EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — April 17, 2021 — East Meadow's Zachary Van Houten ran the fastest boys time at the Section VIII NYSPHSAA Cross Country County Champs, a personal-best 15:19.23, and Jericho's Ana Markovina ran the fastest girls time in a personal-best 17:58.76. Port Washington topped the combined boys team standings with 72 points, and Syosset topped the girls standings with 90.
Van Houten finished 9.23 seconds ahead of Massapequa's Vincent Simonetti, who ran a personal-best 15:28.46, in a combined field of 178 boys. Great Neck South's Eric Shu was third in a personal-best 15:48.66. Van Houten cut 22.16 seconds off his previous season best of 15:41.39, and Simonetti improved by 25.45 seconds.
Markovina won the girls standings by 22.2 seconds over Massapequa's Alexandra Stasichin, who ran a personal-best 18:20.96, in a field of 164. Markovina's time improved her season best of 18:16.90 by 18.14 seconds. Hempstead's Rene'E Newton was third in a personal-best 19:08.64.
Port Washington finished ahead of Oceanside (101) and Calhoun (126) in the boys standings. The girls team race was closer, as Syosset edged East Meadow (94) and South Side (122).
It was the first edition of the meet on record.
Winners
| Race | Individual | Time | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sectional Merge - Boys | Zachary Van HoutenEast Meadow | 15:19.23 | ||
| Sectional Merge - Girls | Ana MarkovinaJericho | 17:58.76 |
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