Saavedra, DiRienzo Dominate XC Division Championships

With less than 100 yards to go remaining at Sunken Meadow State Park, Sachem East senior Alex Saavedra was running for his life, maybe harder than he had all race long. It was like first place was in jeopardy, only he was the only runner in sight.

For four years, Saavedra had targeted the 16-minute plateau, and on Tuesday at the Section XI Division Championship, he covered the 3.1 mile race in 16 minutes flat to win the championship heat. Teammate Joe DiRienzo was next across, taking second place in a time of 16:15, and overall, East had an outstanding day, tying with Smithtown for second place in Division I, 10 points behind champion Connetquot.

"The guys did great," head coach Joe Orenzo said. "It was a great day. We were fast; we just have to be faster. These guys are great and it's such a good team to coach."

Saavedra, who broke away from the pack at the one-mile mark, hadn't run faster than a 16:25 at Sunken Meadow, and his time of 16:37 was good for second place in the same race a year ago. He was well ahead of that pace throughout Tuesday's competition.

"I didn't want to put too much pressure on this race," said Saavedra. "Our main goal is to go to states as a team."

That opportunity comes next Friday at the Section XI State Qualifier, to be held back at Sunken Meadow. If Sachem can swing a first-place finish, seven varsity runners will head to Lakeside Park in Pawling, N.Y., just outside Poughkeepsie, for states. The next five individual finishers also qualify. Last year, the Arrows finished in 19th place at states, with Saavedra grabbing 21st place.

DiRienzo was neck-and-neck with Connetquot's Zach Krause for the first half of the race before seizing second place for good. His time was nearly a minute quicker than the 17:05 he posted in taking fourth place last fall.

Altogether, the League II champion Arrows placed five runners in the championship race's top 50, with Ryan Scarpelli (32nd; 17:40), Phil Rascona (42nd; 17:52) and Zach Patsy (48th; 17:55) all posting solid times. Oddly enough, the average time for last year's county championship team (17:21) was 13 seconds slower than what Sachem ran Tuesday (17:08). In fact, the Arrows' average was quicker than both teams in the top three – Connetquot averaged a 17:15 while Smithtown came in at 17:27.

"That tells us two things," Orenzo said. "One, we're fast, and two, the competition is definitely more intense."

North Boys Get Set For State Qualifiers

Sachem North primed itself for next week's state qualifier, at which its top seven runners will participate.

On Tuesday, Colin Eberhardt was among the Flaming Arrows who jumped out to a lead on the opening straightaway, and the junior continued the torrid pace to place 10th in the race with a time of 18:26. Another junior, Brandon Hayes, crossed the line in 18:47 to finish in 17th place.

Also placing in the top 50 in the race were sophomores Greg Coleman (25th; 18:54) and Chris Penteck (39th; 19:14). North's top four finishers were all underclassmen.

"The young guys ran well and got experience in a big meet," head coach Billy Holl said. "We wanted to finish as high as we could in the division."

Holl added that North's goal for Friday is to post a five-man average under 18:30.