West Islip's Scott Nelson an All-American at USATF Championships

West Islip senior Scott Nelson was named an All-American in the boys’ 17-18 division by placing 12th overall with a time of 16:29 in the 5,000 meters during the USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in San Antonio, Texas.

There were 145 runners in the boys’ 17-18 division.

Nelson’s twin brother, West Islip senior Craig Nelson, placed 28th with a time of 16:48.

In the boys’ 15-16 division, which consisted of 251 runners, Lions sophomore Kyle Kelly finished 29th (17:01), followed by sophomore teammate Charles Hetterich, who placed 110th (18:14).

After West Islip capped its state qualifying cross country season, all four aforementioned competitors continued to train. Coach Chris Kaigh said this was the highest placement for each of his competitors.

“They stepped up,” Kaigh said. “These are guys who have worked really hard. They ran well. I knew they were going to do well, I just didn’t know they were going to do this well. I would have been happy with the middle of the field, but these guys exceeded expectations.”