Mattituck runner Marlowe Collamore has eyes set on states

Marlowe Collamore’s goal of qualifying for the state championships Nov. 15 extends beyond himself. He wants the rest of the Tuckers cross country team there too.

“I want to go to the states. I want my team to go to states a lot more than if I was just going to states by myself,” said Collamore, who ran a team-best 15 minutes, seven seconds over a 2.5-mile course (4 kilometers) in a Suffolk County League VIII loss to Bayport-Blue Point (3-1, 3-1) on Tuesday afternoon. “I would kind of feel it would be more disappointing, but I really want the team to go to states because I think we have a shot this year.”

Head coach Chris Robinson hoped so. He has seen improvement in the runners’ times but wants to see more consistency from the Tuckers (3-3, 3-3).

“We’ve got things to still improve on,” he said. “We have to find our niche in this league that we’re in. If we all run our best, we have an opportunity to do great things.”

Robinson thinks the team has to be a little more competitive, but that’s coming. Each week, he feels, they get a little better. “Hopefully we’re peaking at the right time,” he said.

He has also been impressed with Collamore’s performance this fall.

“Marlowe is kind of separating himself as being one of the top runners in the class,” Robinson said. “Marlowe is a worker. He has goals that are attainable. He’s getting better every single week. We want him to peak at the right time. You don’t want him to peak early. He puts in the time. He puts in the work. His goals he’ll reach. He’ll get the states, but he obviously wants the team to go. That’s the goal for him.

“He stepped up and had a little bit more of a leadership role this year. They look up to him. They follow him. That’s a new position for him. He’s an 11th-grader. Last year he was in 10th, where we had some seniors that were leading. We only have a couple seniors this year, but with his abilities, he is becoming that natural leader. He’s doing a really good job of that.”

Since Mattituck is a 90-minute ride from Sunken Meadow in Kings Park, the team doesn’t get an opportunity to run there as often as its runners would like. Tuesday was valuable opportunity to prepare for the two most important races at the park.

The Section XI Division Championship is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 27, with the state qualifiers taking place on Thursday, Nov. 6.

“This is definitely the hardest course that we run,” Collamore said. “So, it’s good to run on this course with the difficulty level and the hills, too.”

Due to the rain over the weekend, the course was easier to traverse.

Freshman Rachel Kubetz, who finished in 18:36, used the meet as preparation.

“It’s very important for me, because if I know that I can run the course well beforehand, it kind of gives me an extra confidence boost in running the course well on that day,” she said. “I’m familiar with the terrain, so I know when to speed up, when to go catch girls, and I think it’s important for the team, because it gives everyone more confidence.”

Like Collamore, Kubetz wants to go upstate again, after qualifying last year.

“States is pretty important, because I want to go to states every year from eighth grade through 12th grade,” she said. “I also want to PR at states.”

Kubetz finds herself in a unique situation as the only female on the squad. Last year the Tuckers had eight girls.

“It’s not horribly different than being with all the girls,” she said. “[The boys] are faster, so it gives you motivation to go catch them. And they’re all very nice and respectful, too.”