Cross Country

Trailblazers

Sullivan West unveils its new nature trail as its boys and girls teams down Tri-Valley to remain unbeaten

By RICHARD A. ROSS

JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — When people work together toward a common goal, the results are often awe-inspiring. Enormous energy, volunteered services and donated materials went into the new nature trail and outdoor classroom, which will dramatically enhance Sullivan West’s fine facilities in Jeffersonville that already include a beautiful track and football/soccer field. (See feature, “Trail tale,” on page 19).

On September 23, the trail made its unofficial debut as the cross-country teams from Sullivan West, Tri-Valley and Livingston Manor traversed the wood chip course in a meet under a beautiful blue sky of an early fall afternoon.

The new trail winds though the woods, has a cedar bridge crossing and wayside benches for people to sit on to rest, observe a race or appreciate the quiet beauty. Several race observers took advantage of these amenities as they watched the runners at various points along the way.

Meets between Sullivan West and Tri-Valley are always a main event. Though the schools are not in the same division during cross-country season as they are during indoor and spring track, the rivalry is something special.

Livingston Manor’s boys were also on hand. They were minus standout Greg Lewis, who was under the weather. Manor’s fray with Tri-Valley had division ramifications.

The boys race was run first, after the runners from the visiting schools had traversed the course and got to understand the two-loop circuit that would comprise the 3.1 mile run. Without further ado, the young men took off around the upper perimeter of the soccer field, through the parking lot and onto the new trail. Sullivan West’s Colin Seidl and Tri-Valley’s Jeremy Kinney led the pack up the first incline in the woods but it was soon Seidl that emerged as the clear leader.

With wins already under his belt from meets at Washingtonville and at Burke, the stalwart senior soon put distance between himself and other contenders. With Lewis unable to run, Seidl had no real challenger in this one. He completed the course in 18:13. Teammate Leland Peterson took second in 19:19. Fellow Bulldog Dallas Ripley completed the one-two-three sweep as he crossed the finish line in 19:31.

Kinney was fourth in 19:46. Fellow Bear Mike Freeman rounded out the top five with a time of 20:05.

The Bulldogs won the team title with a score of 20 to Tri-Valley’s 39. The Westies beat Livingston Manor 15 to 50. Sullivan West improved its record to 6-0 on the young season.

In the girls race, Sullivan West’s Rianne Erlwein outpaced Tri-Valley’s leading runner Rachel Sanborn. Erlwein traversed the new course in 20:48; Sanborn followed suit with a time of 21:28. Tri-Valley’s Caroline Bertholf turned in an impressive 22:03 to take third, while Sullivan West’s Morgan Hawkins captured fourth in 23:10. Tri-Valley’s Shannon Hornbeck was fifth in 23:20;

Sullivan West outpointed Tri-Valley 26-33 and improved its record to 5-0. The win over the Lady Bears is bound to affect the most recent New York State Class C Rankings that had Tri-Valley at fourth and Sullivan West at 13th.

Visit www.riverreportersports.com for more on the story and an album of photos.

The rest of the results

Boys

6. Russell Bryan (SW) 20:09; 7. Jim Berristein (T-V) 21:01; 8. Derrick Clarke (SW) 21:45; 9. Matthew Pitz (SW) 22:20; 10. Nick Cucci (SW) 22:35. 11. Chris Whipple (T-V) 24:50; 12. Neil Mock (LM) 25:00; 13. Shawn O’Dell (LM) 25:47; 14. Tyler Glynn (SW) 25:48. 15. Steve Mcinerney (TV) 26:20; 16. Alex Dudec (T-V) 26:29. 17. Pete Howley (L-M) 26:47; 18. David Schultz (SW) 27:38 and 19. Mitch (SW) DNF.

Girls

6. Dani Myers (SW) 23:45; 7. Stephany Robison (SW) 24:00. 8. Jamie Moran (SW) 24:19; 9. Kendra Barker (SW) 24:09; 10. Katie Dnistrian (SW) 24:48; 11. Naomi Weise (T-V) 25:08. 12. Sarah Heikkennin (T-V) 25:42. 13. Ashley Weintraub (T-V) 27:07. 14. Rachel Deppa (SW) 27:28; 15. Joy Leon (T-V) 28:39. 16. Olivia Rehm (T-V) 30:28 and Kelly McNamara (T-V) 30:32.