Individual winners Bryce Hammond of Corning and Tsadia Bercuvitz of Ithaca led their teams to titles at the Southern Tier Athletic Conference cross country championship meet Saturday, Oct. 25, in Endicott.
Hammond, a senior, won the boys race on the 3-mile course at Ann G. McGuinness School in 16 minutes, 17.3 seconds. Teammates Christopher Lawson (16:18.7) and Nicholas Ferratella (16:21.7) finished second and third.
Bercuvitz repeated as girls champion in 17:18.7, nearly two minutes faster than runner-up Olivia Martinec of Corning (19:01.2).
Corning returned to the top of STAC boys competition with a score of 26 after Ithaca stopped the Hawks’ streak of conference titles at three last year. Ithaca finished third Saturday with a score of 67, with Vestal taking the No. 2 spot with 55.
Ithaca’s girls repeated as team champion with a score of 34, with Vestal a distant second at 80 and Corning third at 86.
Corning took it out easy, then dominated
Hammond said the plan from Corning coach Ray Lawson was for the team to not lead through the first mile. Hammond stayed conservative over the first mile-and-a-half.
“But then I was dying on that uphill, and I was losing to all these people,” he said. “I knew I had to go on the downhill if I wanted to get back up front.
“I used the entire downhill to get back up to the front guys. Then I just took the rest of the flat to get the pace up because I know I’ve always been good on the flats, and I just decided to make sure no one could catch me on the flat.”
Hammond was excited to see his teammates close on his heels. Corning’s Sebastian Boutwell (16:40.4) finished sixth and Ashtyn Stark 16th (17:04.1) to account for the Hawks’ team score.
“I think my team did really well,” Hammond said. “Our No. 4 and sometimes 3, he got second this race. I’m really proud of him, he did good. … I like that we stacked the front five really well.”
Bercuvitz in a league of her own again
After winning last year’s STAC title by close to two minutes, Bercuvitz was nearly as dominant Saturday.
“I really appreciate all the officials and everybody who did their jobs and marked the course and all the wonderful people here,” Bercuvitz said. “I feel so honored to be able to run against all these other amazing female athletes.”
Bercuvitz thanked her coaches, teammates and school, then praised a relatively young Little Red girls team.
“A lot of our varsity are freshmen this year, and they just came up,” she said. “Obviously, they’re all phenomenal athletes, but they’re also amazing people. I feel so lucky to be able to train with them and race with them.”
Ithaca’s Mattae Dauria finished third (19:28.9), with Skyler Lovenheim seventh in 20:17 and Avery Whittaker ninth in 20:30.1.
Course challenged runners
While shy of a typical 3.1-mile course in length, the setup at Ann G. McGuinness made up for it in terms of challenge.
“I do like that it’s not all rolling, and there’s one big hill,” Hammond said. “I get the flat to really use my strength and not just be bogged down the hills, but that one hill is terrible. It just keeps going up and never seems to end.”
Section 4 meet on the horizon
The next big meet is the Section 4 state qualifier Nov. 6 at Chenango Valley State Park. Berths to the state meet, to be held Nov. 15 at Queensbury High School, will be at stake.
Bercuvitz is at full strength after dealing with a thumb injury during the spring track & field season. She finished second in Class A at last year’s state meet.
“I’m excited. Obviously nerves increase as postseason goes on, but I trust my coach and everything,” she said.
Corning’s boys are poised to win the Class A sectional title and return to states after Ithaca represented Section 4 last year. Four-time state champion Corning won back-to-back state championships in 2022 and 2023.
“The fact that I’ve won (the STAC title) shows that I am pretty set going into sectionals,” Hammond said. “I’m hoping for a good performance at states.”
Boys Results
Team scores: Corning 26, Vestal 55, Ithaca 67, Horseheads 140, Chenango Valley 166, Owego Free Academy 170, Johnson City 238, Maine-Endwell 242, Union-Endicott 253, Elmira 262, Oneonta 273, Waverly 283.
Top 20 finishers: 1-Bryce Hammond (Corning) 16:17.3; 2-Christopher Lawson (Corning) 16:18.7; 3-Nicholas Ferratella (Corning) 16:21.7; 4-Aidan Skuban (Susquehanna Valley) 16:22.1; 5-Zoltan Nadasdy (Ithaca) 16:28.3; 6-Sebastian Boutwell (Corning) 16:40.4; 7-Thomas Ciaravino (Vestal) 16:51; 8-Nikhil Datta (CV) 16:52.4; 9-Titus Patton (Vestal) 16:54.1; 10-Alasdair Smith (Ithaca) 16:57.7; 11-Tyler Hayes (Vestal) 17:01.0; 12-Nicholas Luti (U-E) 17:01.9; 13-Kevin Middendorf (Vestal) 17:02.4; 14-Javan Belokur (OFA) 17:03.8; 15-Nicholas Kowal (Horseheads) 17:03.8; 16-Ashtyn Stark (Corning) 17:04.1; 17-Andor Nadasdy (Ithaca) 17:07.6; 18-Ryan Pepples (CV) 17:09; 19-William Boscia (Ithaca) 17:09.7; 20-Joseph Vallone (Vestal) 17:10.1.
Girls Results
Team scores: Ithaca 34, Vestal 80, Corning 86, Owego Free Academy 90, Chenango Forks 154, Elmira 162, Maine-Endwell 163, Union-Endicott 195, Chenango Valley 208, Seton Catholic Central 275.
Top 20 finishers: 1-Tsadia Bercuvitz (Ithaca) 17:18.7; 2-Olivia Martinec (Corning) 19:01.2; 3-Mattae Dauria (Ithaca) 19:28.9; 4-Hellen Zhang (Vestal) 19:50.2; 5-Ella Devlin (Elmira) 20:08.8; 6-Jaelyn Chrysler (OFA) 20:12.9; 7-Skyler Lovenheim (Ithaca) 20:17; 8-Kateland Dininny (Corning) 20:18.1; 9-Avery Whittaker (Ithaca) 20:30.1; 10-Kayla Fletcher (Vestal) 20:57.6; 11-Clara Little (Forks) 20:59.7; 12-Abigail McHugh (OFA) 21:09.9; 13-Suzanne Sydlansky (Horseheads) 21:22.3; 14-Savanna Ulrich (Vestal) 21:29.2; 15-Nora Golden (Ithaca) 21:30; 16-Sadie Limbert (U-E) 21:32.1; 17-Lyla Houser (CV) 21:41.3; 18-Maddison Novotny (M-E) 21:41.6; 19-Maren Golden (Ithaca) 21:42.24; 20-Kaitlyn Lee (Corning) 21:54.4.
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: With race winners leading the way, Corning boys and Ithaca girls take STAC XC titles
Reporting by Andrew Legare, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
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