Left to right, John Jay’s Sloan Wasserman on her way to winning the Section 1 Class B cross-country championship for the second-straight year. Andy Condon of John Jay won the Section 1 Class B boys cross-country championship Saturday at Bowdoin Park. Natalie Desforges of Fox Lane competes in the Class A girls championship race. Dylan Scott helped John Jay finish second as a team in the Class B championship race. Jacques Desforges of Fox Lane finishes strong. Andy Jacobs photos
By JIM MACLEAN
It was a perfect day for a cross-country race as the best local high school runners gathered for the Section 1 cross-country championships Nov. 9, at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls.
And when all the races were finished, John Jay came home with a pair of champions as Andy Condon won the Section 1 Class B boys championship race, and then Sloan Wasserman won the Section 1 Class B girls championship race.
For Wasserman, it was her second-straight Section 1 title as the junior came in as the defending champ and showed why as she took the lead on the hills and held off all challengers, crossing the finish line in first-place with a time of 19:01.3, four seconds ahead of second-place finisher Ava Pennachio of Eastchester. Wasserman felt it was not her best race, but she got the job done to win.
“It was OK, I feel it was very mediocre for me, a little sickness going around, but I did the best I could and was happy to come away with the win,” Wasserman said of her race. “I knew I just had to run my race. My coaches’ plan was to stick with the pack at the start and then go out on the hills and that seemed to work. Definitely not like my season last year, but I’m making strides in terms of times and I’m happy with it.”
Now, Wasserman moves on to the New York state championships this Saturday, Nov. 16, in Queensbury, N.Y. Last year she was third in the state Class B championships, and she hopes to compete for the title with the top runners once again this year.
“I’m feeling good, my coach has prepared me to peak for this race and do the best I can,” Wasserman said of the state meet. “It’s going to be who shows up that day and is able to tough it out. Both those girls are back and some new girls as well. It’s going to be a hard, but fun race.”
Condon was determined to finish strong this year after finishing fourth last fall. This year he was among the pre-race favorites and he knew what he had to do heading into the final mile side-by-side with Victor Delgado of Hen Hud. Condon made his move on the final field of the course at Bowdoin and pulled away finishing six seconds ahead of Delgado in first-place with a time of 16:26 flat.
“Last year I got out-kicked, I didn’t want that to happen again and I was able to pull it out this year,” said Condon, regarding his race. “It was close down to the wire, we were neck and neck until about 400 meters to go and I made a move and didn’t look back.”
Winning the Section 1 title shows how far Condon has come since he signed up for cross-country as a freshman just to get in shape for lacrosse season. He is now committed to run in college next fall at the University of Richmond, but first he wants to finish strong at the state meet.
“Definitely was not expecting this, running was my third sport when I started,” Condon said of his title and future in college. “I’m excited how far I’ve come, but I’m not done. Last year at states I just wanted to finish top 20 to get a medal, this year I want to do more and finish off a great senior campaign.”
Like Condon, Wasserman was also not really a runner when she entered high school, focusing on soccer starting on the varsity as a freshman. John Jay coach Tyler Sayre praises their work ethic and commitment to the sport as they rose to the top as Section 1 champions.
“My first team was four years ago and Andy was a freshman just running to train for another sport, but he really committed to running and he’s had the success he had because of his hard work,” Sayre said of Condon. “Sloan has got high expectations, she’s relentless how hard she trains and puts a lot of pressure on herself to do well. Once she gets going in the zone she is a confident racer. Both of them were confident if they could run their race they could win.”
Condon and Wasserman both credit John Jay coach Dey Dey for setting up training regimens to help them prepare for the upcoming state meet.
“Sloan has been a little sick, pushing herself,” said Dey Dey. “Hopefully, in four days she will be better for the state race. They’re doing the best they can. As coaches there is nothing more we can ask for; do your best and just have fun.”
With Condon leading the way, the John Jay boys finished second in the Class B team standings trailing only champion Pearl River. Dylan Scott was the second John Jay boy to cross the finish line in 12th place, with teammate Lucas Mongiello right behind in 13th place. Luke Pinney was 24th and Rohan Patel was 39th as the top five finishers for the Wolves.
The John Jay girls were seventh in Class B as Emma Barniv finished 14th overall, Ainsley Graham was 24th, Mia Haimelin was 59th, and Ava Koch was 63rd.
The Fox Lane boys competed in a competitive Class A race with 17 teams, and the Foxes finished sixth in the team standings. Evan Bender led the way once again for Fox Lane as he finished 10th with a time of 17:14.5. Marc Desforges was the second finisher for the Fox Lane boys in 28th, Jasper Sizer was 34th, Jacques Desforges was 45th, and Conor Vallejo was 53rd as the top five finishers for the team score for Fox Lane.
In the girls Class A race, Fox Lane was seventh as a team led by Natalie Desforges in 31st place. Victoria Ransom was 41st, Riley new was 53rd, Daniella Perez Lopez was 5th and Alexandra Ransom was 62nd as the top five runners for the Foxes team score.