Deer Park Girls Cross-Country Team Wins League Championship

DEER PARK, NY — Deer Park High School's varsity girls cross-country team recently won the league championship for the first time in the school's history.

The team was led by undefeated league MVP and All-County winner Gianna Marquez along with top scorers All-County winner Kylie Kuhn, All-Division winners Kaliyah Hull and Natalia Lee, and All-League winners Alexa Belotti, Daniella Belotti and Madison Mattera.

"We are tremendously proud of these girls," coach Jim Petti said. "They knew it was a shortened season and understood the work that needed to be put in. Cross-country training should be months in the making and we only had a few weeks."

Last week, the team came in third at the county championship with Marquez coming in eight.

"The energy level of this team was unlike anything I’ve seen before. They were excited and looked forward to each race, especially considering the long layoff the COVID-19 pandemic had forced on us," he said. "We were happy just to be back doing something. Winning the league championship was a nice bonus."

They missed out on the county championship by just 0.27 seconds.

"Regardless, they worked hard and smart every single day and made sure to do their part. It paid off. That’s the way it goes though, and we couldn’t be prouder. It ended earlier than expected, but the memory of this season will last a lifetime," Petti said. "We said one last goodbye to our seniors who were the biggest catalyst in our success as a team. I thank them for their leadership and compassion. Up next is spring track, but you can bet we are itching to get back at it in September."

Congratulations to the team!