By Rob Potter
GRAHAMSVILLE — The weather conditions were very favorable for Tuesday’s Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) cross country meet at Tri-Valley Central School in Grahamsville.
The temperature was in the 60s and the skies were partly sunny.
Athletes from Liberty, Livingston Manor, Monticello and Tri-Valley ran in the boys’ race. Athletes from Liberty, Monticello and T-V ran in the girls’ race. The boys started first, but about a minute later the girls left the starting line to join them on the 3.1-mile course.
In the boys’ team results, Liberty defeated Monticello 21-40, defeated Livingston Manor 15-40 and defeated T-V 15-40. Livingston Manor defeated T-V 15-40. Many of T-V’s top runners did not compete in preparation for the Delhi Invitational held the following day.
Monticello’s Joe Klein won the boys’ race in a time of 18 minutes, 57 seconds. Liberty’s Kane Sauchuk placed second in 19:33, while Liberty’s Dominic Ahrend was third in 20:00.
“I felt good today,” said Klein, a 15-year-old sophomore. “Kane Sauchuk from Liberty came in second place and he ran a great race. I was able to stay ahead of him at the end.”
Klein noted that a steep hill in the middle of the course provided a challenge.
“The hill was very large and it was a difficult hill,” he said.
Overall, Klein was very pleased with running on the T-V course for the first time on the varsity level. He noted that while he had run on the course as a member of the Monticello modified team, it was slightly different for modified runners.
“It’s a good course,” Klein said. “It was a great race today.”
After the top three runners, the other boys in the race finished as follows:
In the girls’ team results, Monticello defeated Liberty 15-50 and defeated T-V 15-50. Again, T-V’s top runners did not compete in advance of the Delhi meet.
Monticello teammates and twin sisters Camryn Johnson and Sydney Johnson both finished with a time of 21:44. But Camryn captured first place crossing the line just ahead of sister Sydney.
Another Monticello runner, Brittany Rupp, was third in 23:36.
The Johnson sisters, who are 12-year-old eighth-graders, were in front of the pack for the entire race.
“We didn’t have anyone else to run with, so we ran with each other,” Camryn Johnson said.
Like Klein, the Johnsons thought that the large hill midway through the event was the most challenging part of the course.
“It was tough, but I just kept going,” Camryn Johnson said of her approach to the hill.
“It had a great downhill at the end,” she added.
“The hill was a challenge,” Sydney Johnson said.
Sydney also noted that another challenging part of the course was a narrow, muddy area where “we had to go through one at time.”
As she spoke about following Camryn through the mud, Sydney pointed out several mud spots on her legs.
While the sisters competed on the course when they ran for the Lady Panthers’ modified team, they enjoyed running the course for the first time as members of the Lady Panthers’ varsity team.
“It’s a good course,” Camryn said. “It was fun.”

T-V Dominates at Delhi

Tri-Valley’s boys and girls teams won their respective meets at The Delhi Invitational held Wednesday in Delhi. In the boys, T-V’s Jim Bernstein finished first followed by teammate Omar Lopez. On the girl’s side, T-V’s Autumn Bender came in second while Sullivan West’s Dani Myers and Kelsey Dutton finished fourth and fifth. Sullivan West’s girls placed second, just seven points behind T-V.

RESULTS
Boys
1. Joe Klein (Monticello) 18:57; 2. Kane Sauchuk (Liberty), 19:33; 3. Dominic Ahrend (Liberty), 20:00; 4. Neil Mock (Livingston Manor), 21:00; 5. Ray Malloy (Liberty), 21:05; 6. Vinny Webbes (Liberty), 21:07; 7. Matt Rourke (Liberty), 21:10; 8. Erik Cuellear (Liberty), 21:27; 9. Chris Maroldi (Monticello), 21:42; 10. Bryden Fraser (Monticello), 21:49; 11. Jackson Krebs (Liberty), 21:56; 12. Dillon Taggart, (Manor), 22:01; 13. Nat Tompkins (T-V), 22:08; 14. Ian Kuzrock (T-V), 22:11; 15. Evan Taggart (Manor), 22:33; 16. Robert Johnamen (Manor), 22:48; 17. Dylan Blackwell (Liberty), 22:49; 18. Dharamet Khangura (Manor), 22:55; 19 Ian Kolaitis (Monticello), 23:03; 20. Mike D’Auria (Manor), 23:52; 21. Terrance Lockhart (Manor), 23:54; 22. Tim Jones (Monticello), 24:28; 23. Josh Winters (T-V), 24:38.Girls
1. Camryn Johnson (Monticello), 21:44; 2. Sidney Johnson (Monticello), 21:44; 3. Brittany Rupp (Monticello), 23:36; 4. Erica Concors (Monticello), 23:36.2; 5. Bryanna Sewell (Monticello), 25:18; 6. Ashley McEneaney ( Monticello), 25:44; 7. Sierra Thomas (Liberty), 26:46; 8. Erin Kinney (Liberty), 29:42; 9. Jess Kinney (T-V), 29:42; 10. Amanda DeJesus (Liberty), 33:40; 11 Myra McConnell (Liberty), 33:47.