Cross country

Trail treasures

Sullivan County Cross-Country All-Stars excelled this past fall

By RICHARD A. ROSS

ELDRED, NY — Cross-country season may be over and done with, but the remarkable performances turned in by Sullivan County runners are far from forgotten. Once again, Eldred coach Frank Schorling worked relentlessly to canvas county coaches in an attempt to compile his annual list of county All-Stars.

Across the board, returning county runners vastly improved their times over a year ago, while newcomers blazed their way onto the radar hoping to build a foundation for next year’s grueling regimen. Many have now moved on to indoor track, though some have opted to partake of other winter sports. By the time the spring track season rolls around, many will be back at it.

This year’s first-team All-Stars includes a number of athletes who earned the same distinction a year ago. Among the girls, that includes Monticello seniors Jessica Fingers and Emma Cohen and sophomore Justine Davis. All three qualified for states this year. Fingers, who is heading to Columbia this coming fall, finished second in Section Nine Class A and sixth in the NYSPHSAA championships.

Also returning to the first team are Sullivan West sophomore Rianne Erlwein, and Tri-Valley senior Rachel Sanborn and sophomore Caroline Bertholf. All three qualified again for states. Newcomers to the first team this year were Sullivan West’s Morgan Hawkins, who missed out on states by one place at the Section Nine Class C meet.

On the boys side of the ledger, first-team returnees included Sullivan County’s top runner, Colin Seidl from Sulllivan West. Seidl was the Section Nine Class C champion. He finished third at states. Monticello’s Dave Wilbur, another state qualifier, returns to the first team, along with Thomas Gonzales, also a state qualifier. Livingston Manor speedster Greg Lewis, this year’s Class D champion, also made it back to the first team. Newcomers to this year’s list include Monticello seniors James Dzurica and Jacob Rubin, and Tri-Valley’s Jim Bernstein.

Second-team girls All-Star selections included Eldred junior Kristina Brown and freshman Christine Donnelly. Tri-Valley senior Shannon Hornbeck and sophomore Ashley Weintraub joined the second team, as did Monticello junior Emily Martin and sophomore Anna Loor.

Second-team boys All-Stars included Sullivan West sophomore Russell Bryan and senior Leland Peterman, Tri-Valley senior Jeremy Kinney, junior Mike Freeman and sophomore Chris Whipple, and Eldred senior Matt Campanella and eighth grader Alex Campanella.

Earning Honorable Mention status were the following girls: Monticello senior Marisela Acevedo, Eldred senior Annelise Babula, Liberty senior Kristen Sarno and Sullivan West eighth grader Dani Myers. The following boys earned Honorable Mention status: Eldred senior Brian Corcoran, Liberty junior Herman Drayton, Livingston Manor’s Neil Mock, Monticello senior Chris Van Gordan and Tri-Valley freshman Steve McInerney.

Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of pictures of all first-and second- team runners.