County harriers compete in the larger context

League meet stacks runners against competition from all schools big and small

By RICHARD A. ROSS

BEAR MOUNTAIN, NY - You could not have wished for a more perfect day to stage the 40th annual OCIAA Cross-Country Championships on October 27.

The meet pits runners in the Orange County League against each other, regardless of school size, and affords harriers an opportunity to test their mettle against the area’s top contenders.

Large schools, such as Warwick, Newburgh Free Academy, Washingtonville and Monroe-Woodbury, often have the advantage over smaller schools, such as Eldred or Livingston Manor, because of the number of runners they can field and the elevated caliber of runners based on competition for spots on the team.

In the boys’ race, Andy Clyne of Washingtonville came up short in his bid for an unprecedented third straight title. Clyne (15:29.71) finished second to Warwick’s Terrence Prial (15:18.19). Cornwall’s Colin Anderson (15:40.08), James I. O’Neill’s Cory Reed (15:47.90) and Warwick’s Brad Ackerman (15:50.88) rounded out the top five.

Sullivan County’s top runner was Monticello’s Brendan Devine (16:02.99). Devine got out to a great start but had an off day and finished 10th. He looks to do better in the upcoming sectionals on November 3.

Monticello was the county’s top team. The Panthers finished ninth with 303 points. Warwick was top in the boys race. It was the third consecutive team title for the Purple Wave. Other Monticello top finishers included Brendan Ference (65) 17:57.36 and James Dzurica (69) 18:04.53.

Sullivan West’s Matt Layman (38) 17:01.29 led the Bulldogs, who finished 14th with 333 points. Other Sullivan West finishers included Brett Cucci (62) 17:41.74 and Leland Peterman (76) 18:23.01, Rob Ward (81) 18:29.98, Dallas Ripley (85) 18:35.53 and Nick Cucci (122) 20:44.76.

Eldred’s Max Gunther (37) 16:58.39 experienced some breathing difficulties that hampered him. Eldred did not figure into the team standings. Other Eldred finishers included Robby Snyder (82) 18:32.06; Lucas McCarthy (97) 19:14.12 and Brian Corcoran (119) 20:32.98.

Tri-Valley’s Nick Denman (44) led the Bears, who finished 15th with 383 points. He was followed by Michael Kaplan (54) 17:23.99, Thomas Riordan (79) 18:24.34, Mike Freeman (109) 19:56.43, Justin Tompkins (111) 19:58.76, Jeremy Kinney (138) 21:47.08 and Jake Edwards (141) 22:06.49.

Livingston Manor finished 20th overall with 594 points. Greg Lewis (56) 17:27.38 led the Wildcats. Liberty finished in 21st place with 648 points. Tate Trevor (121) 20:42.18 led the Indians.

In the girls race, this year’s winner was Tori Pennings of Warwick, who continued the winning tradition established by 2006 graduate Aislinn Ryan. Pennings’ victory extended Warwick’s team victory streak to four and kept the Purple Wave ahead of Cornwall, which finished second, and Monroe Woodbury, which finished third. Tri-Valley was Sullivan County’s top team, finishing in sixth place.

Pennings (1) 17:57.69 finished ahead of Nicole Rozario (2) 18:15.71 of Pine Bush. Lillian Griebesland (3) 18:22.21 of Warwick, Rachel Miller (4) 19:06.24 of Cornwall and Kristen Peluso (5) 19:07.15 of Warwick led the group of 119 girls.

Tri-Valley finished with 164 points and was led by Rachel Sanborn (20) 19:46.98. She was followed by Courtney Roosa (22) 19:56.59, Shannon Hornbeck (31) 20:23.56, Caroline Bertholf (45) 21:04.49 and Kathryn Schneyer (54) 21:28.59.

Sullivan West, which is comprised of many runners who never run the Bear Mountain course before, finished in eighth place with 214 points. Rianne Erlwein (21) 19:53.45 turned in a sterling performance. Other finishers included Chelsea Schadt (41) 20:44.56, who beat last year’s time by six seconds, Kasi Pilny (43) 20:56.71, Jamie Moran (59) 21:39.32, Kendra Barker (62) 21:40.77, Katey Dnistrian (65) 21:44.90 and Liz Peters (71) 22:09.56.

Monticello finished in 11th place with 322 points. Emma Cohen (47) 21:09.29 led the Lady Panthers. Marisala Acevedo (53) 21:27.62 followed.

Eldred finished in 12th place with 344 points. Grace Babula (46) 21:06.59 led the Yellowjackets. She was followed by Ashley Vicari (67) 21:51.18, Regina Davies (78) 22:43.70, Kristina Brown (85) 23:08.43, Erika Vorstadt (107) 24:28.25 and Kaley Donnelly (118) 25:12.84.

Livingston Manor did not figure in the team totals, but Jennifer Green (40) 20:44.01 turned in a fine performance. Liberty also did not tally in the team totals. Kim McKay (68) 21:54.74 led the Lady Indians.

Runners will return to Bear Mountain on November 3 for the sectional races, which will determine who will be heading to states. The state meet will be held on November 11 at Warwick.

Visit riverreportersports.com for additional times from local runners and an album of photos.