Somers NY - The weekend of 9/15 seems to be the kick off for a majority of the state, and we began our on-site coverage at the Somers Big Red Invitational. Bringing in 25 teams from across Section 1, the relatively new course proved to be an apt challenge for the teams of New York. Run mostly on hills, the course provided athletes a preview of what more was to come, as championship season for Section 1 is typically run in Bowdoin Park. There were two varsity races per gender, based on enrollment numbers, and we were on scene to check them out.
Girls Small School Division -
The Big Red Invite lived up to its name by the looks of the top finishers. Hometeam Somers, whose enrollment qualified them for either race, won the girls race, putting 4 red jerseys in the top 5. Led by senior Jackie Krueger, Somers had a 47-second compression between their first quarter. Along in that pack were Bene Abbatte, Charley Comparetto, and Sarah Corning. Breaking up the four, as well as placing fourth overall, was Ally Mueller of Hackley, who finished in 21:46. But it would be Krueger's win in 21:07 to set the pace of the meet.
Girls' Large School Division -
The talk of the invitational had been Northern County's Arlington, who have strong squads on both the girls and the boys side of the sport. The girls come into the season ranked 9th by TullyRunners, highlighted by underclassman who have the speed to earn their ranking. The admirals didn't dissapoint, as sophomore Bella Burta and senior Delphi Cleaveland seperated early. But their first half of the race was spent chasing leader Corrinne Florie of Mahopac, who led from the gun,
"I just wanted to go out strong and run my own race, but when we were all together it really pushed me to have that great competition right nearby" Florie said. "Bella really started to push me around the 2-mile mark, and it really helped my performance to have that."
Burda's kick would propel the second year xc runner into the lead. She would continue her kick until the finish, where she crossed the line in 18:31, which stands as the new course record.
Boys' Small School Division -
It was a similar story in the boys race for the Tuskers, as they saw Individual and Team wins in the smaller section. Senior Justin Zorn led the race from the line, and made use of his knowledge of the course to pull away early. Up in second was Grant Sheely of Dobbs Ferry, who improved 3 minutes ahead of his time on the course last year. Behind Sheely was Pietro Moran of Hackley, whose team would come in 2nd overall with 54 points to Somers' 27.
Boys' Large School Division -
Coming into the season, the Arlington boys were being shuffled around National and State rankings. But one thing was certain, they were a top 3 team in the state, and rightfully nationally ranked. The admirals won with a low 21 points, despite witholding Corey Chiavelli and Tim Burger for precaution. The top three boys were all in white, with Steve Morrison and Aaron Ryley coming in at 16:47 and 16:53 respectively. But thirty seconds ahead of them was teammate Sibby Hanson, who cruised the course to nab the course record in 16:08.0.
"When I'm out there, I am only looking for parents voices cheering on my teammates behind me." Hanson said. "I know I have to run my race, and have faith that my teammates will behind me."
Hanson, who was running alone for most of the race, had the reasurance of his teammate's success, which would lead them to the overall team win.
