By Rob Potter
SULLIVAN COUNTY — November 9, 2007 — Based on their outstanding performances at last Friday’s Section IX cross country championships at Bear Mountain State Park, several local high school runners will be competing against the best in New York State this weekend.
Those 20 athletes will run at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) cross country championship meet tomorrow at Norwood/Norfolk Central School in Norfolk.
Leading the contingent of Sullivan County runners headed to the state meet are Monticello’s Brendan Devine and Jessica Fingers, Sullivan West’s Colin Seidl and Greg Lewis of Livingston Manor. All four of them prevailed in their respective races last Friday at Bear Mountain.
Devine took first place in the boys’ Class A event by completing the 3-mile course in 15 minutes, 33.84 seconds.
Seidl placed first in the boys’ Class C event with a time of 16:16.21. Lewis won the boys’ Class D race in 17:28.15.
Fingers finished first in the girls’ Class A competition in 18:44.64.
Other boys who qualified for the state meet included Monticello’s David Wilbur, SW’s Matthew Layman, Tri-Valley’s Nicholas Denman and T-V’s Thomas Riordan.
Wilbur was fifth in the Class A race in 16:47.59. Layman finished seventh in the Class C race with a time of 17:12.22. Denman took fourth in the Class C race with a time of 16:47.92. Riordan was eighth in the Class C race in 17:13.14.
Three of Fingers’ Monticello Lady Panther teammates – Justine Davis, Emma Cohen and Marisala Acevedo – will be joining her at the state meet. Davis finished fifth in the Class A race in 19:30.41. Cohen was eighth in the Class A race in 19:47.58. Acevedo placed 11th in the Class A race in 20:23.16.
Eldred teammates Grace Babula and Christine Donnelly qualified for the state meet with top-10 finishes in the Class D race. Babula was fourth in 20:58.21 and Donnelly was seventh in 21:28.30.
SW’s Rianne Erlwein placed fifth in the Class C race with a time of 19:49.89 to earn a trip to the state meet.
Because they took first place as a team in the Class C race, six T-V Lady Bears will be competing at the state meet. Those team members are: Courtney Roosa (second, 19:09.21), Rachel Sanborn (fourth, 19:36.26), Caroline Bertholf (seventh, 19:56.97), Shannon Hornbeck (eighth, 20:04.91), Naomi Weise (18th, 20:56.17) and Ashley Weintraub (20th, 21:04.75).