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League LeadersPosted Wednesday, October 14, 2009 by Canis Latrans There were no surprises for anyone racing in yesterdays league championships. Everyone had run against each other before and every team knew what the match ups would be. The real question was, who would win those match ups. It wouldn't just be the people running up front either, final team postions would be determined by how the entire team ran.
It was a good day for the runners. The course was dry, the air cool, though it was windy. Spectators were bundled up, watching and wondering how the runners could line up with just singlets and shorts on. The boys were called to the start first and as expected Dobbs Ferry's Patrick Wortner went out quickly with Irvington's Julian Saliani. The two spent much of the first half of the race running shoulder to shoulder, neither giving a step to the other. Behind them was Brendan Wortner, followed closely by Dennis Montaruli. Hastings had runners behind the front four along with Ardsley's Steve Sklar, determined to stay up front with the leaders. Further back, runners vied for position, knowing every place would count. Coming to the 2 mile mark, Saliani began to build a lead on Wortner. Accelerating up the long uphill for the last time, he opened a commanding lead and kept going faster, flashing over the finish line in 16:34, shattering the previous course record set by Irvington's Ryan Pastore in 2007 of 17:13. Both Wortners broke or tied the old record with Patrick coming in 17:00 and Brendan in 17:13. Fourth overall went to Dennis Montaruli, who had yet another excellent run to finish in 17:59. Dobbs Ferry got fifth place thanks to an outstanding run by George Epstein, who came in 4 seconds ahead of Sam Lindbergs late charge for sixth. Ardsley's Sklar was right behind him with Hastings Sheedy taking eighth, Sleepy Hollows McGovern took ninth and Hastings Scharf taking tenth. Zach Siegel had a terrific run, garnering eleventh place in 19:06 while team mate Sean Lippin took the next finishing spot five seconds later. Next came runners from Ardsley and two more Hastings runners before Taira Davey, Brett Pastore and Logan Muise followed taking 16-18. Reid Mitchell with an strong finish capped things off with a top twenty finish. The scoring was difficult and slow to resolve with so many runners competing. The final total gave the Irvington Boys the League Championship for the first time in five years, with a strong showing by the Hastings pack overcoming Dobbs Ferrys 2-3-5 finish up front, to take second place, edging the Eagles by just 3 points! Ardsley showed growth as did the developing Horsemen from Sleepy Hollow finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Irvingtons Saliani, Montaruli, Lindberg, Siegel and Lippin made All League with Davey, Pastore and Muise right on the cusp. When the girls went to the line, everyone knew who was going to be out in front, but they all worried how the teams packs would work further back. Team finishes would be critical. At the gun, Sleepy Hollow's talented sophomore Katherine Doyle pulled out to a lead followed closely by Irvington's Annie Field and Dobbs Ferry's Sarah King, who were running side by side. These three began to distance themselves from the field with the Hasting's trio of Howe, Sanders and Polstein a little behind. A little further back Irvington's Edwina Picon dualed with Lauren Wilt, Hastings #4 who has been having an outstanding season and Sasha Zwiebel was right there on their heals. The rest of the Irvington team was running well and began moving up in the second half of the race. At the finish line, Doyle took first in near record time with Annie Field striding in for second, just 8 seconds behind in 19:42. King, who's been having a great second half of the season, was third in 19:59. Then it was all Hastings as their juggernaut grabbed the next four places. Led by senior Nora Howe (20:36), Emma Sander (21:11), Emily Polstein (21:12) and Lauren Wilt (21:23), the Yellow Jackets locked down fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, before Edwina Picon came in to take eighth place in 21:29 with Sasha Zwiebel, ninth in 22:19. Ardsleys top runner, Montgomery was tenth, but then Megan Talay sprinted ahead of Dobbs Ferry's Hanley for eleventh, with Liz Hevern having another great run to take thirteenth position and team fifth. Dobbs Ferry's Walsh came in next, before a trio of Lady Bulldogs. Christina Paparo led the way taking fifteenth, followed closely by Aislinn Raftis and Courtney Buell, who had outstanding finishes for team seventh and eighth. The count for team results was a real nail biter as the results were added up, rechecked and added again...and again. All the coaches watched the counting and when it was done, Irvington's super pack finishing 8 runners in the top twenty, along with strong runs by both the Dobbs Ferry and Ardsley girls, outweighed the excellent finishes by the Hastings team to move them ahead, making them League Champions for the first time in 25 years! The Hastings girls took second, followed by Dobbs Ferry and Ardsley. Making All League, Field, Picon, Zwiebel, Talay, Hevern and Paparo with Raftis and Buell, oh so close. An outstanding end to the regular season, with both teams capturing the League Championship and a total of eleven runners getting All League honours. Also worth mentioning...or repeating again, was the great races by Aislinn Raftis and Courtney Buell which made a big difference in the team total. Excellent run by Clara Foung with another big PR. Zach Siegels excellent run for a team fourth. Logan Muises breakout sub 20 PR and Reid Mitchell in the top twenty, flirting with the same. And, of course, major congratulations to Jimmy McCann and David Ehrenreich for running and finishing their first 5K race ever! Now it's time for the post season to begin and the Bulldogs are heading into it knowing they'll have to work even harder for the big races ahead, County Championships, Sectionals and States.  |
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