the experience and next year they’ll know what’s at stake.”