South Side completes Three-Peat

South Side’s strength in numbers proved too much for the competition at the Nassau girls’ cross-country championships last Saturday at Bethpage State Park.

The result was a third straight county title for the Cyclones.

Senior Cameron Coletti, junior Claire Bohan and sophomore Lana Jewett finished 3-4-5, respectively, in the 13-school Class II 5K race and all five South Side scorers earned All-County honors as part of a dominant performance.

“We went into the race favored, but every team has a few super-fast kids,” coach Chris Webster said. “You don’t win a county championship without a deep roster and we have 10 talented runners. It was perfect weather and I just said to the girls, ‘do what you’ve been doing all season,’ and that’s exactly what they did.”

The Cyclones went 13-0 during the regular season and bested runner-up Calhoun by 34 points on last Saturday’s big stage led by Coletti. A major contributor for four years and South Side’s top runner for a second straight season, she set a personal best at Bethpage with a time of 19 minutes, 27.43 seconds, good enough for third overall behind only Great Neck South’s Isabella Spagnoli and Valley Stream North’s Melissa Innocent.

“Cameron is a talented runner and a great captain,” Webster said. “She’s very in tune with the entire team and I designed practices with her input. So much of our success is because of her.”

Bohan, a third-year member of the varsity who earlier this season set a school record on the 5K course at Eisenhower Park, ran 19:37.79 at the county meet. “Claire is quiet and modest, but on the course she’s aggressive and unstoppable,” Webster said.

Jewett wasn’t far behind her two teammates and also set a personal best of 20:05.53. “Lana is one of the most competitive athletes I’ve ever coached and I knew we were in great shape when I saw her right behind Cameron and Claire,” Webster said. “It was great to see three red shirts in a row. Those three girls want to see each other get better, but at the same time they don’t want to give up their spots so that competitiveness pushes each of them to another level.”

Junior Morgan McKenna finished 10th in 20:37.93. “Morgan is the backbone of our team and works extremely hard,” Webster said. “She’s instrumental in our success.”

Freshman Fayola Allison (21:22.02) completed South Side’s scoring, placing 22nd overall in her first county race. “I could tell early on she was going to be a strong runner and she developed quickly,” Webster said. “Each race she became faster and more confident.”

Sophomore Kate Palya and junior Noelle Prince, two other first-year varsity runners, gave the Cyclones seven finishers among the top 27. Senior captain Olivia Scalere, junior Emma Sitterly and sophomore Hannah Reilly were also key pieces throughout a campaign that continues this Saturday with the state qualifier meet at Bethpage at 3:45 p.m.