Foot Locker Northeast Regional Cross Country Championship

Ex runner’s ramble: Ryan takes 2nd at Foot Locker regionals

Warwick speedster joins Blood and three Saratoga teammates as NY State sweeps top eight places in girls regional

By RICHARD A. ROSS

BRONX, NY — Van Cortlandt Park’s storied history recorded yet another remarkable chapter on November 27 in the unprecedented finish of four girls from Saratoga Springs who placed first, third, fifth and sixth. They nailed down half of the finalist spots for the Foot Locker National Championship finals that will be held at Balboa Park in San Diego on December 11.

For the first time in the 24-year history of the Foot Locker Regionals, a girls team qualified more than two runners in a single year.

Saratoga Springs’ Nicole Blood (17:41.8) finished ahead of Warwick’s Aislinn Ryan (17:46.8). Both will be returning to San Diego where Blood finished seventh (17:48) and Ryan finished 12th (18:01) in 2003. Katelyn Kaltenbach (17:24) of Aurora, CO, last year’s winner, will be returning this year after winning the Midwest regional race (17:29).

The other three Saratoga Springs finishers included Hannah Davidson in third (17:52.1), Lindsay Ferguson in fifth place (18:16.2) and Caitlin Lane in sixth place (18:18.3). Nichole Lister (18:10.6) of South Jefferson, Laura Cummings (18:19) of Bay Shore and Kathleen DiCamillo of Holy Trinity High School in Garden City (18:23.2) placed fourth, seventh and eighth, respectively, to round out the unprecedented sweep by New York State, the only state to ever do that in the history of the Foot Locker Regionals. The race featured top runners from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington DC.

Blood and Ryan are both juniors and look to carry New York’s hopes in the nationals.

Final individual and team rankings for 2004 cross-country season

Sullivan West’s girls ended up ranked ninth among New York State’s Class C schools. Tri-Valley received a ranking of 22. Individual rankings among Class C were as follows: Jamie Clifford (SW)-18, Jessica Wagner (SW)- 25, April Ackermann (SW)-38, Courtney Roosa (TV)-44, Erin Beach (TV)-61, Rachel Sanborn (TV)-90, Michelle Manzi (SW)-94, and Amanda Ward (SW)-104.

Mike VanWagenen (SW) was ranked ninth, Travis Wolfe (TV)-13, Derek Smith (TV)-25, Jeremy Mathsen (TV)-60 and Trevor Kreznar (SW)-121.

In Class D, Eldred’s Kieran Pierce ended up ranked 54th.

Among Class AA girls, Nicole Blood of Saratoga Springs was ranked number one. Aislinn Ryan of Warwick was ranked second.

Cornwall’s Lynne Mundy was ranked 12th in Class A.

Iatauro becomes Princeton’s first freshman girl to participate in NCAA Division I Cross-Country Nationals

TERRA HAUTE, IN — Heather Iatauro, a 2004 graduate of Tri-Valley, placed 180th of 250 finishers and was the sixth girl on Princeton University’s team, which placed 18th of the 31 qualifying teams at the Women’s NCAA Division I Nationals, held November 22 at Indiana State University. Iatauro is the first freshman girl from Princeton to participate in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Nationals. She is the fourth girl from Tri-Valley to compete in the college nationals. Previous participants included Kate and Caryn Landau, who qualified as part of the Georgetown University team, and Elaine Stratton, who qualified for the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Cross Country Nationals for Cortland State College. In 1978 the AIAW was the only National Cross Country Championship.

Season’s first indoor developmental meets slated for West Point

WEST POINT, NY — Eldred will participate in the season’s first developmental indoor track meet on Friday, December 3 at 5:00 pm. Sullivan West, Liberty, Tri-Valley and Monticello will compete on Saturday, December 4 at 1:00 pm.