Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Massapequa girls cross country suffered a tough defeat in the Section 8 State Qualifier last Saturday, coming up just seven points short of moving on to the state meet.
But while the Chiefs might have gone out on a sour note, their victory in the Nassau Class I championships Oct. 31 at Bethpage State Park remains a massive step in the right direction for the program.
“We’re very excited that we still have a young team going into the rest of this year and then next year as well,” coach Mike Dellicurti said.
The Chiefs showing their depth in the county championship on Halloween might have been their greatest feat in a stellar campaign. Despite not having a top-10 finisher in the event, they had five in the top 25 and scored 84 points, easily coming in under the runner-up East Meadow, which compiled 98.
Sophomore Gabrielle Kemnitzer and senior Michaela Matheis finished the five-kilometer distance together in 20:21.10, leading a flight of Massapequa runners that also included freshman Riley McCormack and sophomore Jaymee Carter.
Junior Allison McMenamin came up with a massive 22nd-place finish, rounding out the Chiefs’ five scorers, all of which earned All-County honors. Sophomore Sadie Kneer also finished under 21 minutes, and her 27th-place result also would have been enough to win.
“It says a lot of our complete team, and how hard the back-end girls worked,” Dellicurti said. “And it showed. I was very proud of them.”
For Matheis, whose years of investment resulted in a county championship, she will soon leave with the triumph of having helped turn Massapequa into a local cross country powerhouse.
“She was never one of our top scorers, and then this year, she really took it upon herself to jump ahead and lead this team,” Dellicurti said. “She put a lot of work in this offseason.”
Dellicurti said some of Matheis’ early troubles were the result of an iron deficiency, and discovering and remedying that issue led to instant improvement for the determined competitor.
For younger runners like McMenamin, Kemnitzer and Molly McHugh, who Dellicurti noted as future leaders, it was a foundational championship that puts them on a sharp trajectory.
“They won’t need to be vocal to be the leaders of this team,” Dellicurti said. “Their effort and their work ethic will show a lot.”
Dellicurti also noted valiant season-long efforts from sophomore Madison Schimkus, junior Julia Innes and freshman Giada Cuervo. Those three could soon become point scorers themselves for Massapequa, even as most of the current core is slated to return.
