Port Jefferson boys cross country notches perfect score en route to Suffolk Class D championship
Colin Veit of Port Jefferson wins the Class CD boys race during the Suffolk cross country championships and state qualifiers at Sunken Meadow Park on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. Credit: James Escher
Cross country coaches always preach the need for their top seven runners to have their best day of the season at the most important meet. That's exactly how Wednesday afternoon went for the Port Jefferson boys team.
On the most difficult course on Long Island — Sunken Meadow State Park — Port Jefferson finished with a perfect 15 points in the 5,000-meter Suffolk Class D championship race. The team placed each of the first five runners , as well as seven of the first nine, to win in the most dominant fashion possible.
The Royals followed the lead of senior Colin Veit, who won the race in 17 minutes, 30.8 seconds. Though Veit was thrilled to be crowned the king for the second straight year, he was more proud of what the Royals accomplished collectively.
“The perfect score for the team is what I was really happy about,” Veit said. “I’m just super proud of these guys, just to come out here and come in one through five. There’s not too many people who can do that.”
Sunken Meadow is known for its uneven terrain, with the most difficult part of the course being a 180-foot high hill nicknamed “Cardiac Hill.” However, the hilly village of Port Jefferson made the Royals’ runners a natural match for the course.
“The good thing about going to Port Jefferson High School is that we have hills everywhere,” coach Andy Cosci said. “Whenever we go on our practice runs, the hills that we have are very unique. It makes for good practices, and the results speak for themselves.”
The day started with Lindenhurst senior Jake Albert winning the Class A championship in 16:42.2: the besttime of the day. Rocky Point junior Trevor Green took home the hardware for Class B in 16:55.8. The Class C championship went to Southampton senior Christian Duggal, who ran a 17:48.1.
In the team competition, Ward Melville won its first county championship in 51 years by scoring 38 points, led by a second-place finish from senior Jon Seyfert and a third-place finish from sophomore Anthony Anatol in the Class A race. Eastport-South Manor captured the Class B title (39 points) and Southampton (22 points) won Class C.
“I was definitely hesitant to run this season at first because I played soccer all my life,” Anatol said. “But I’m so glad that I did. These coaches, I think, are some of the best on Long Island, so it really is just a privilege to be able to train and run with them every day.”
