Garden City junior Charles White won the boys race in a personal best and North Shore freshman Brianna Welch ran the fastest girls time on record at the meet.
BETHPAGE, N.Y. — Garden City junior Charles White won the boys race at the Section VIII cross country State Qualifier at Bethpage in 15:46.1, a personal best and the second-fastest time on record on the course. North Shore freshman Brianna Welch won the girls race in 18:28.4, the fastest girls time on record at the meet.
White won by 17.8 seconds over Valley Stream Central junior Kevon Carter, who ran a personal best of 16:03.9. Port Washington senior Richard Schmitz was third in 16:08.5, also a personal best. White also won the meet in 2004 as a freshman, in 16:18.7. His time this year was the fastest of the season on the course; only Syosset's Mark Alizzi, in 15:40.1 in 2002, has run faster at the meet.
Welch's 18:28.4 beat the previous best of 18:28.7, set by East Meadow's Brittney Criscuolo in 2002. She won by 5.9 seconds over Mepham junior Courtney Kelly, who ran a personal best of 18:34.3. Roslyn freshman Emily Lipari was third in 18:42.5, a personal best by 24.2 seconds. Welch had finished second at the meet in 2004 as a seventh-grader, in 19:15.3.
Wantagh won the boys team title with 104 points, ahead of Syosset with 116 and Oceanside with 132. East Meadow won the girls team title with 124 points, followed by Mepham with 143 and Wantagh with 162.
The boys race had 203 finishers and the girls race 198.