Cross country

League lore

OCIAA championship features cross-country milestones; Monticello’s Fingers takes second in girls run; Erlwein is 11th

By RICHARD A. ROSS

BEAR MOUNTAIN, NY — When it comes to grandeur and spectacle, not to mention sheer numbers of participants, the annual OCIAA Cross-Country Championships holds a unique place in Section Nine sports.

It is the one time during the season that area runners get to take a measure of themselves against athletes from schools large and small. It is a measuring stick of how much progress individuals and teams have made from the prior year.

The air was cool and the day was clear but slightly overcast for the 42nd running of this event; in short, it was a perfect day for runners.

The boys race was first and from the 4:43 first-mile identical split times, set by Warwick’s Dave DeWan who would finish in 15:38.33 and teammate Tim Luthin who came in second at 15:44.09, this looked like it was going to be a speedy deal from start to finish.

DeWan’s time was far from breaking into the top 50 fastest Bear Mountain boys times for the event. The record of 14:24.6 set by Monroe-Woodbury’s John Trautman in 1985 still stands.

For Sullivan County runners, the chance to run against the harriers from big schools is always an uphill battle, but one that provides an alluring challenge.

Sullivan West’s Colin Seidl hoped to finish somewhere between fifth and 10th. Having won the Division IV title race and the unseeded race at the Marathon Invitational, Seidl seemed primed.

But running performances are hard to predict. Seidl took off with the leaders. But by the time he had completed the one-mile first loop around Hessian Lake, it was clear this was not his day. His time of 16:33.24 netted him a disappointing 20th finish. A year ago, Seidl finished 18th in 16:22.49.

Seidl has been here before. Last year’s dismal steeplechase run in the OCIAA track championships was disheartening, too, but Seidl rallied to win the Section Nine title and then became his school’s first state champion.

Using his experience from that roller coaster, Seidl will set his sights on beating O’Neill’s Kendall Ward at sectionals, someone he bested in the Division IV race. Ward took 13th in this run with a time of 16:17.53.

The best time recorded by a Sullivan County runner was turned in by Monticello veteran Dave Wilbur (16:28.30) who finished 18th. He and Seidl were the only medal winners from the county. Jim Bernstein was Tri-Valley’s top finisher. He took 65th in 17:56.03. Alex Campanella was Eldred’s top finisher in 86th place (18:24.03). Liberty’s Herman Drayton (19:36.73) was the top Indian runner in 106th. Livingston Manor’s Greg Lewis did not run. Shawn O’Dell was the top Wildcat at 132nd (21:48.61).

Monticello was the top team finisher from the county taking ninth place. Sullivan West finished 14th and Tri-Valley took 15th. Liberty, missing several of its top runners, finished 18th.

In the girls’ race, Cornwall’s Aisling Cuffe, the sophomore phenom, turned in another stellar run in her debut at Bear Mountain. Cuffe (17:17.69) ran the fifth fastest time in the event’s history. Warwick’s Aislinn Ryan’s time of 16:35.4, set in 2004, is the fastest time run by a girl at Bear Mountain. Cuffe’s margin of victory of 41.19 seconds was the ninth largest in the girls’ meet history.

With Cuffe long gone, Monticello’s Jessica Fingers and Valley Central’s Holly Cavaluzzo were left to battle it out for second. Fingers used a strong kick in the final 200 meters to take second in 17:58.88. Last year, she finished fifth in 18:21.17.

Fingers did not realize that she was only one second off the school record. “I started out with the whole pack of girls. Once I got to the hill, I was in fourth. Coming down the hill, I was in third. I felt really strong and I was able to out kick Holly at the end,” said the affable Fingers, medal in hand.

Realizing that she had nearly broken the school milestone, Fingers second-guessed herself but looked toward next week’s sectionals as another opportunity to do even better.

“I just wanted to get 17 in front of my time. I wasn’t even thinking about the school record.”

Sullivan West’s Rianne Erlwein ran 19:00.13, breaking a school record set by April Ackermann by seven seconds. Erlwein finished 11th in this race. “I felt strong the whole race,” said Erlwein. “When I got to the top of the hill, I kept a good pace and kept my turnover. I just wanted to pick the people off in front of me.” Last year, Erlwein finished 18th in 19:18.69.

Other county runners who medaled included Tri-Valley’s Rachel Sanborn, who finished 12th (19:05.94), Monticello’s Emma Cohen in 13th (19:11.83), Monticello’s Justine Davis in 17th (19:29.10) and Tri-Valley’s Caroline Bertholf in 25th (19:41.53). Cohen made great strides from a year ago, moving up 14 spots and improving her time by 17 seconds.

Sullivan West coach George Shakelton was very pleased with his team’s effort. “Morgan Hawkins had a good time today and Katey Dnistrian came on really strong. She has had trouble with her hips hurting her. But she gets a little further each time,” said Shakelton.

Sullivan West’s top five runners turned in personal bests. They included Erlwein (19:00.13), Hawkins (20:29.83) in 45th place, Dnistian in 63rd (21:23.78), Jamie Moran in 68th (21:39.43) and Kendra Barker in 69th (21:39.43). Sullivan West’s Dani Myers did not run.

Christine Donnelly was Eldred’s top finisher at 57th (21:10.65). Kristen Sarno was the top Liberty runner. She came in 98th (22:57.33).

Rhinebeck is favored to win the Class C team title at sectionals but Shakelton hopes to get two runners into the remaining five spots for states.

In terms of team finishing, Cornwall took first ahead of Monroe-Woodbury and Valley Central. Monticello was the top Sullivan County team in sixth. Tri-Valley finished in seventh and Sullivan West was eighth. Eldred took 15th and Liberty was 19th. In a previous article, this writer failed to mention that Tri-Valley recently captured its ninth straight Division V girls title.

Visit riverreportersports.com for complete results of all Sullivan County runners and teams, and a photo album showing each and every county runner.