Cross-country

Ex-runner’s ramble: weekly update

Bulldogs do well at Marathon Invitational amid dense field of big-school runners

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MARATHON, NY — In their last meet before the Orange County League meet scheduled for October 29 and the Section Nine Class C meet set for November 5, the Sullivan West Bulldogs traveled to the Marathon Invitational on October 23 to compete against a huge field of runners.

The Bulldog girls, who are ranked fourth among Class C schools in the state, and the boys, who hold honorable mention status in Class C, were required to race against AA, A and B schools in the seeded varsity race. The crowded field of more than 300 runners in both the boys and girls races tested the competitive mettle of harriers from 48 schools. No other Class C or D schools participated in the races for which the Bulldogs contended.

“It was great experience for the states, where there are so many runners you can’t see other members from your team,” said Bulldogs coach George Shakelton.

In the girls race, Jamie Clifford (20:40) finished 21st. She took 50 seconds off of her 2003 time in the same race. Up-and-coming Jessica Wagner (20:52) placed 35th, knocking 40 seconds off of her previous year’s times. Team leader April Ackermann struggled somewhat and ran 21:37. She crossed the line in 46th place.

The next Bulldog to come through was Amanda Ward (22:24), who is coming on strong after a slow start this season. Ward posted a time of 21:31 last year. Michelle Manzi (22:34) was also off her last-year’s time of 21:58, but Shakelton is not concerned. He was impressed with the running of Eleanor Bryan and Chelsea Peters.

“That gives us seven runners to compete strongly with,” said Shakelton, who hopes his team is deep enough to beat out Rhinebeck and Tri-Valley for the Class C title and get to states as a team. If that doesn’t happen, the top five runners from the section who are not members of the winning team will be selected. That still gives the top Bulldog runners a shot at running in Corning on November 13. The Bulldog girls nailed down eighth place as a team in this year’s Marathon Invitational.

The Bulldog boys looked very strong. Mike VanWagenen (17:32) took sixth place. This week Shakelton plans to avail VanWagenen of some well-deserved rest.

“It’s time to ease up a bit and get ready to reap the rewards,” Shakelton said. Trevor Kreznar, Matt Gain and Rob Ward combined with VanWagenen to earn 11th place in a field of 48 schools. “The boys are looking great,” Shakelton said. He views Rhinebeck and Tri-Valley as the major competition in both the boys and girls Sectionals. He sees the league meet as a good chance to become even more familiar with the course at Bear Mountain, the site of the following week’s sectionals.

“We’re going to try to pull our number one through five girls together,” he said. Shakelton hopes the results turn out to be something special.

Smith tops juniors as Tri-Valley harriers excel at Midwood High School Invitational

NEW YORK, NY — Before the 2.5-mile race at world-renowned Van Cortlandt Park on October 22, Tri-Valley runner Derek Smith (14:15.8) told his coach, Joe Iatauro, “I really want to do well here.”

Iatauro said, “He then went out and backed up his words.” Smith took first among juniors and ran a lifetime best. Jon Huppke (15:45) took 20th place, an important step for Tri-Valley’s fifth runner. Josh Mattingly (16:41) placed 31st and Zach Thayer (23:49) finished 79th among the juniors.

Jeremy Mathsen (14:15.9), finishing seventh in the senior race, also recorded a lifetime best. Tri-Valley’s number-one runner Travis Wolfe did not run. Michael Kaplan (15:09), who was running the course for the first time, took ninth in the frosh and sophomore race. In the same field, Justin Tompkins (16:03) took 22nd, Nick Denman (16:05) came in 24th and Jacob Edwards (23:49) garnered a 29th-place finish.

Iatauro felt the race was a great experience for the Bears. None of the girls had ever run on the course before. Courtney Roosa (17:20) notched seventh place in the frosh and sophomore race. Erin Beach (17:32) took 10th. She was followed by Rachel Sanborn (17:54) in 13th, Melissa Fancher (20:15) in 31st place, Heather Riordan (20:17) in 32nd, Samantha Vernooy (20:35) in 36th and Danielle Huppke (24:19) in 69th place.

The upcoming league meet at Bear Mountain on October 29 is an event the Bears are always up for. “We often get better times out of our runners in this meet than we do in the sectionals,” Iatauro said, adding, “This meet has a great tradition.”