Roslyn senior Emily Lipari and Port Washington senior Marco Bertolotti both defended their titles at Bethpage, and North Shore repeated as girls team champion.
BETHPAGE, N.Y. — Roslyn senior Emily Lipari won the girls 5K at the Section VIII State Qualifier in 17:59.9, her third straight title at the meet after winning in 2007 and 2008. Port Washington senior Marco Bertolotti defended his boys title in 15:55.1, a personal best and the third-fastest time on record on the Bethpage course.
Lipari won by 16.2 seconds over North Shore sophomore Samantha Nadel, who ran a personal best of 18:16.1 and finished second for the second year in a row. Massapequa senior Emily Marchini was third in 18:31.6, also a personal best and a big jump from ninth place a year earlier. Lipari's winning time was slower than the 17:43.5 she ran as a sophomore in 2007, which remains the fastest girls time on record at the meet.
Bertolotti won the boys race by 10.9 seconds. Seaford senior Joseph Lasher was second in 16:06.0 and Wantagh senior Nick Filippazzo third in 16:10.1, both personal bests. Lasher had finished eighth in 2008 and Filippazzo 10th. Bertolotti's time was the fastest of the season on the course and improved on the 16:01.9 he ran to win as a junior. The two faster times at the meet belong to Mark Alizzi of Syosset, 15:40.1 in 2002, and Charles White of Garden City, 15:46.1 in 2006.
North Shore won the girls team title with 57 points, repeating as champion, ahead of Syosset with 95 and Massapequa with 96. North Shore also took the Class B title, Syosset repeated in Class AA, Wantagh won Class A with 128 points and Friends Academy won Class C.
The boys race had 172 finishers and the girls race 160.