Newsday's All-Long Island girls cross country team 2024
Newsday's 2024 All-Long Island girls cross country team, from left: Zaria Hall of East Meadow, Sophia McInnes of Bayport-Blue Point, Zariel Macchia of Floyd, Sayla Fives of Harborfields, Olivia DiGaetano of Connetquot and coach Gregg Cantwell of Northport. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Newsday Runner of the Year: Zariel Macchia, Floyd, Sr.
Macchia is the best runner in the state , and one of the best in the country. This year, she ran the 5-kilometer course at Queensbury High School in 17 minutes, 24.7 seconds to capture her second Class A public school state championship. She also won her second consecutive state Federation championship in 18:09.9 at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls.
Nassau Runner of the Year: Aislinn Frazer, Friends Academy, Sr.
Frazer broke her own record at Eisenhower Park twice during the regular season. She ran an 18:01 flat at the public school state championship meet to place third in Class B. Her 19:13.2 at the Federation meet ranked 18th overall and tops in Nassau.
First Team
Lexie Cole, Comsewogue, Soph.
Cole’s 17:57.5 at the public school state championships ranked 12th overall and third amongst Long Island runners. She ran an 18:57.9 to place seventh at the state Federation championships.
Olivia DiGaetano , Connetquot, Jr.
DiGaetano finished 25th overall at the public school state championships in 18:13.4, the seventh-best time amongst Long Islanders. Her 19:29.8 at the state Federation Championships was the ninth-highest finish by a Long Islander.
Sayla Fives, Harborfields, Soph.
Fives’ 18:11.9 at the public school state meet was good for 24th overall, and sixth amongst runners from Long Island. Her 19:00.4 placed her 10th at the state Federation championships.
Zaria Hall, East Meadow, Jr.
The Nassau Division I champion ran an 18:03 flat at the public school state championships to rank 17th overall and fifth amongst Long Island runners. Hall’s 19:20.6 at the state Federation championships was the seventh-fastest finish by a Long Islander.
Sophia McInnes, Bayport-Blue Point, Sr.
McInnes won her second consecutive Class B public school state title in 17:45.5, which ranked fourth among runners from all classes. She finished 11th at the state Federation championships in 19:00.5.
Coach of the Year: Gregg Cantwell, Northport
Cantwell’s crew won the Suffolk League IV title with an undefeated regular season, then captured their fourth consecutive Suffolk Class A title by scoring 53 points at Sunken Meadow State Park. At the public school state championships, Northport finished second in both Class A and the all-class merge, outperformed only by Bethlehem Central, the No. 1 team in the country.