QUEENSBURY — It might have been the single best showing by Section 1 ever.
Possibly by any section.
Saturday at Queensbury High School nearly 970 runners crossed the finish in eight races at the state public high school cross-country championships.
And no one was better in their classes than John Jay-Cross River’s Sloan Wasserman, Bronxville’s Mia Horgan and North Rockland’s Claudel Chery.
Those three athletes also helped carry their squads to team class titles.
Section 1 also won the section title in all three of those classes. Runners included the top 10 of 12 from the section with the 11th and 12th finishers included only if needed as a tie-breaker.
Section 1 wasn’t done there. Hen Hud’s Victor Delgado took silver in the boys Class B race, Haldane’s Owen Powers took bronze in boys D and Irvington was second as a team out of the 11 teams from the state’s 11 sections in boys Class C.
Cross-country being what it is, opponents embraced winners and celebrated their victories.
Somers senior Julia Duzynski, who contributed to the Section 1 win in girls Class B with a 16th-place performance out of 126 finishers, was right in the middle of the John Jay-Cross River team, offering warm congratulations on a cold day with temperatures largely in the mid- to upper-30s.
The win was huge for Wasserman, although perhaps not a surprise. She came to Queensbury as the Westchester County girls and Section 1 Class B girls cross-country champion.
While capable of crushing hills, the Boston College commit, whose future college coach was on hand to watch her run, flew over the largely flat 3.1-mile course in 17:06.2.
Told about that being a course record, she laughed since hers was the first race of the day and she expected that time to be beaten.
It wasn’t.
The win was particularly meaningful to Wasserman after she was disappointed with her showing at the state outdoor track championships last spring.
She had her eye on a state X-C championship all fall and even earlier, training hard throughout the summer.
“I was talking to my trainers (yesterday) and they just told me, ‘It’s time,’ ” she said of going for the win. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs throughout my career and you know I’m not going to lie, spring was definitely in my mind the whole race and I just wanted this so badly and I’ve gotten second too many times to count, so getting first today was just so special. …”
She also praised her team’s dedication, expressing delight the Wolves took the Class B girls team title.
John Jay-Cross River, Bronxville’s girls and North Rockland’s boys will be among the teams that will compete in next week’s state Federation championships at Bowdoin Park in the Town of Poughkeepsie. That championship, which isn’t by class but pits the top runners from all sizes of public and private schools in a single girls and a single boys race, also doubles as the qualifier for Nike Cross Nationals, which will be held in Oregon.
Wasserman expressed excitement about running in the Fed with her team.
So did Chery, who told his team post-race, “This is only the beginning.”
Chery, who clocked 15:10.4 (the meet’s fastest time), was not only chased to the finish by second-place finisher Ryan Maher of Auburn (15:11.6) and bronze medalist Thomas Isenovski of Saratoga Springs (15:17.8), but also by his longtime teammate and good friend, Ryan Tuohy, who finished fourth in the 108-runner field in 15:19.2.
Horace Greeley’s Ryan Sykes, last year’s state Class A champion, who has been hampered by an injury the past few weeks, battled to a ninth-place, 15:26.6 finish.
Chery, who ran the first mile like he was competing in a mile race — a PA announcer saying he hit the mile mark at 4:33 and change — still had enough in his tank to kick his way to the finish.
Chery said his goal entering the race was to win but he put his odds at 50-50.
“Definitely my strategy got me there,” said Chery, who held off Maher with that strong closing kick.
He noted his team finished second at last year’s states and said of this year, “We came here to win and that’s what we did.”
“We’re elated. This is one of the best moments of our lives,” added Chery, who said his team would go “all out” at the Fed.
“NXR, here we come,” he said of Nike Cross Regional.
Horgan said before the race she wasn’t feeling her best, was nervous and didn’t have as much confidence as she would have liked, but still “knew that I was ready and knew I had the potential to do it.”
Horgan noted she and her team, whose race was right after Wasserman’s, cheered Wasserman on from a distance.
“It feels great,” she said of the first two races of the day being won by Section 1 athletes and teams.
“Section 1 is like, ‘Go, Section 1,’ ” Horgan said, laughing and shaking a fist in the air.
“I’m just so happy,” she said.
Other takeaways
Hen Hud’s Delgado, who recently committed to run for Div. I Dartmouth, said had he been told at the outset of the season he’d place second in Class C at states, he’d have been pleased.
But he was a little disappointed with his silver because of his high-level performances this fall.
“Coming in, I knew I had a chance (to win),” he said, explaining, though, that he knew he was the second best returning runner in the class.
The first was Manhassett’s Blake Sealy, who won in’15:24.2, more than 10 seconds ahead of Delgado (15:34.7), although the two were together for the race’s first two miles.
Still, Delgado’s time was nearly five seconds faster than when he finished sixth at states on the same course last year.
“I may not have grabbed the win, but second is the next best thing,” said Delgado, who indicated he’ll go all out at Bowdoin in the Fed, hoping for a shot at nationals.
“It’ll require all my strength to try for top-five for NXN (Nike Cross Nationals),” he said, noting he has done some extra training there of late.
Irvington’s second-place finish behind East Aurora in the boys Class C team competition came with only one Bulldog cracking the top 20. That was Section 1 Class C boys champion Ethan Gartlan, who ran Ethan Gartlan 15:55.2 for ninth place.
Powers of Haldane ran much better than he had in 2024, although finishing third both times in Class D.
He finished in 15:44.5 Saturday after clocking 16:04.8 on the same course last year.
“Top three, I’m happy. It was a fast race and that kept me in it,” said Powers, who hasn’t committed yet but plans to run in college.
Section 1’s first-place section championship teams
Note: John Jay-Cross River and Bronxville girls and North Rockland boys finishes are included in section title results. All top-20 finishers in each class received medals for their individual finishes. In the class individual team competition, the placements of the top five finishers out of the seven runners for each team counted toward team titles with runners six and then possibly seven counting only if needed to break ties.
Girls Class B
126 finishers
Winner sections: Section 1
Winner team: John Jay-Cross River
1. Sloan Wasserman, John Jay-Cross River (17:06.2)
7. Bridget Dunn, Tappan Zee (18:19.8)
10. Hannah Delaney, Nyack (18:34)
15. Saya Serai, John Jay-Cross River (18:50.4)
16. Julia Duzynski, Somers (18:50.7)
20. Emma Barniv, John Jay-Cross River (18:53)
29. Kaya Duzynski, Somers (19:18.1)
35. Mia Haimelin, John Jay-Cross River (19:23.5)
54. Brodie Albert, John Jay-Cross River [19:53)
60. Riley Campbell, Pelham (20:00.7)
68. Ainsley Graham, John Jay-Cross River (20:13.5)
Girls Class C
132 finishers
Winner sections: Section 1
Winner team: Bronxville
1. Mia Horgan, Bronxville (17:51.7)
11. Danielle List, Albertus Magnus (Danielle List (19:03.8)
15. Elizabeth Walsh, Pawling (19:13.2)
18. Clara Shingler, Pleasantville (19:19.3)
24. Carina Winiecki, Bronxville (19:36.7)
36. Ella McCalla, Bronxville (20:06.1)
47. Emerson Dennis, Bronxville (20:22.1)
59. Camilla Browand, Pleasantville (20:44.6 )
60. Elizabeth Conlon, Bronxville (20:47.5)
63. Odessa Dennis, Bronxville (20:53.3)
66. Olivia Caraballo, Albertus Magnus (20:56.4)
80. Eva Mihova, Bronxville (21:20.5)
Boys Class A
108 finishers
Winner sections: Section 1
Winner team: North Rockland
1. Claudel Chery, North Rockland (15:10.4)
4. Ryan Tuohy, North Rockland (15:19.2)
9. Ryan Sykes, Horace Greeley (15:26.6)
27. Marc Desforges, Fox Lane (15:56)
28. Joey Price, Clarkstown South (15:56.5)
29. James McCarron, North Rockland (15:56.8)
36. Cooper Cataldi, North Rockland (16:05)
38. Zavier Durandisse, Arlington (16:05.2)
40. Anis Abidar, Arlington (16:07.1)
50. Trevor Piccone, North Rockland (16:19.4)
53. Bryan Chen, North Rockland (16:26.2)
86. Emmanuel Perez-Nieves, North Rockland (16:58.3)
Section 1 athletes who medaled with top-20 finishes
Girls Class A
108 finishers; Winners from out of area noted
1. Leyla Bhusri, Shenendehowa (17:11.2)
9. Adriana Pettinelli, Scarsdale (17:45.6)
16. Gaby Castro, North Rockland (18:04.4)
Boys Class B
126 finishers
1. Blake Sealy, Manhassett (15:24.2)
2. Victor Delgado, Hen Hud (15:34.7)
6. J.D. Lloyd McKenna, Pearl River (15:49.6)
Boys Class C
130 finishers
1. Trent Thibault, Lansing (15:28.2)
9. Ethan Gartlan, Irvington (15:55.2)
12. Sean Dooley, Pleasantville (16:01.7)
13. Julian Gonzalez, Bronxville (16:13.4)
16. Matthew Jensen, Bronxville (16:19.9)
Boys Class D
124 finishers
1. Ibrahim Ford, Arkport-Canaseraga (15:30.9)
3. Owen Powers, Haldane (15:44.5)
Nancy Haggerty covers sports for The Journal News/lohud.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Section 1, Wasserman, Horgan, Chery, with huge day at NY cross-country championships
Reporting by Nancy Haggerty, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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