State Title Punctuates Cross Country Season

It’s rare (read “almost never”) that they grab the back-page headlines, not with fall competition from the likes of football and soccer, but the Bayport-Blue Point boys cross country team has quietly won a league, division and Suffolk County title.            

Again.            

Winning a county title is big news. But if you follow Phantom cross country, it’s not earthquake-level news. Seems it happens almost always.            

“We’ve enjoyed a tradition of success,” said coach Roger Kauffman, rather modestly. He should know. He began coaching the Bayport boys cross country team in 1974; since 1988, his teams have won 13 Suffolk County titles.            

This year, the Phantoms ran through their competition, going a perfect 5-0 in League VII dual meets, winning the league,  and picking up the New York State Class B championship. Along the way, they enjoyed victories at the Penn State and Manhattan invitationals.            

The Phantoms were led by two seniors, Connor Crowley and Joe Ray, with seniors Erich Grosse and Jeff Byrne, junior John D’Ambrosio, and sophomores John Antonacci and Adam LaFemina providing important depth in a sport where victory not only depends on who finishes first, but also who finishes last.            

“Cross country is a real team sport. You can have the top runner, but if your five runner is not good, you won’t win any meets,” Kauffman said. (In cross country meets, runners are assigned points based on the order they finish. The top runner gets one point. The runner who finishes in 10th place gets 10 points. The team with the least number of points wins.)            

Often earning a single point was Crowley. “He was our number one kid all year,” said Kauffman, who coached Crowley’s dad, Jim, in the mid 70s. Jim Crowley is currently cross country coach at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue. “Connor is probably the third or fourth best runner I’ve ever coached. Every year, since his freshman year, he’s improved,” Kauffman added.            

As a freshman, Ray ran for St. John the Baptist High School in West Islip, but transferred back to Bayport as a sophomore. “He’s been our number two runner the last couple of years,” Kauffman said. “He’s been a real leader in the workouts. He pushes the pace. By the end of this season, he really came on.”            

During a typical 12-week summer period, runners routinely put in between 30 – 40 miles per week. But once the school year begins, that number increases to more than 50 – 60 miles weekly. Most runners also compete in winter and spring track. It’s a lot to ask of his athletes, but having a tradition of winning helps Kauffman reel in potential runners.            

“We have a lot of tradition. A winning program is going to get us the best endurance kids in the school,” he said. Kauffman credits Eric Muller, James Wilson Young Middle School cross country coach, with playing a major role in the success of the program.            

“He gets the kids out, both the boys and girls. He turns them on to the sport, gets them hooked, where some other coaches turn the kids off,” Kauffman said.            

As successful as Kauffman has been, he himself never ran cross country. “When I was at Penn State [running track] I roomed with a cross country runner.” That got Kauffman paying attention to cross country. “Later, when I started coaching track, I knew I needed distance runners.”            

And so began his cross country coaching career. And the rest is history. Even if it’s not necessarily back-page news.