Sports

Cross Country: Section XI overturns Mattituck’s loss into win

ROBERT O’ROURK PHOTO | Mattituck junior Kaylee Bergen helped lead the Tuckers to two wins Tuesday afternoon.

What was originally reported as a loss for the Mattituck girls cross country team after a meet Tuesday afternoon was changed to a win after a successful appeal to Section XI, Mattituck coach Jean Mahoney said.

The girls were racing against two teams at Indian Island — Center Moriches and Hampton Bays — and amid the confusion of runners all crossing the finish line around the same time, the order of finish was incorrectly reported at first.

The score against Center Moriches was originally reported as a tie, with Center Moriches winning based on the finish of the team’s sixth runner.

Mahoney said she, an assistant coach and parent were keeping track of scores and times. A parent from Center Moriches keeping score believed there were two girls who finished before Mattituck’s fifth runner, Mahoney said.

That led to a discrepancy over the order of finish, which determines the score. Each of the top five runners for each team score points based on where they finish. The lowest score is 15, if the team has five runners all cross first.

Mahoney said she spoke with Mattituck athletic director Gregg Wormuth, who filed the appeal with Section XI — the governing body for Suffolk County sports. And the ruling came back in Mattituck’s favor, lifting the girls to a 3-1 record in League VII. The score was determined to be 27-28 Mattituck. Mattituck beat Hampton Bays in the same meet, 16-39.

Mahoney said the impact has to do with determining which team ends up running in the divisional meet. The top two teams in the league earn a spot in the championship race of the division meet. Mattituck is now in second place behind Bayport-Blue Point (4-0).

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