East Aurora and Bronxville Square Off in Epic Showdown for Supremacy of the C
Overview
They are two of NY's smallest, yet extremely successful girls teams and they have been together at States in the same year 15 times before. Between them, they have won 18 States titles, and their coaches have celebrated a total of 26 championships with their teams. When Bronxville and East Aurora finally meet there for the first time this Saturday in Canton, the heat generated may produce an Indian summer in that near-polar region that melts away any forecasted snow drifts.
Jim Mitchell has a few years on his East Aurora counterpart Walt McLaughlin and all of his titles have come with the Bronxville girls, while McLaughlin has racked up titles with girls and boys both at Beaver River and East Aurora. When the two teams meet in the Class C race at States as heavy co-favorites, both the coaches will be proud, slightly bemused, and active cheerleaders standing on the sidelines while their girls make all the decisions about who will be hoisting the biggest trophy.
The last time the two coaches competed against each other at States was back in 1998 when the Beaver River girls earned McLaughlin his first States girls title at the same time that his guys were claiming their 5th title in six years. Mitchell's Bronxville girls finished 35 points behind the Beavers and in 5th, the third time in four years they had trailed McLaughlin's team by a lot in the States C races. At that point, 15 years had passed since the Broncos' then sole championship in 1983.
But oh how have things changed for both coaches since 1998. By the next year, McLaughlin had returned to coach in his boyhood hometown of East Aurora and was setting up plans to eventually conquer Class B. Meanwhile, with 1999's change from a three to a four class system, Bronxville dropped down to the tiny Class D, and they were off and running behind the stellar twins Catha and Caroline Mullen, and Michelle Rorke to an era of excellence during wich they would take 11 state championships in 15 years to up their haul to a solid dozen. Entering the 2014 season the Broncos have been on a 6-year roll at States, spent mainly in Class C after a move up.
After laboring behind the B behometh Honeoye Falls-Lima during its 7-year reign from 1998 to 2004 and losing by a point in that final year, McLaughlin's East Aurora teams finally discovered the secret sauce and ran to 6 straight States B championships from 2005 to 2010 in the 5-class era. Then the 2011 reclassification mashed the Blue Devils together with former Class A teams and the States winning streak came to an end. But in 2012 after finishing 2nd by 28 points to Holy Names at States, East Aurora surged to an unexpected qualification spot in the Nike Cross Nationals - NY race and then a flabbergasting 4th at NXN out in Portland to finish as the top small team in the nation. This year the Blue Devils dropped down to Class C along with a strong Westhill team from Section 3, and Bronxville's old sparring partner Greenwich from Section 2 moved up to C from Class D. So a penthouse in the C sector that was reserved for Bronxville since 2008 now has a bunch of teams clamoring to get in.
But out in front all season in Class C, undefeated East Aurora and reigning champ Bronxville have been working to build their lineups, pretty sure that paths would converge at a States head-to-head. Last Friday and Saturday clinched that outcome. Since the two teams are separated by the width of a state and haven't gotten together to sharpen up the spikes on each other, we are providing the Battle of the XC Titans scorecards.
Prediction: This race could be close -- (and the limb I was on while typing that just broke off) .
Special thanks to the East Aurora team Facebook posters. Great stuff.
Skip To
Bronxville Team Breakdown
East Aurora Team Breakdown
The Coaches Corner
Showdown Scorecard
| Tale of the Finishing Tape | ||
| Bronxville Girls | East Aurora Girls | |
| Section | 1 | 6 |
| State championships won | 12 | 6 |
| Sectional championships won | 28 | 16 |
| State individual champions | 2 (Mary Cain 2010, 2011) | 1 (Catherine Lusardi 2007) |
| Top 10 placements by runners | 33 | 18 |
| Longest States winning streak | 6 (2008-2013) | 6 (2005-2010) |
| TR team speed rating | 111.2 | 114.0 |
| Varsity lineup | Kaitlin Ryan (126), Delia Hayes (122), Olivia Scotti (110), Hilary Rizzo (110), Carlie Hoffer (97), Lindsay Nobles (92), Gigi Chrappa (87) | Sophia Tasselmyer (134), Fiona Danieu (123), Maisy Webster (115), Elizabeth O'Brien (104), Hannah Weppner (94), Molly McLaughlin (88), Victoria Klimowicz (85) |
| Jim Mitchell's Bronxville Girls Teams | Walt McLaughlin's Beaver River and East Aurora Girls and Boys Teams | |
| Years coaching XC | 36 (1979-2014) | 25 (1990-1998 at Beaver River, 1999-2014 at East Aurora) |
| State championships won | 12 | 14 (EA Girls - 6, EA Boys - 2, BR Girls - 1, BR Boys - 5) |
| State girls championships won | 12 | 7 (EA Girls - 6, BR Girls - 1) |
| Sectional championships won | 28 | 38 (EA Girls - 14, EA Boys - 11, BR Girls - 4, BR Boys - 9) |
| State individual champions | 2 (Mary Cain 2010, 2011) | 3 (Mike Walseman (BR) 1996, Aaron Emery (BR) 1998, (Catherine Lussardi (EA) 2007) |
| Top 10 placements by runners | 33 | 38 (EA Girls - 15, EA Boys - 8, BR Girls - 3, BR Boys - 12) |
| Team runner-up | 4 | 8 (EA Girls - 2, EA Boys - 2, BR Girls - 2, BR Boys - 2) |
| Jim Mitchell's Bronxville Girls Teams | Walt McLaughlin's East Aurora and Beaver River Girls Teams | |
| Won by 5 or less points / 10 or less points | 5 / 6 | 1 (at Beaver River) / 2 |
| Lost by 5 or less points / 10 or less points | 1 / 1 | 3 / 4 |
| Average margin in wins | 13.6 | 18.0 |
| Average margin in losses | 57.0 | 27.9 |
| Closest win | 2 points (54-56 over Tully in 1999) | 4 points (Beaver River 85-89 over Canastota in 1998) |
| Closest loss | 2 points (Finished 3rd in 77-77-79 score behind Tri-Valley and Silver Creek in 1988) | 1 point (55-56 behind Honeoye Falls-Lima in 2004) |