The heat was on in more ways than one for the Mattituck and Southold runners at the state cross country qualifiers on Wednesday.
Beyond their challengers at Sunken Meadow State Park, the athletes were forced to cope with temperatures that soared to a rather unseasonable 77 degrees.
It resulted in lower times than usual for just about everyone.
“Incredibly hot day” said Southold boys coach Karl Himmelmann. “It was a tough day of racing in these temperatures.”
Still, eight North Fork runners qualified for the state championship in Queensbury on Saturday, Nov. 16.
Six Tuckers made the grade – seventh-grader Diego Rodriguez (19:43.60), finished second overall, Marlowe Collamore (20:31.50) and Logan Carr (20:51.60) made the top-10 in Class C boys, along with senior Georgia Buckley (22:24.20), who finished second among the girls, eighth-grader Rachel Kubetz (24:44.80) who came in sixth, and and Ruby Villani (25:23.00) took ninth place among the girls..
Three Settlers qualified — sophomores Ryan Duffy (19:12.80) and Liam O’Neil (20:26.40) in the Class D boys division, as well as sophomore Emily Kaelin (23:37.20) in the girls group.
The hot topic of the day was the heat and how to beat it.
“I’ve done better, but the heat is another thing,” Rodriguez said.
“It was pretty hot. It wasn’t a [personal record],” Buckley said. “I planned for this to be a very cool day. I was expecting maybe in the 40s, maybe 50s. But when the weather came out to be this hot, I was a little bit disappointed. I was nervous that it was going to impact my race.”
They weren’t the only competitors who were affected.
“I don’t think I was expecting the heat to affect my time as much as it did,” Kaelin said. “I was really far away from my PR, a minute off.”
“I’m happy about how I placed,” Duffy said. “My time was off, probably partly due to the temperature. Just not a great run today. I’m looking to do the best I can at the states.”
Hydration was the key, even well before the race.
“I was trying to drink water, just hydrate smartly,” Duffy said. “Yesterday we were off from school, so I just had as much water that I could, just trying to be hydrated. Same thing with earlier today. I was drinking as much water as I could.”
Buckley had similar thoughts.
“Nobody loves to force themselves to drink water, but that’s more important than anything, especially to prevent any type of injury, too,” Buckley said.
“I drank a lot of water to make sure I was hydrated, which is something I usually forget to do, but I remembered to hydrate,” Kaelin said.
Each competitor will prepare for the upstate elements. The forecast calls for a high of 47 degrees in Queensbury next Saturday.
“I had some experience with the temperature last year at the state meet, which I think will definitely help prepare me for this,” Duffy said. “Pack stuff I can take off before the race, so I’m all warm and ready. And the same thing as this, to an extent. Just eat well, hydrate well, and prepare my body as best as I can.”
Kaelin said that she will “probably wear a long sleeve shirt to make sure I’m not too cold.”
Kubetz will run in her first state championship, “which is so great,” Buckley said.
“She has so much enthusiasm,” she added. “I wouldn’t pick anybody else to do this with. She’ll keep the energy going no matter how cold it is. She’ll keep us warm.”
Then there are those who thrive in such weather.
“When it’s cold, I’m shivering. I take off to a jump start, and I go faster,” said Rodriguez, who has enjoyed a terrific first season.
“Always, I want more of myself, but I am proud of myself that I am going to states,” he said. “I could have done better this season. It was my first one. I’m learning more on how to run smart.”
The Mattituck (33 points) boys finished second to Class C champion Southampton (22), as did Southold (55) to Port Jefferson (15) in Class D. The Tuckers girls (32) took second behind Center Moriches (24.)
Other Mattituck racers included Colin Fitzgerald (21:37.20), Tyler Malkush (21:51.20), Matt Rosato (23:52.70) and Gavyn Drago (24:28.9). Mattituck girls included Ever Meyer (26:00.20), Madelyn Mignone (26:01.50), Haley Lake (26:41.50) and Jillian Fogarty (28:29.10).
William Sommo (20:45.30), Kyan Olsen (20:54.80), Ryan Luhrs (21:26.70), Aidan Volosik (21:30.90) and Arin McGilvray (22:19.30) rounded out the Southold squad.