Division Precision
SW’s Dani Myers Captures Third Straight Division IV Title To Lead Lady Bulldogs To Narrow Win Over O’Neill; Zach Snel Makes Waves In First Year X-C Outing With Victory As O’Neill Boys Win Team Title In Commanding Fashion
Girls: 1. Sullivan West (SW) 26; 2, James I. O’Neill (JIO) 29; 3. John S. Burke Catholic (JSB) 103; 4. Liberty (Lib) 112; Tuxedo Incomplete.
Boys: 1. James I. O’Neill (JIO) 22; 2. Liberty (Lib) 51; 3. Sullivan West (SW) 70; 4. John S. Burke Catholic (JSB) 115; 5. Tuxedo (Tux) 116.
By RICHARD A. ROSS
rross@sportsinsightsny.com
OCIAA Division IV Champions: Sullivan West's Dani Myers, left, garnered her third consecutive Division IV title posting her second best time of the Liberty Loop. Myers helped pace her team to a narrow 26-29 win over the surging O'Neill Lady Raiders. O'Neill sophomore Zach Snel decided to convert from soccer to cross-country after a successful track season last spring. He outpaced Sullivan West's Reed Scott for the win and was point man for a cadre of yellow-jersey-wearing Raiders as they won the title in commanding fashion.
LIBERTY, NY—It’s the opening salvo of the fall cross-country championship sequence and it’s a big one to be sure. I’m referencing the OCIAA Division IV clash held once again at Liberty as it has been for the past few years.
The girls start off on their 2.8 mile jaunt around the Liberty Loop.
With the OCIAA League Championship on October 28 serving as a Bear Mountain tune up for the all-important Section Nine Meet on November 4, elite individual runners and teams are focusing their attention on that coming race. Winning a Section Nine title is an incredible accomplishment but the race also serves as the state qualifier to this year’s state championships slated for Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Central School on November 12.
This year’s Division IV configuration was markedly different with the absence of Tri-Valley, last year’s boys and girls champion who now took their winning ways to Division V. More on that later.
The day was cool and sunny, a perfect setting for the race on the muddy Liberty loop with its meandering 2.8 mile course, familiar territory to some of the veteran runners who have marshaled fine performances there in the past. That said, this year’s race would see some new boys and girls faces to replace grads who lit up the course a year ago.
Call me a Meyerer admirer. The fiery eighth grader took second in this race and was the first of her team to finish in the Lady Bulldogs' victory at the 12th Annual Ben Boice Invitational in Millbrook on October 15. Her spirit and meteoric rise reminds observers of a young eighth grader in green years back from Cornwall. Guess who?
On the girls side of the ledger, one astounding newcomer is Sullivan West eighth grader Courtney Meyerer who was turning heads with her zippy second place finish On October 15, Meyerer took fifth place overall in the 12th annual Ben Boice Invitational in Millbrook, leading the Lady Bulldogs to the team title against some daunting competition including Millbrook, Onteora, FDR, Highland, Marlboro, Spackenkill and Red Hook.
As to the boys comings and goings in the Division IV milieu, gone now to Geneseo is last year’s Division champion Burke’s Jimmy Murray, a state contender in 2010. With T-V’s Omar Lopez and Jimmy Berrnstein now locking horns with Eldred standouts and top runners from S.S. Seward, this year’s race became the showcase for a new kid on the block, O’Neill sophomore soccer convert Zach Snel.
More on this phenom once this narrative veers towards its discussion of the boys but….
Ladies first:
Meyerer got out to the early lead and as Coach George Shakelton later pointed out, she was a bit nervous about the turns and never having led a race before. Vying for a 1-2-3 finish which would have assured a Lady Bulldog victory, Meyerer was followed by teammates Dani Myers and Kelsey Dutton.
At the finish line It was Myers (19:36) winning, with Meyerer (19:48) in second. O’Neill’s Cameron Daddis (20:00) edged out Dutton (20:03) in a three-four finish and O’Neill would make this a very close team finish with runners in fifth, sixth, seventh and eigth in Kayleigh Waters (20:33), Kelsey Waters (20:57), Jilianna Pelella ( 21:16) and Suzie Henderson ( 21:21). Sullivan West’s ninth and ten place runners cemented the 26-29 win with Corinne VanWagner’s 21:38 and Rosa Martinez’s 21:55.
Myers had evinced her all-time second best on the course despite a bad cold and nagging tightness in her calf. Last year she won the race in 20:00. In 2009 she turned in a blistering 19:26.
O'Neill's Cameron Daddis, right, broke up Sullivan West's bid for a one, two, three with her her third place finish. Kayleigh Waters got fifth behind Sullivan West's Kelsey Dutton.
Trying to catch her breath after her electrifying run, Myers said, “I just tried my best but I can’t do it without these girls,” she said referring to her teammates. “They pushed me through the whole thing and helped me out so much.”
Asked about Meyerer, Myers added, “She has really stepped up and she is a great part of the team.”
Meyerer took the win in amazingly calm fashion. Asked about the rigors of the course she averred, “It wasn’t that bad but the hills were pretty messed up with all the mud. I prefer to run uphill,” she noted in her preference over the taxing demands of the downhill grades.
Sullivan West had a string of six consecutive Division championship before Tri-Valley entered the Division IV realm two years ago. This was the seventh title for the Lady Bulldogs and no doubt Shakelton aged a few years in the nail-biting array at the finish line.
“I can’t take them that close. There’s too much math going on,” he observed. According to Shakelton, Meyerer had caught the eye of the Red Hook Coach at the Ben Boice Invitational who said she reminded him of another skinny little eighth grader years ago…….Aisling Cuffe. You neve r know with young girl runners what they may blossom into. Cuffe proved that and now it’s Meyerer’s turn to see what she can do over the next half decade.
Each runner sets out to do his/her best while trying to push other teammates to do the same. Victorious Dani Myers credits her fellow harriers in doing just that as here Kelsey Dutton matches her step for step, something Courtney Meyerer did as well at other times in the race.
“We’ve got to improve a lot towards sectionals. We need to get good days from Kelsey, Corrinne and Rosa. Dutton had a hip problem and now has some swelling in her feet. Dutton and Myers made it to states last year. Myers was a medalist with her 20st place finish just one year after being just one place out of winning a medal.
Shakelton regards the OCIAA championship as nothing more than a practice run at Bear Mountain. Looking towards the sectionals, SW will have to reckon with Tri-Valley, Rhinebeck and Onteora. The Westies beat out the latter at the Ben Boice Invitational though the state rankings have the Lady Indians listed ahead of Sullivan West at present.
Truth be told, the only rankings that matter are the final ones.
“Tri-Valley is the team to beat this year,” said Shakelton. Rhinebeck was last year’s Section Nine Class C champion. But Shakelton believes if he can get three girls into states at the Section Nine meet, his team could actually win the Sectional crown. Time will tell.
With the imminent start of the boys race I wasn’t able to get a team photo with the Division plaque which was given out at the end of the day. A picture of Myers and Shakelton will have to suffice at present to go along with the bevy of lovely pictures in the accompanying album.
The girls results were as follows: 1. Dani Myers (SW) 19:36; 2. Courtney Meyerer (SW) 19:48; 3. Cameron Daddis (JIO) 20:00; 4. Kelsey Dutton (SW) 20:03; 5. Kayleigh Waters (JIO) 20:33; 6. Kelsey Waters (JIO) 20:57; 7. Jilianna Pelella (JIO) 21:16; 8. Suzie Henderson (JIO) 21:21; 9. Corrine VanWagner (SW) 21:38; 10. Rosa Martinez (SW) 21:55; 11. Eliana Peralta (JIO) 22:04; 12. Alissa Nowak (JSB) 23:38; 13. Katie Rhodes (SW) 24:36; 14. Gabriella Crown (JSB) 24:45; 15. Stephanie McDermott (JIO) 24:56; 16. Sierra Thomas (Lib) 24:35; 17. Rachel Musteen (JIO) 25:40; 18. Danielle McNamara (TV) 25:44; 19. Kaitlyn Kellam (Lib) 26:01; 20. Kitiana Corter (T) 26.11;. 21 Brittany Villalona (T) 26:16; 22. Naomi Mathier (O) 26:17;23.. Erin Kinne( L) 27:01;24. Diana Welch (B )27:40; 25. Amanda DeJesus(L )28:30; 26. Mary Brosnan( B) 29:00; 27. Danielle Kissane B 29:12;28. Brigid King (B) 29:37;29. Myra McConnell (L) 29:52.
Yellow Fever
The 2011 Division IV Champion James I. O"Neill Raiders
Running is contagious and it appears that the Jame’s I.O’Neill Raiders have been bitten by the bug once again.
The Raiders last won in 2008 . Liberty was victorious in 2009, a year Conklin held back his top five and the Raiders prevailed in Section Nine by one point. Last year it was Tri-Valley who left with the Division bragging rights.
This year it wasn’t even close as the Raiders’ yellow jerseys dominated the pack with a commanding 26-51 win over host Liberty.
Leading the pack was sophomore Zach Snel (16:33). Snel played soccer last fall but went out for track in the spring. Turning in a 4:49 mile lit up the light bulb in his head and obviously in Conklin’s, who coaches track. “I ran a little bit in Middle School,” Snel recalled “and then in Spring track I decided that I am a runner.”
“This was a really tough course with a lot of mud , hills and good runners out there. The Sullivan West kid (Reed Scott) was pressing me the whole way,” he noted. “Our goal today was to win the Division. I hope to qualify for states, he said breathlessly.
Conklin noted. “I’ve got a bunch of new runners including Zach who came over from soccer. He’s been a tremendous story for us so far. But we’ve got a great supporting cast too. One of our captains, Patrick Michon (third in 17:52) has really come along. He had a great summer training. We had a transfer, Kevin Musick (seventh in 18:39) and Colin Brant (sixth in 18:29) who is our number five guy right now. Last year O’Neill’s Jake Kail won the Section title but decided to opt out this year. Conklin sees Rhinebeck and Tri-Valley as the teams to beat this year. “We’ll start tapering down around Counties. We’re doing a lot of speed work right now but we just had a tough hill workout Friday.
Sullivan West's Reed Scott continues his meteoric rise as he takes second. Last year he was fourth. Two years ago he was ninth. Even more impressive is the shaving of time from 18:49 to 17:22 to this year's 16:40.
Conklin expects to bring many of his cross-country runners to track in the spring.
Sullivan West’s Reed Scott continued his meteoric rise. Consider this in 2009 he was ninth in 18:44. In 2010 he moved to fourth shaving 22 seconds to run the Liberty Loop in 17:22. This year he was second in 16:40. Last year I dubbed him the Most Improved Runner. He gets my vote again for this year’s effort.
Liberty’s Kane Sauchuk took fourth in 17:59, the exact same time that got him fifth place a year ago. O’Neill’s Christian Barnard (18:11) was fifth, while Sullivan West’s Eric Haberlin (18:37) took eighth. He moved up from 12th in 18:49 the year prior. Liberty’s Dominick Ahrend continues to impress. He took ninth in 18:52. Burke’s Sean Shea rounded out the top ten in 19:03.
The boys results were as follows:
1. Zach Snel (JIO) 16:33; 2. Reed Scott (SW) 16:40; 3. Pat Michon (JIO) 17:52; 4. Kane Sauchuck (Lib) 17:59; 5. Christian Barnard (JIO) 18:11; 6. Colin Brant (JIO) 18:29; 7. Kevin Musick (JIO) 18:39; 8. Eric Haberli (SW) 18:37; 9. Dominick Ahrend (Lib) 18:52; 10. Sean Shea (JSB) 19:03; 11. Matt Rourke (Lib) 19:08; 12. Raiquawn Malloy (Lib) 19:14; 13. C.J. Emerson (JIO) 19:17; 14. Christian Scott (SW) 19:23; 15. Vinny Webbe (Lib) 19:33; 16. Erick Cuellar (Lib) 19:39; 17. Brandon Goscicki (TV) 19:41; 18. Jeff Dipalma (JIO) 19:43; 19. Jackson Krens (Lib) 19:49; 20. Joe Schmidt (JIO) 19:50; 21. David Johnson (T) 19:57;22. Dale Mercado (SW) 20:06; 23. Zach Arias (O) 20:16; 24. Gage Callahan (O) 20:49; 25. Dylan Blackwell( L) 20:55; 26. Cloud Mingzhou (B )21:00; 27. Peter Anderson (T )21:08; 28. Austin Galarza( B) 21:14; 29. David Schulz (SW) 21:15; 30. Jackson Rajlevsky (SW) 21:17; 31. Christopher Bermudez ( T) 21:21; 32 . Martin Nowak (B) 21:25; 33. Daniel Castricone (T )21:30; 34. Tom McCausland (L) 21:35; 35. Tom Dapp L 21:49; 36. Christopher McNamara T 22:06; 37. Ben Dyleuth (O )22:30; 38. Andrew Hersh (L) 22:50; 39 . Ijaya Waterman (O) 22:58; 40 . Jon( Nilsen L) 25:17.
Posting an identical time to last year's race, Liberty's Kane Sauchuk moved up from fifth to fourth.
Tri-Valley Bears Win Division V Boys and Girls
Boys: 1. Tri-Valley (TV) 38; 2. S.S. Seward (SS) 40; 3. Eldred (E) 56; 4. Livingston Manor (LM) 96; 5. Chapel Field Incomplete
Girls: 1. Tri-Valley (TV) 22; 2. Eldred (E) 43; 3. S.S. Seward (SS) 62; 4. Chapel Field (CF) Incomplete.
Call it an even dozen now as Tri-Valley’s girls captured their 12th straight Division title. Now in Division V again after a two year conquest of Division IV, the Lady Bears were led by standout Autumn Bender(22;31) who outpaced Eldred’s Christine Donnelly (23:21) on the 3.1 mile course at Eldred. Wishing I could be at two places at once, I missed this race as I was in Liberty covering Div. IV. Here are the results though:
1. Autumn Bender (TV) 22:31; 2. Christine Donnelly (E) 23:21; 3. Olivia Rehm (TV) 23:48; 4. Julie Allen (SS) 24:20; 5. Danielle Gram (TV) 24:31; 6. B. Gillette (TV) 24:32; 7. Sabrena Smith (TV) 24:34; 8. Heather St. Germain (CF) 25:43; 9. Sarah Malzahn (E) 25:54; 10. Selena Hudak (E) 26.09; 11. Sara James-Drewett (E) 26:29; 12. Unavailable; 13. Alex Brooks (TV) 26:59; 14. Kathryn Warren (SS) 27:07; 15. Erika Poston (E) 28:17; 16. Maggie McDermott (CF) 28:18; 17. Mary Alongi (TV) 28:39; 18. Kara Shaughnessy (SS) 28:42; 19. Jessica Davis (E) 28:55; 20. Ali Palmer (SS) 19:15;
In the boys race it was Eldred’s Hunter Proscia who emerged as this year’s Division V champ in 18:32. He was followed by T-V’s Jim Bernstein (18:37) and Omar Lopez (19:01). Eldred’s Alex Campanella (19:31 finished fourth with Seward’s Nelson Fernandze (19:38) in fifth. Here are the results of the boys race.
Individual results: 1. Hunter Proscia (E) 18:32; 2. Jim Bernstein (TV) 18:37; 3. Omar Lopez (TV) 19:01; 4. Alex Campanella (E) 19:31; 5. Nelson Fernandez (SS) 19:38; 6. Isiah Rodriguez (SS) 20:11; 7. I. Rodriguez (SS) 20:24; 8. Justin Weintraub (TV) 20:52; 9. Kevin O’Neill (SS) 20:59; 10. David Powers (E) 21:07; 11. Brendan Hasbrouck (TV) 21:20; 12. Neal Mock (LM) 21:52; 13. Nick Carbonaro (SS) 21:59; 14. Sowoo Chon (TV) 22:03; 15. Aidan Woolsey (TV) 22:06; 16. Brian Falkena (CF) 22:12; 17. Sean Peters (SS) 22:28; 18. Kevin Maas (E) 22:33; 19. Ian Kozrock (TV) 23:08; 20. Evan Taggart (LM) 23:44.
The coming weeks should make for a dramatic finish as the cross-country season hurtles towards its conclusion. Stay tuned.
For an album of photos from the Division IV clash, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
