By Rob Potter
SULLIVAN COUNTY — November 9, 2010 — Nine runners from Sullivan County high schools earned a trip to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Cross Country Meet with their outstanding performances on Friday at the Section IX Cross Country Championship Meet at Bear Mountain State Park.
Those nine runners are Russell Amore of Eldred, Jimmy Bernstein (Tri-Valley), Autumn Bender (T-V), Caroline Bertholf (T-V), Alex Campanella (Eldred), Kelsey Dutton (Sullivan West), Omar Lopez (T-V), Dani Myers (SW) and Hunter Proscia (Eldred).
They will all compete in the state meet, which will be held this Saturday, Nov. 13 in Pawling.
Among those nine runners, Campanella, who is a sophomore at Eldred Central School, had the best finish on Friday. He became a sectional champion by winning the boys’ Class D race on the challenging 3-mile Bear Mountain course in a time of 16 minutes, 46.72 seconds.
“I am very happy,” Campanella said. “I felt pretty good before the race. I wanted to run well and qualify for the state meet and I did.
“It’s great that all three of us are going to the state meet,” added Campanella, referring to himself and teammates Amore and Proscia. “We are all great friends and have done a lot of running together.”
Eldred Coach Frank Schorling was also pleased to have three members of the Yellowjackets team advance to the state meet.
“It’s especially nice for Russell because he is a senior and this is the first time he is going to states,” Schorling said. “This will be Alex’s third time at the state meet and the second time for Hunter.”
Proscia, a junior, finished fifth in the boys’ Class D race with a time of 17:43.68 and Amore placed 11th in the race in 18:49.12.
T-V teammates Lopez and Bernstein earned their trip to the state meet with top-10 finishes in the boys’ Class C race. Lopez, a sophomore, was fourth in 16:52.24 and Bernstein, a junior, placed sixth in 17:08.68.
“It was a great race,” Lopez said. “I just went out and ran over the top.”
As in many races this season, Lopez and Bernstein ran together for much of Friday’s competition.
“We were running close to each other and we pushed each other when we went up the hill,” Lopez said. “It was good that we both made it to states.”
The four local girls who will be running in the state meet this Saturday all placed in the top 10 of the girls’ Class C race on Friday at Bear Mountain.
SW teammates Myers and Dutton finished second and fourth, respectively. Myers, a sophomore, posted a time of 19:36.44 and Dutton, an eighth-grader, had a time of 19:49.47.
T-V teammates Bender and Bertholf placed fifth and seventh, respectively. Bender, a seventh-grader, completed the race in 19:56.31. Bertholf, a senior, ran the course in 20:18.40.
Myers noted that she passed the race leader, Rhinebeck’s Anna Clark, on the hill on the second loop around the course.
“I was ahead of her when we went went down the hill and around the carousel,” Myers said. “But then I got a really bad cramp and she went past me. She had a really great kick at the end. She is a great runner.”
With that outstanding kick in the last 100 meters, Clark was able to win the race in 19:29.50.
“I had a pretty good race and I am happy that Kelsey and I are going to the state meet,” Myers said.
“They did a great job,” SW Coach George Shakelton said of the members of the Lady Bulldogs’ team, who finished third behind Rhinebeck and T-V in the team standings of the girls’ Class C race. “They all gave it their best.”
Note: Several other runners from Eldred, SW and T-V – as well as Liberty and Monticello – competed in Friday’s meet.
Please see Friday’s issue for a list of their times.