QUEENSBURY — Eastport-South Manor junior Maddie Laezza has spent the last two months as the surprise of the Long Island cross country scene. On Saturday, she was the surprise of the state.

Laezza placed second in 17 minutes, 15.2 seconds in the Class B 5-kilometer race at the public school state championships at Queensbury High School. Her performance ranked third in the merged results, qualifying her for the state Federation championships, scheduled for Nov. 22 at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls.

Laezza's race furthered an already historic season of meteoric ascent, as she had never run cross country before this year — just indoor and outdoor track and field. She was a soccer player most of her life, and was still on ESM’s varsity team at the start of the fall season. In mid-Septe

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