States and Feds

The NY State XC Meet was held on Nov. 9 in Queensbury, NY. It was a bitter cold 36 degree day.
4 Liverpool runners got to compete.

They were Dan, Ben, Connor and Alex. 

It was all about the individuals, since their whole team didn't make it. They all ran great races. Alex came in 27th overall. They helped Section III take the win for being the #1 section in the state. As if there was any question!

This past Saturday was a balmy 62 degrees when we went to Poughkeepsie for the NY State Federation Meet. You all might be wondering what the difference is, between States and Feds. Well, States includes only Public Schools. Federations includes public AND private schools. And we all know, NY state has a lot of private schools, especially down near the city. They are all very competitive in XC. 

Feds is a very crazy, very fast race. With the best talent in the state. Individual and team. And for the first time in school history, Liverpool won a Federation title. In any sport. It was a very good day for Liverpool. 

Next up is the NXN Regional XC Meet on Nov. 30th. It's held at the same course as Federations. They need a top-2 finish to go to Oregon. They're seeded 2nd. Stay tuned!

Sectionals

Yesterday was the much-anticipated Section III Championship race at Jamesville Beach. There are 11 sections in NY State. Each section has a championship race, and the winner of each section goes to the State Meet. All season long, Liverpool has been ranked #2 in the state of NY. But unfortunately, the #1 team in the state (Fayetteville-Manlius aka F-M) is also in Section III. So only one team gets to go to States.

The 2 teams have had 2 other head-to-head races this year, and each time Liverpool just missed beating them. They have worked so hard and had a goal to get to States.

They all ran the race of their lives. 

Alex placed 9th overall in the Section. His teammate was right on his heels.

Well, there was good news and bad news after the race. The good news was, Alex was going to states, no matter what the outcome was. The top 5 individuals (after the top team-winner runners) get to go to States to run as individuals. Alex was that 5th runner. He just made it! The team unfortunately, fell short. Although, it was the first time ever that the 2nd place team had all their top 5 runners all finish in the Top 10. That just shows the depth of their team. Liverpool's Top 5 came in before F-M's Top 5. However, it wasn't enough. But, the good news is that 4 Liverpool runners are going to States... and that has also never happened. 

The top row is the team from F-M. The bottom row are the individual winners. 

Liverpool will still be going to Regionals on Nov. 30 and will get to face F-M once again. And this time, the top 2 teams get to go to Nationals. So let's keep our fingers crossed!! First up though, States are Saturday in Queensbury, NY. (Just north of Albany.) And on Sunday, Alex and I get to go to Lehigh University in PA for an official visit. Busy times!