State of the Action: The race of the year lived up to the hype.  A race of tactics, brute strength, and finishing speed all saw some of the top runners in the country exchanging the lead throughout.  When the gun went off, two major players took off early.  Undefeated Kelsey Chmiel of Saratoga and Manhattan Runner-up Kaitlyn Neal of FM had a gap of 30m by little over the first half mile.  Both had individual glory superseded by the need for crucial team points, representing the top two teams in the country.  The pair stuck together like glue through the first mile, and ran down together into the longest straightaway on the course.  Neal would move to pass, and Chmiel, adjusting to company this late in the race for the first time in her XC career, would move closer to respond.  The jostling for the lead would continue through to second mile, exhausting the pair.

All the while, the second pack was stalking the leaders.  There was something familiar in the scene, with some slight unexpected faces in the mix.  Jessica Lawson and Abbey Wheeler, whom were predicted to be up as high, were joined by two 8th graders.  Mary Hennelly of Suffern was looking to repeat her Rockland Counties performance after taking runner up to fellow 8th Grader Kaitlyn Tuohy at Sectionals.  Alongside those three was also Claire Walters, who had served as FM's second girl at both Manhattan and Sectionals.  It was Walters, the rookie of the field in her first season ever of XC, who recognized the opportunity.  The leaders were fading, her gap decreasing.  She knew both girls in front her, one a teammate, the other the lead scorer for the competition.  Using her stature to her advantage, she attacked the hills with ease, surpassing the pair to come out in the lead on the first plateau of the finish, just meters ahead of Chmiel.  For Lawson, this was the time to go.  Famous for her finishing kick on the track over 3000m, Lawson started the turnover she had been saving.  It was a game of Cat and Mouse for the two leaders, the only safety coming from the finish line.  The trio attacked the downhills, Lawson gaining on every stride.  At 600m to go, heading to the final soccer field straightaway, Lawson pushed past Chmiel, with Walters the last obstacle.  However, Walters had built up too significant of a lead in the hills, and had the strength to maintain.  Cresting onto the track, with only the football field in the way of the win, Walters could be seen with a fast closing Lawson right on her heels.  The pair surged to the line, the gap closing by the second, until Walters crossed the line just in time, Lawson only 0.3secs behind for second.  Chmiel would take third, and Carly Benson, who utilized the same tactics as Lawson, crossed over the line 4th.

 

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  Girls A Winner - Claire Walters of Fayetteville-Manlius