BY BOB LIEPA | SPORTS EDITOR
KINGS PARK -- Katie Skinner didn't look too happy after crossing the finish line, but the Riverhead High School senior later explained that it wasn't a matter of her being unhappy, just fatigued. She was tired, and for good reason.
Skinner had just completed 3.1 miles on one of high school cross-country's most demanding courses, Sunken Meadow State Park. She posted a personal-best time in her final high school race on the course Friday, 19 minutes flat. It was good enough to bring her third place in the Class AA race of the Section XI Championships and earn her a place in the New York State Championships that will be run Nov. 14 at SUNY/Plattsburgh. It was the first of 11 races Skinner ran this season that she did not win.
"I wanted a better time, but . . ." said Skinner, who was aiming for something closer to 18:50.
The top three runners in the race finished within eight seconds of each other. Brigid Brennan, a sophomore from Northport, won in 18:52.60. Ali Foote of West Islip was second in 18:59.10.
A couple of weeks earlier on this same course, Skinner was a winner in the division championships, clocking a time of 19:05.
On Friday, Skinner was at the head of the pack at the start and held the lead until about halfway through the race.
"She's a frontrunner," Riverhead Coach Kevin Brennan said. "She likes to get up to at least the top five in the race. That's her strategy. Maybe she got out a little stronger than normal today because of the hype of this race, but other than that, I think she ran a great race."
A former soccer player in only her third cross-country season, Skinner was an all-county runner the past two years. She is undefeated in league dual meets over the past two years. Over the past year, she has sliced about 90 seconds off her time, according to Brennan.
"She's very driven, very focused," the Riverhead coach said. "She has natural talent, but she does a lot of hard training. The combination of the two really paid off for her."
Southold junior Ivy Croteau and Mattituck freshman Sara Paparatto also punched tickets to Plattsburgh.
Croteau said it was her ambition to earn one of the plaques awarded to the top 10 runners in Class D. Well, she assured herself of that by winning and booking her third straight appearance in the state meet. Croteau described it as "the best thing I've ever done."
Croteau's main concern was Keriann Fitzpatrick of Pierson. But Croteau was the first Class D runner to cross the finish line in 22:16.80, her fastest time on the course by about 15 seconds. Fitzpatrick, the runner-up, followed her in 22:42.40.
"I knew she had the sheer willpower and determination to do this, and she did it," Southold Coach Charlie Turner said. "She's been working hard to do this. She told me she wanted to be a [Class D] champion, and I said, 'You need to go for it,' and she did it."
Aside from Croteau, two other Southold runners competed. Shelby Pickerell was 15th in 26:47.60, and Katie Saporita was 21st in 32:10.10.
Paparatto finished eighth in Class C in 23:33.40, smashing her personal-best time on the course by almost a minute. Southampton eighth-grader Erika Gulija won in 21:01.20.
Was Paparatto, who is in her first year on the team, expecting to qualify for the state meet?
"I knew I was going to be close to it," she said, "but I didn't know how close I was going to get to it."
Mattituck Coach Jean Mahoney had told Paparatto to pass as many runners from Class C teams as possible during the race, which also included Class B and Class D runners. "She really ran her own race today and she pushed it," said Mahoney.
Mattituck was also represented in the meet by Savanna Campbell (20th in 25:27.20), Megan Finn (21st in 25:32.70), Katie Barry (25th in 27:18.80), Yuliya Palianok (26th in 28:02.10) and Carley Nolan (28th in 29:50.00).
In the Class AA race, two Riverhead ers coming off injuries, Julianna Marcucci and Sarah Governale, nearly crossed the finish line at precisely the same time. Marcucci was 50th in 21:49.20, and Governale was 51st in 21:50.90.
bliepa@timesreview.com
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