Sectionals

Stately runners

By RICHARD A. ROSS

BEAR MOUNTAIN, NY — With leaves on the ground and a late fall chill in the air, Section Nine runners vied for supremacy on November 6 and the right to qualify for the state championships slated for SUNY Plattsburgh on November 14. The top boys and girls team from each Class (AA, A, B, C and D) qualified, as did the top five runners from schools other than the winning one from each race.

Eleven Sullivan County runners made the grade by day’s end with Monticello claiming the lion’s share of those spots. Dave Wilbur (16:44.66) attained a long-sought goal by winning the Class A boys race. Teammate Tom Gonzalez (17:19.97) took fourth place and also made the cut. In the girls Class A race, Kristen Harrington (20:35.34), Ana Loor (20:58.56) and Erica Concors (21:05) made states with their eighth, 10th and 11th place finishes respectively. Monticello’s girls came in second to Cornwall in team standings.

Earlier in the day, Eldred’s Hunter Proscia (16:10.28) and Alex Campanella (16:53.12) finished second and third, respectively, in the boys Class D race and qualified. Later, Eldred’s Christine Donnelly punched her ticket to the states as well, with a time of 22:04.22.

No Sullivan County boy runners from Sullivan West, Tri-Valley or Liberty qualified in the populous Class C race that featured 11 schools. But in the hotly contested Class C girls race at the end of the day, Sullivan West and Tri-Valley fought valiantly to try and unseat reigning champion Rhinebeck. Rhinebeck bested Tri-Valley by five points and Sullivan West by six for the team title, and Sullivan West’s Dani Myers (19:10.59) finished third overall. Tri-Valley’s Caroline Bertholf (19:56.28) and Sullivan West’s Rianne Erlwein (20:06.5) punched their third consecutive trips to the state meets with their fifth- and sixth-place finishes respectively.

A number of runners from both schools also had excellent races on the day, including Sullivan West’s Rachel Deppa and Morgan Hawkins, along with Tri-Valley’s Sarah Heikkenin, Naomi Weise, Ashley Weintraub and Courtney Connor.

Visit www.sportsinsightsny.com for more on the race and an album in the story entitled, “State of the Art.”