Newsday's top 50 Long Island boys cross country runners for 2026
Clockwise, from top left: Luke Albert, Lucas Aguilar, Tyler Booker, John Barry.
Newsday’s annual list of the Top 50 Long Island high school boys cross country runners to start the 2026 season, in alphabetical order.
All times listed are from last season, and all rankings cited are among returning runners on Long Island at each course, unless otherwise noted.
Lucas Aguilar, Division, Sr.
Bethpage State Park’s 5-kilometer course was under renovation last fall, which forced Nassau to use LIU Post’s course in Greenvale for its county and sectional championship meets. The county championships will return to Bethpage this fall, while the sectional championships — also known as the county’s state qualifier meet — is scheduled for LIU again.
Aguilar ran the 5K at LIU in 16 minutes, 30.9 seconds, which ranks fourth. In the 5K at Queensbury High School — the site of this year’s public school state championships — his 16:41 flat ranks 15th. At Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park — one of the most strenuous courses in the state — he ranks 13th in the 5K at 17:13.7. He also ran a flat 13 minutes on the difficult 2.5-mile course at Van Cortlandt Park which ranks second.
Luke Albert, Lindenhurst, Sr.
He ranks 11th on the Sunken Meadow 5K (17:02.4) and is tied for 10th on the Van Cortlandt 2.5-mile course (13:45.4). At Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls — one of the region’s hardest courses and the annual site of the state Federation championships — he ran the 18th-best time in the 5K with a 17:38.9. He progressed throughout the year in difficult distance events, running the 3K steeplechase in 9:47.69 during the outdoor track and field season, tops among returners.
John Barry, Sayville, Jr.
His 17:15.9 on the 5K at Sunken Meadow ranks 15th and his 13:58.9 over Van Cortlandt’s 2.5 miles is 14th. He also ranks 20th on the 5K at Queensbury (16:59.8).
Tyler Booker, Calhoun, Sr.
He ran the 5K at LIU in the second-fastest returning time (16:13.4), but also handled Sunken Meadow — a somewhat unfamiliar course to Nassau runners — relatively well. He ran the 5K there in 17:49.4, which is 33rd overall, and second among returning Nassau runners. He is 10th on the Queensbury 5K (16:31.6) and 12th on the Van Cortlandt 2.5-mile course (13:48.4).
Ty Buonomo, Ward Melville, Sr.
He had been running for the Patriots’ track team since the spring of his sophomore year, but he always played soccer during the fall. Buonomo switched to cross country last year. He ranks 20th at Sunken Meadow (17:21.4), 19th at Queensbury (16:58.2) and 13th at Bowdoin Park (17:20.6).
Milo Christ, Port Washington, Sr.
He is seventh on the 5K at LIU (16:45.3).
Kazuma Clarke, Chaminade, Jr.
He played an important role for the Flyers in their Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA and CHSAA intersectional team championship victories. On Sunken Meadow’s 2.5-mile course — the site of the NSCHSAA championships — he finished in 13:46.9, which ranks fifth. Over the same distance at Van Cortlandt, he is eighth at 13:34.8. He is also 21st on the Bowdoin Park 5K at 17:41.1.
Clockwise, from top left: Kazuma Clarke, Chase Devine, Milo Christ, Teddy Dugan, Nicholas DiCaprio.
Andrew Collins, Smithtown, Soph.
While running for Smithtown’s combined district team, the underclassman from Smithtown West ran Sunken Meadow’s 5K course in 17:18.7, which ranks 18th. He ranks 17th in the same event at both Queensbury (16:46.3) and Bowdoin Park (17:32.9).
Jonathan Davi, Oceanside, Sr.
His 16:49.4 in the 5K at LIU ranks ninth, but he also handled Van Cortlandt’s challenges well, ranking 19th in the 2.5 miles at 14:07.3.
Frank Delguercio, Farmingdale, Sr.
He is eighth in the 5K at LIU with a 16:49 flat.
Chase Devine, Whitman, Jr.
He had a big introduction to varsity cross country, ranking eighth on the Sunken Meadow 5K (16:52.9), tied for 10th on the Van Cortlandt 2.5 miles (13:45.4) and 14th on the Queensbury 5K (16:38.2).
Nicholas DiCaprio, Miller Place, Sr.
He is in the top 10 on the three 5K courses most important for Long Island runners this fall. He ranks fifth at Sunken Meadow (16:48.3), third at Queensbury (15:56.1) and sixth at Bowdoin (16:44.8).
Timothy Dodd, Eastport-South Manor, Sr.
He had a down cross country season before a much-improved year on the track. He ran the 3,200 meters as fast as 9:31.59 (fifth on Long Island) and the 1,600 in 4:20.6 (sixth). Those times forecast vast improvements on his current personal records in the 5K at Sunken Meadow (18:58.5), Queensbury (17:23.8) and Bowdoin Park (18:30.4), all set in 2024.
Teddy Dugan, Friends Academy, 8th
He ran the 5K at LIU in 17:03.3 (18th) and Queensbury in 17:15.9 (27th) as a seventh grader.
John Duggal, Stony Brook School, Sr.
He ran the 5K course at Van Cortlandt in 18:01.8 as a sophomore, which ranks 37th among returners in the state, and first on Long Island. He also ran LIU’s 5K in 17:04.9 at the Nassau Coaches Invitational, which ranks 20th. He improved on his previous personal record by 16.9 seconds on Sunken Meadow’s 5K course, completing it in 18:15.8.
Luke Falco, Manhasset, Sr.
His 17:04.6 on the LIU 5K ranks 19th, and he is 23rd in the same race at Bowdoin Park (17:59.8).
Ryan Going, Chaminade, Jr.
He is seventh on Sunken Meadow’s 2.5-mile course in 14:18.5, ninth in the same-length race at Van Cortlandt (13:35.2) and 14th on Bowdoin Park’s 5K in 17:23.2. He's also run 4:23.06 in the 1,600 (ninth) and 9:39.6 in the 3,200 (12th).
From left: Sean Grossman, Ryan Going, Luke Falco.
Alex Goldstein, Great Neck North, Sr.
His 16:52.1 in the 5K at LIU ranks 10th. On the track, he is second in the 3K steeple (9:59.89) and 14th in the 3,200 (9:46.27).
Sean Grossman, Port Jefferson, Sr.
He stepped into the No. 1 role last year and helped the Royals to their second consecutive public school Class D team state title. He is 23rd in the 5K at Sunken Meadow (17:27.4) and 11th at Queensbury (16:34.9). He is 18th in the 2.5 miles at Van Cortlandt (14:07.2).
William Harnden, Port Washington, Sr.
He ranks 11th at LIU with a 16:53.1 in the 5K.
Matthew Heffernan, Commack, Sr.
His 17:24.2 on the Sunken Meadow 5K is 22nd, and his 14:00.1 on the Van Cortlandt 2.5-mile course is 15th. On the track, his 9:47.06 in the 3,200 is 15th.
Dylan Herath, Half Hollow Hills, Sr.
While competing for the combined Half Hollow Hills district team, the Half Hollow Hills East runner posted a 17:18.6 on the 5K at Sunken Meadow, ranking 17th. At Queensbury, he ranks ninth on the 5K course with a 16:18 flat.
Aidan Hopkins, Kellenberg, Jr.
He ranks fourth at Sunken Meadow (13:35.4) and first at Van Cortlandt (12:50.5) over 2.5 miles. He is second in the 5K at Bowdoin Park (16:29.7).
George Kahi, Port Washington, Soph.
He ran 16:37.74 in the 5K at LIU, which ranks him sixth.
Nic Katsoulis, Manhasset, Sr.
He leads on LIU’s 5K course by a wide margin after running 15:49.9 as a junior. He is second in the same race at Queensbury with a 15:53.9. The senior handles the harder courses well, too, ranking third on the Van Cortlandt 2.5-mile trail (13:00.7) and seventh on the Bowdoin Park 5K (16:44.9). He is second in Nassau and 38th overall in the 5K at Sunken Meadow (18:01.2).
Clockwise, from left: Nic Katsoulis, Aidan Hopkins, George Kahi, Matthew Keller, Dylan Herath.
Matthew Keller, Eastport-South Manor, Sr.
Another former soccer player, he joined the Sharks’ cross country squad and led it to a county and sectional title. His 5K times rank 16th at Sunken Meadow (17:17.9) and 13th at Queensbury (16:38.2).
Brady Kitchen, Shoreham-Wading River, Jr.
His 17:22.2 in the 5K at Sunken Meadow ranks 21st.
Casey Kogan, Massapequa, Jr.
He ran 16:54.6 in the 5K at LIU, ranking 12th.
Chris Leary, Northport, Jr.
He broke out as a sophomore and ran the 24th-best returning 5K time at Sunken Meadow (17:31.3).
Spencer Lee, Shoreham-Wading River, Sr.
His 16:38.6 on the Sunken Meadow 5K ranks second, and his 16:42.3 in the same race at Queensbury is 16th.
Clockwise, from top left: Brady Kitchen, Edward Lessing, Spencer Lee, Evan Levine.
Edward Lessing, St. Anthony’s, Sr.
Arguably the top returner in the NSCHSAA, he ranks third on Long Island, and first in his league, on the Sunken Meadow 5K (16:40.2). He also leads both categories on the park’s 2.5-mile course (12:47.9). His 13:02.3 on the Van Cortlandt 2.5-mile course places him fourth. His 16:32.4 on the 5K at Bowdoin Park is third on Long Island and second in the NSCHSAA.
Evan Levine, Northport, Sr.
He's ranked 10th on Sunken Meadow's 5k course (16:58.1) and 11th at Bowdoin Park (17:18.2).
Vidal Macchia, Floyd, Jr.
The former football player ran cross country for the first time as a sophomore. He tackled the 5K course at Sunken Meadow in 16:49.6, ranking sixth. It got better on the state-level 5Ks, as his 16:02.3 at Queensbury is fifth and 16:42.8 at Bowdoin Park sits fourth.
Caleb Noyola, East Meadow, Soph.
His 16:55 flat in the 5K at LIU ranks 13th.
Zach Paggi, Kellenberg, Sr.
He ranks third on Sunken Meadow's 2.5-mile course (13:17.9) and seventh at Van Cortlandt (13:25.7). He also did well in the 5K at Bowdoin Park, slotting himself 16th (17:32.8).
Clockwise, from top left: Zach Paggi, Mateo Ritieni, Vidal Macchia, Joseph Santos-Acosta, Jasper Samuelson, Brandon Salazar.
Esteban Quintero, Comsewogue, Soph.
He broke out as a freshman, running 17:19.4 on the Sunken Meadow 5K, which ranks 19th.
Matteo Ritieni, Ward Melville, Sr.
He ranks in the top 10 in the 5K on the most important courses, sitting seventh at Sunken Meadow (16:49.9), sixth at Queensbury (16:07.6) and ninth at Bowdoin Park (17:00.4).
Logan Rodriguez, MacArthur, Sr.
His 17:03 on the LIU 5K ranks 17th. He is also sixth on Eisenhower Park’s 5K (16:39.6).
Brandon Salazar, Brentwood, Sr.
He will look to improve upon a breakout season in which he ran the ninth-best returning 5K time at Sunken Meadow (16:55.2). He is seventh in the same race at Queensbury (16:16.4). His 2.5-mile time at Van Cortlandt (13:25.2) sits in sixth.
Jasper Samuelson, East Hampton, Jr.
He ran the 5K in 17:10.2 at Sunken Meadow and 17:14.5 at Bowdoin Park, ranking 12th and 10th, respectively.
Joseph Santos-Acosta, West Hempstead, Jr.
He ranks 14th on LIU’s 5K course in 17:00.1 and made the public school state meet as a sophomore, where he ran the same event at Queensbury in 17:19.8.
Thomas Schneider, Carey, Jr.
His 17:02.1 in the 5K at LIU ranks 16th.
Andrew Senf, Ward Melville, Sr.
The best returner on Long Island ranks first in the 5K at Sunken Meadow (16:26.7), Queensbury (15:41.1) and Bowdoin Park (16:26.4).
From left: Andrew Senf, Seamus Taylor, Max Tobar.
Maxwell Simeon, Bay Shore, Fr.
After standing out as an eighth grader during the track season, he will run cross country for the first time. His 4:26.23 in the mile ranks sixth.
Seamus Taylor, Northport, Sr.
He ranks fourth in the 5K at both Sunken Meadow (16:40.6) and Queensbury (16:01.6), as well as eighth in the same race at Bowdoin Park (16:45.5).
Max Tobar, Manhasset, Jr.
He ranks third at LIU (16:30 flat), eighth at Queensbury (16:17.6) and 29th at Bowdoin Park (18:13.1).
Andrew Tsimikalis, Manhasset, Jr.
His 16:32.3 on the LIU 5K ranks fifth. He is also in the top 25 in the event at Queensbury (25th, 17:14.8) and Bowdoin Park (23rd, 18:05.4). He ranks third in Nassau (46th on Long Island) on the Sunken Meadow 5K (18:07.2).
Blake Weaver, left, and Andrew Tsimikalis.
Griffin Tucker, Northport, Sr.
He was a newcomer to the Tigers’ varsity team last year and made an instant impact, running the 5K in 17:15.1 at Sunken Meadow (14th) and 17:20.2 at Bowdoin Park (12th).
Pepe van der Velden, Ward Melville, Sr.
His 17:35.2 on the Sunken Meadow 5K ranks 25th. The senior ranks 12th in the 5K at Queensbury (16:35 flat) and 15th at Bowdoin Park (17:28 flat).
Blake Weaver, Chaminade, Sr.
He ranks second on the 2.5-mile course at Sunken Meadow (13:12.4) and fifth at Van Cortlandt (13:18.1). He is also fifth in the 5K at Bowdoin Park (16:44.3).
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.
