Girls Easterns
Individual Winner - Kennedy Weisner (Elk County Catholic) - 14:09.7
Breakdown
Rematch. It was what on everyone's minds heading into the girls Easterns Race. That is, everyone except the teams involved. Their focus is one race at a time, take on any challengers, regardless. Unionville and Fayetteville-Manlius had met once before, two weeks past at the McQuaid Invitational. Unionville had ran exceptionally well, garnerning speed ratings akin to the national title teams of FM of the past. The Hornets had had an off day in the early season, still ahead of the rest of New York, but trailed thirty points behind in the team competition. Now, in a much bigger race, along with Assumption, KY, another nationally ranked team, all three squads were looking to improve. Unionville and FM would trade finishers, each trading off spots finishing ahead of the other team. Like a fine wine, Fayetteville-Manlius had improved with time, bringing up the back three that had dropped off at McQuaid. Van Cortlandt can be unforgiving for pack running teams, as race density can seperate you from your teammates. However, Unionville kept within sight of eachother, and pushed wire-to-wire, and crossed the line one by one, the team scores still undecided. It was going to be close, closer than McQuaid, but nobody was sure how much. Then the results came. Three points seperated the two teams, again in Unionville's favor. They had clinched the Eastern States title.
There was another story for Uniondale. Fresh off a commitment to Harvard, Courtney Smith was gearing up for a race she wouldn't get again. Kennedy Weisner, a fellow PA'er from Elk County Catholic, have been playing race tag, a varient of phone tag, all season. The two would make some of the same meets, but because of school size, would always be in different divisions. Their state meets differ from eachother, and the pair will be split up at Nationals, with Smith's Unionville pursuing NXN, and Kennedy Weisner returning to Foot Locker Regionals. This would be the only time the two would race on the dirt trails. Smith had fallen one second short of Weisner's course record at McQuaid from the previous year, but so had Weisner herself. The two were ready to take on the best. The pair would pull away early, stringing out the competitiors behind them. Unbeknownst to them, a new face in the front crowd was making her way up to meet them. Autumn Eastman of Champlain Valley VT had run VCP twice before, taking 13th in easterns the year before. Now, she was on a mission, moving through competitors around her she wasn't used to seeing back home. At the two mile mark, Eastwood was still coming closer, now in third behind Weisner, the leader, and Smith, the chaser. The trio surged once on the flats, Weisner pulling away, Eastman trailing Smith. Kennedy Weisner would cross the line in 14:09.7, going #7 All-Time on the course. Eastman would take second, just three seconds ahead of the eventual team champions. A hard fought race for all.
More Videos
 US#2 Unionville 89-92 over FM |
 Autumn Eastman - Easterns Girls 2nd |
Team Champs
TOPTEAMS: Points: 89 3 Courtney Smith 12 Unionville 14:26.0 3 143.51 144 6 Olivia Young 11 Unionville 14:40.4 6 138.13 138 16 Kacie Breeding 10 Unionville 15:07.5 16 128.01 128 29 Elizabeth Edwards 09 Unionville 15:26.8 29 120.81 121 35 Emily Fisher 12 Unionville 15:35.7 35 117.48 117 40 Gretchen Mills 11 Unionville 15:42.8 40 114.84 115 52 Bridgette Zerbe 11 Unionville 15:59.7 52 108.52 109 Points: 92 5 annika avery 11 Fayetteville 14:28.4 5 142.61 143 9 Alana Pearl 12 Fayetteville 14:49.8 9 134.62 135 14 jenna farrell 10 Fayetteville 15:04.1 14 129.29 129 26 Jessica Howe 11 Fayetteville 15:18.2 26 124.02 124 38 Reilly Madsen 09 Fayetteville 15:40.3 38 115.77 116 48 megan menz 10 Fayetteville 15:53.4 48 110.87 111 60 olivia ryan 11 Fayetteville 16:05.1 60 106.51 107 Points: 146 18 Emily Bean 12 Assumption 15:08.4 18 127.67 128 25 Bailey Davis 12 Assumption 15:17.5 25 124.28 124 32 Abbie Wright 11 Assumption 15:32.8 32 118.57 119 34 Sarah Crawford 10 Assumption 15:35.3 34 117.64 118 37 Kenzley Defler 12 Assumption 15:39.5 37 116.07 116 53 Kate Crawford 12 Assumption 16:00.9 53 108.07 108 113 Katherine Receveur 12 Assumption 17:01.1 113 85.61 86 Points: 159 13 Olivia Sargent 10 Pennsbury 15:03.6 13 129.47 129 19 Erica Gray 12 Pennsbury 15:09.7 19 127.19 127 24 Hannah Molloy 10 Pennsbury 15:15.4 24 125.06 125 33 Meri Twomey 10 Pennsbury 15:34.5 33 117.93 118 70 Bailey Balmer 10 Pennsbury 16:14.4 70 103.03 103 93 Maddie Sauer 10 Pennsbury 16:40.4 93 93.33 93 121 Anna Cruser 11 Pennsbury 17:17.8 121 79.37 79
Girls Letter A
Individual Winner - Katie Lembo (Penfield) - 14:28.0
Breakdown
Katie Lembo (Penfield) does well at Van Cortlandt Park. It was this same venue last year where she sealed her ticket to San Diego, as she qualified for the Foot Locker National Championships. Returning for the first time in 2013, Lembo proved the course was hers, as she dominated the "A Race," putting her at a time of 14:28. The mark, which would be the fifth fastest of the day in any race, lead her team to the trophy as well, with a thirty point gap over the next challenger. This could be a sign of good things to come, maybe even a return to sunny San Diego.
Team Champs
1 Penfield 98 1 18 21 26 32 42 43
Total Time: 1:19:34.70
Average: 15:54.94
2 Clovis West 129 6 10 12 35 66 144 185
Total Time: 1:21:11.00
Average: 16:14.20
3 Tappan Zee 171 3 17 24 31 96 103 135
Total Time: 1:21:59.10
Average: 16:23.82
Girls Letter B
Individual Winner - Beatrice Boylan (Cornwall) - 15:12.6
Breakdown
Junior Beatrice Boylan of Cornwall called the race a mix of the familiar, and the unknown. Well traveled for a team in Section 9, Boylan has raced against the unknown many times this season. Luckily, she had the familiar singlet colors of Bronxville, to run with. Boylan seperated through the back hills, pushing the pace, and broke the crowd on the flats. She would cruise home in 15:12.6. And it was that familiar sound of "Bronxville has won the team title" that the crowd would hear from the announcer, as their 16:03 average was impressive from a school of about only 300 kids.
Team Champs
Video Lost Sound 1 Bronxville 115 3 20 27 29 36 43 46 Total Time: 1:20:17.50 Average: 16:03.50 2 Colonie 131 9 11 34 35 42 50 68 Total Time: 1:20:39.80 Average: 16:07.96 3 Cornwall 166 1 10 37 55 63 93 108 Total Time: 1:21:16.00 Average: 16:15.20 4 Lowell 169 2 26 31 38 72 Total Time: 1:21:30.50 Average: 16:18.10
Girls Letter C
Individual Winner - Mackenzie Barry (West Morris Mendham) - 14:58.2
Breakdown
Mackenzie Barry of NJ got out early. Heading to the bridge, she had already created a ten second gap. Running the back hills as if alone, Barry emerged at the two mile mark with an even larger lead. Her efforts rewarded her with a twenty second margin of victory at the finish line, with her mark of 14:58.2. Behind her, Rumson-Fair Haven was busy with their own race, winning the team title with three in the top ten.
Team Champs
1 Rumson-Fair Haven 74 3 6 9 23 33 52 55
Total Time: 1:20:18.30
Average: 16:03.66
2 Padua 113 5 18 25 29 36 90
Total Time: 1:21:57.70
Average: 16:23.54
3 Monroe Woodbury 126 11 17 26 27 45 56 100
Total Time: 1:22:13.50
Average: 16:26.70
Girls Letter D
Individual Winner - Eve Glasergreen (North Hunterdon) - 15:05.7
Breakdown
Anything can happen in an XC race. Coming down the finish chute, Kate Zendell of Suffern had a lead on the pack. Then, with 50m to go, her legs gave out for a split second, causing her to trip. Eventual race winner Eve Glasergreen of North Hunterdon saw the opening, and surged past to the line, taking the individual honors. But Zendell's efforts were not in vain, as she recovered to a sixth place finish, leading her team in a win by a fairly decent margin.
Team Champs
1 Suffern 67 6 10 15 17 19 75 98
Total Time: 1:19:14.50
Average: 15:50.90
2 Walter Johnson 106 11 13 21 23 38 86 100
Total Time: 1:20:45.20
Average: 16:09.04
3 North Hunterdon 170 1 5 48 52 64 83 117
Total Time: 1:21:46.60
Average: 16:21.32
4 Rush-Henrietta 172 2 4 33 63 70 89 101
Total Time: 1:21:47.90
Average: 16:21.58
5 Shaker 172 8 26 37 41 60 108
Total Time: 1:22:34.40
Average: 16:30.88
Girls Letter E
Individual Winner - Briana Gess (Haddonfield) - 14:28.9
Breakdown
Freshmen Briana Gess of NJ was the suprise mark of the meet. Her time puts her seventh overall, as well as the top placing freshmen of the day. She was able to find pacing from Foot Locker Finalist Marissa Saenger of Clarence, then took off in the approach to the 2-mile mark. She would pull away down the finish line, Saenger in tow. It wasn't a bad for Clarence either, as they wrapped up the team title by a 20 point margin.
Team Champs
1 Clarence 97 2 9 22 28 36 50 92
Total Time: 1:18:51.20
Average: 15:46.24
2 Lincoln-Sudbury 121 4 12 18 27 60 66 87
Total Time: 1:19:58.90
Average: 15:59.78
3 North Penn 129 17 19 24 31 38 45 74
Total Time: 1:20:45.90
Average: 16:09.18
4 Guilderland 132 5 11 23 44 49 58 81
Total Time: 1:20:19.20
Average: 16:03.84
Girls Letter F
Individual Winner - Kelly Hayes (Pearl River) - 15:03.7
Breakdown
This was the first time Kelly Hayes had run in an invitation in New York all season. She had been busy at Briarwood and Six Flags in the early season. She cruised at VCP earlier in the month at a developmental meet, then helped her team put their name at the top of the rankings with her League meet performance. Now, ready to run, Hayes did just that, putting a gap of thirty seconds in front of second place. Her team would also get the lowest team score of the day, an almost impossible 33 points. This bodes well for the Pearl River Pirates.
Team Champs
1 Pearl River 33 1 5 7 9 11 14 20
Total Time: 1:18:38.80
Average: 15:43.76
2 Syosset 110 2 8 28 35 37 72 78
Total Time: 1:22:08.90
Average: 16:25.78
3 Sachem East 144 13 16 17 48 50 61 62
Total Time: 1:23:02.10
Average: 16:36.42
4 North Rockland 152 15 18 34 36 49 57 136
Total Time: 1:23:36.30
Average: 16:43.26