Eastport-South Manor's Maddie Laezza wins Class B public school girls cross country state title
The Sayville girls cross country team wins the team title during the state cross country championships on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. Credit: Thomas Duffy
So much ground was broken in Queensbury on Saturday.
One Long Island individual and three Long Island teams were crowned their class’ champions at the public school state cross country championships at Queensbury High School.
All of the winners came from the girls’ half of the meet.
Eastport-South Manor senior Maddie Laezza won the Class B 5-kilometer championship in 17 minutes, 27.3 seconds and placed second in the merged results. Northport scored 53 points to win the team Class A championship, Sayville tallied 51 to take Class B and Cold Spring Harbor posted 58 to claim Class C.
“I just think it’s so amazing, all of us coming together on the day and showing everyone that we’re one of the best regions in the state,” Laezza said.
Last year, Laezza quit the soccer team in mid-September to run cross country and, two months later, placed second in the state Class B race. Realizing how close she was to a title, she set her sights on making that one final leap from silver to gold.
Almost a year to the day from last fall’s public school state championships , Laezza completed the journey. She finished 30.7 seconds ahead of the next finisher, Harborfields senior Sayla Fives.
“I feel so rewarded,” Laezza said. “Coming into today, I knew what I was facing, like weather conditions and injuries from earlier in the season. It didn’t matter, because I was going to put myself in this to win it at all costs.”
Cold Spring Harbor followed senior Isabella Garra, who placed sixth in 18:28.5. Claire Delli Carpini followed her, taking ninth in 18:37.6.
Seventh-graders Ava Caroleo (23rd, 19:35.6) and Catherine James (25th, 19:37.3), and sophomore Paige Kovner (30th, 19:43.3) rounded out the scoring effort. Seventh-grader Colette Kraus and senior Olivia Mulada also helped the Seahawks beat South Jefferson by 21 points.
The title is their first in program history.
“Being able to run with this new group of girls is super exciting,” Garra said. “I’m so incredibly proud of every single one of them, and being able to be state champions in my senior year means a lot to me. I’m so proud we were able to do this for Section VIII [Nassau County] and our school.”
The Class A race came an hour after Cold Spring Harbor’s victory, and Northport made history. The Tigers scored 53 points to win their program’s first state title. They became the first Suffolk Class A team to win a state championship.
Sophomore Fiona King led the way, placing eighth in 17:57.4. Classmate Jane Tucker ran 10th in 18:05.4 and senior Mia Wickard was 20th in 18:30.8.
Freshman Gianna Costello (34th, 19:04.5) and seventh-grader Marta Rodriguez Villa (38th, 19:10.2) capped their scoring. Eighth-grader Audrey Gillespie and junior Isabella Reilly also contributed to the 11-point victoy over Bethlehem.
The Tigers had placed second in Class A each of the last three years, with three different teams winning in front of them. This time, they got over the second-place hump.
“I can’t believe we were actually able to win this against some amazing teams,” King said. “Throughout the race, I knew I just had to beat as many girls as I could. I just knew that I was doing it for the team, and that pushed me to be at my best today.”
Sayville is no stranger to the winner’s circle. It was the Golden Flashes’ third state title in five years, but their first since 2023. Sophomore Christina Duffy led the way, placing 11th in 18:45.6.
Junior Aislyn Beach (14th, 19:00.2), classmate Elizabeth Butruch (17th, 19:11.6), senior Marianna Duffy (25th, 19:26.3) and junior Aubrey Vitale (53rd, 20:05.2) secured the title. Sophomore Grace Jones and seventh-grader Claire Betro also contributed to the victory over defending-champion John Jay-Cross River — which beat them last year — by 20 points.
“I was sobbing on the finish line,” Butruch said. “I’m so glad that we got to get back at them. I saw the scores and didn’t know what to think, but I just knew I was so proud of us and I cried my eyes out.”
On the boys’ side, Ward Melville was the top Long Island team, placing third in Class A (94 points) and fifth in the merge (225 points). Senior Andrew Senf, as he has all year, headlined Long Island’s individual boys, placing fourth in Class A and seventh in the merge with a 15:26.7.
“I’m very proud to have represented The Island,” Senf said. “I was fighting for my team, and it’s definitely awesome to know that we were the top Long Island finishers.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
