Fifty One Schools and 1591 Runners Attend 26th Annual Marathon X Country Invitational
Saturday, the Marathon Central School District will welcome some 1600 runners and fifty one schools to their spectator friendly 5000 Meter Cross Country Course at Appleby Elementary School.
The athletes will run in one of 10 races at the Modified, Varsity, or Junior Varsity level. The race schedule is as follows: 9:15 Modified Small Girls Race, 9:35 Modified Large Boys Race, 9:55 Modified Large Girls Race, 10:15 Modified Small Boys Race, 10:35 Boys Varsity Unseeded Race, 11:00 Boys Varsity Seeded Race, 11:20 Girls Varsity Unseeded, 11:50 Girls Varsity Seeded, 12:15 Boys Junior Varsity and 12:40 Girls Junior Varsity.
The boys varsity seeded race is wide open, with no completely dominant team. West Genesee and Carthage will be traveling to Section 4 to face off against Elmira, Maine Endwell, and Owego. The overwhelming favorite individually is Noah Affolder (Carthage), currently ranked 7th overall in NY. Should he falter, there will be an elite pack fighting for the podium places behind him that will take advantage of any weakness. Leading the local runners will be 2013 winner Dan Schaffer (Maine Endwell), Ben Cardamone (Elmira), McQuaid winnner Ben Eisenhut (Lansing), Richard Buchanan (Sus Valley), and Micah Page (Horseheads). They will be challenged by David Leff (West Genesee) and the 2nd Carthage brother Sam Affolder.
The unseeded race will feature a number of strong small school teams. Marathon ran well at McQuaid, and will look to impress on their home course. Joining them in the fight for team honors will be Dryden, Windsor, Chenango Forks, Homer, Chenango Valley, and Windsor. Barring any major difficulties, the Elmira Notre Dame duo of McQuaid champ Garrett Butters and Matt Karee will lead this race and earn the top 2 spots by a decent margin. The group behind will be much larger than the seeded race. The Top 3-20 spots could go in any direction. The pack behind will be led by Dylan Brickner (Marathon), Kyle Holmes (Spencer VanEtten), Darren O’Strander (Groton) Mike George (Chenango Forks), and Collin Traub (Waverly). The unknown factor in this race will be the large school entries. Ithaca, Owego, and Horseheads have the depth on their varsity squads to have a major impact on this race with their Varsity B teams.
Highlighting the girls varsity seeded race will be the NY #1 and US #5 ranked Elmira girls squad. They will be led by NY #3 Abbey Wheeler, who is running well off a course record at the Bob Greene Invite. An exciting battle will play out between her and NY #5 ranked Carly Benson (West Genesee). The group behind will feature Elmira’s pack and a number of quality runners. The top returners from 2013 are 7th place seeded finisher McKayla Crawford (Homer) and unseeded champion Kaylee Stone (Windsor), who is moving up to the seeded race. Stone has been running well all season, and right on her heels will be Emily Mackay (Union Endicott), Kayla Stewart (Newark Valley), Cambria Weeden (Watkins Glen), Carissa Russell (Candor), and Abbey Yatsko (Dryden).
On the unseeded side, with many of the top small schools moving up to the seeded race, the race is open for one of the following teams to step up into the spotlight: Chenango Forks, Groton, Lansing, Delhi, Waverly, Seton Catholic, and Elmira Notre Dame. Chase Yoder (END) will lead the race against some familiar competition. Kaylee Uhl and Kelsey Frank head an improving Waverly team. Also up near the front will be Jamie Farrell (Seton Catholic), Leah Forehand (Groton), and Katie Flynn (Chenango Forks). Coming off a win on Tuesday at the Whitney Point Invite, Emily Cluck (Johnson City) will look to keep her win streak going. Article written by Travis Miller, Milesplit NY for Section 4.