VSN teams win a dozen apiece

After losing several key runners from last year’s county championship winning club, Valley Stream North boys’ cross country coach Tim Boyens figured this fall would be a rebuilding season for his team. But much to their coach’s surprise, the Spartans were once again able to excel, finishing with a 12-1 regular-season record, and a third-place finish at the Nassau County Class III championship race.

The VSN girls’ cross-country team, which Boyens also coaches, matched the boys’ team 12-1 record, and finished in fourth place at the county meet. 

“Our teams totally exceeded my expectations,” Boyens said. “Coming in I really thought it was going to be one of those years where we just try and get better every week, and see what happens at the end. I had no idea we’d have a chance to win division championships, and finish in the top five in the county championship.”

Leading the way for the boys’ team was junior Nick Cason and senior Jake Catalano. Both qualified for the state championship, an achievement that Boyens said was well deserved after the training they put in.

“Those two really put the effort in, and ran every day over the summer,” he said. “They put in the hard work, and came out every day trying to get better.”

Senior Jon Martinez was another standout for the Spartans this season. He finished in 27th place at the county championship race.

“He really had an outstanding season,” Boyens said. “He gave everything he had, and ran much faster than I thought he could.”

The girls’ squad was led by senior Emily Martino. After playing a starring role for the track team in the spring, Martino led the way again for VSN this fall.

“She kind of runs cross country just to get fit for track,” Boyens said. “But, she ended up being all-county. She had a great season, and just missed going to a state championship. She’s just a really gifted runner.” 

Senior Gabriela Andrade also impressed for the Lady Spartans, earning all-county honors. In addition, Brianna Hackman and eighth-grader Anna Westfall finished with all-conference honors.

After coming into this season with cautious expectations for his teams, Boyens was thrilled to see them finish among the best in Nassau.

“At the end of the day, if you look at our teams on paper we’re pretty darn good,” he said. “We were definitely not rebuilding this year.”