Wappingers Falls NY - Great races, great competition, and great moments for high school athletes: everything NXN promises was delivered on a tough Bowdoin Park course. The temperature evened out at a high-for-november 60 degrees, but couldn't mend the muddy conditions leftover from yesterdays brief rain. But for most of the athletes, who had braved the mud at VVS for the States' championship, the mud was little distraction from the overall goal. The top two teams automatically qualify to run in Portland, Oregon next Saturday at the NXN Championships, along with the top 5 individuals not already on a qualifying team. For those teams who nab the dreaded 3rd and 4th positions, their hopes for Oregon rely on an "At-Large" qualifier, decided by a team of experts Sunday afternoon; you can check back here tomorrow to see if your favorite got the bid. MileSplit NY was on scene to cover all the action; also at the course for the awards ceremony was legendary announcer Ian Brooks, as well as 2008 Olympian Andrew Wheating.
Girls
Fayetteville-Manlius' Jillian Fanning continued on her undefeated season, finishing with a quick-per-course-conditions time of 17:47. Fanning led the race, setting her own pace.
"It is easier to run on your own," Fanning said. "Then again, you kind of know your setting up the rest of your team because if you're going out hard, then they are going to come out with you."
Close behind was North Shore's Sam Nadel, who would take 2nd overall. 3rd behind Nadel was last week's Federation meet winner, Mary Cain of Bronxville. Running as an individual, Cain guaranteed herself a spot at her first NXN championship in Oregon. However, it would not be her first trip out to Oregon, as she competed there last spring for Junior Nationals in the 1500m.
When the team scores in, it was again FM who would take first place overall, despite a higher score than expected. National and Section 2 powerhouse Saratoga Springs would take the 2nd overall position with 57 points to Manlius' 43. Coach Neal Levy's North Shore girls would claim third with 87 points, and go on to await Sundays announcement for the "At-Large" bids.
Below are race breakdowns as well as finishing scores and qualifiers:
1 mile mark - Jillian Fanning (FM) in the lead with 5:35, followed closely by Samantha Nadel (North Shore) in 2nd, Mary Cain (Bronxville) in 3rd, and Briana Nerud (North Shore) in 4th.
Halfway point (2.5 Km) -Fanning still in lead with a 8:47 split, Nadel in 2nd with 8:53, and Mary Cain with 8:55. Briana Nerud and Katie Sisco (FM) close behind the group, with Sisco at about a 9:15 split
2 mile mark – Jillian Fanning is the first to the bridge with a very widened gap of 20 seconds on Samantha Nadel, with Mary Can right behind her
Team Scoring at Midway through the race-
FM has 3 runners in the top 10
1. FM = 46
2. Saratoga Springs = 61
3. North Shore = 72
Final:
Team
Avg Total Spread
1. 43 Manlius XC-NY (18:51.3 94:16.5 1:39.6)
2. 57 Kinetic RC-NY (19:10.8 95:54.0 0:36.6)
3. 87 North Shore Running Club (19:09.0 95:44.9 2:41.3)
Individual
1. Mary Cain - Bronxville
2. Rachel Paul - Sachem East
3. Holly Cavalluzzo - Valley Central
4. Alicia Clark - Granville
5. Kennedy Jensen - Canandaigua
Boys
Fayetteville-Manlius' other star junior, Nick Ryan, led the race in a similar dominating fashion as to his States' race. Ryan took off strong, followed closely by teammate Matt Deyo. Dan Galford of Monsignor Farrell, named Athlete of the Week in August, was no stranger to the course after coming in second at the Federation champs a week prior. He took third overall, and first individual qualifier, for his efforts this week.
MileSplit NY's other August Athlete of the Week Ryan Manahan also finished strongly, securing a ticket to Oregon.
The race turned out to truly be a second-half push, as at the 2500m mark, favorites FM and Rush-Henrietta Sperry were trailing Shaker and Arlington. That scare would kick the Class A State champs and Class A runners up respectively, into high gear as they turned the score around in their favor for the second half of the race. MileSplit NY spoke with Mike Libruk of Shaker about the race:
"The race went well for us," Libruk said. "The course was little more muddy than we found last week. Definetly more room to run as compared to last week, less people in our race. We pushed our efforts from the start, and while the mud may have made that not reflected in our times, I feel like we all worked harder."
As the crowd anxiously awaited team scores, it was revealed that FM had made the neccesary adjustments mid-race to claim second with 93 points. It was Shaker boys, a story of redemption, who would take the team title with 78 points.
Below are race breakdowns as well as finishing scores and qualifiers:
1 Mile Mark – Nick Ryan leads the group with a 4:55 split at the mile mark, followed closely by teammate Matt Deyo, and Dan Galford of Monsignor Farrell
Midway Mark (2.5 Km)- Nick Ryan holds a commanding lead over the field with a 7:46 split, followed by Galford with 8:01, Mike Libruk and Matt Deyo. Ryan Manahan pulls into the pack in 5th
At the bridge: Nick Ryan has a lead of about 15 seconds and Ryan Manahan of Marcellus pulls into 2nd place, leading a huge pack into the last 1000 meters
Teams at the Halfway point:
1.Shaker – 94
2. Arlington – 99
3. FM – 103
4. Assisi – 113
5. Rush- Henrietta - 151
Final:
Team
Avg Total Spread
1. 78 Shaker T+F Club-NY (16:39.3 83:16.2 1:15.5)
2. 93 Manlius XC-NY (16:41.6 83:27.7 1:09.8)
3. 114 Comets XC Club-NY (16:53.6 84:28.0 0:47.2)
Individual
1. Dan Galford - Monsignor Farrell
2. Ryan Manahan - Marcellus
3. Cooper Roach - Honeoye Falls Lima
4. MJ Erb - Victor
5. Thomas Awad - Chaminade
Video Interviews, Race Photos, and At-Large Announcements can be found on the Meet Page Here
_________________________________________________________________
Sunken Meadow NY - Foot Locker Individual Regional Quals went off at the famous course in Long Island. Unlike NXN, New York does not have its own separate qualifying meet, which led to even stiffer competition for some of New York's best.
Girls Highlights - New York found two individual qualifiers in the always strong Laura Leff of West Genesee, and New York City's fastest, Alexis Panisse of Benjamin Cardozo. With their place of 5th and 7th respectively, they will be running out in California two weekends from today. Notable fast finishers, yet non qualifiers, include Leila Mantilla of Penfield, and multiple previous-year-qualifier Lauren Mullins of Johnson City.
Boys Highlights - Dan Lennon of Peru may have not been able to keep up with new course record holder and US #1 Edward Cheserek of St. Benedict's Prep (15:20.5), but his 2nd place finish in 15:45 still impressed, as well as guarateeing him a spot in California. Notable fast finisher, yet still not qualifying, was CBA Syracuse's Brendan Smith, coming off a win at last weeks Federation Championship.
