CHENANGO VALLEY - Moravia's Kerrin Epstein and Candor's Ashley Horton, at the scenic Chenango Valley State Park golf course, are hardly separated by more than two meters and not saying a word, with their feet doing the talking.
Becky Gillard / Special to The Citizen
Candor's Ashley Horton, left, makes her way past Moravia's Kerrin Epstein in Thursday's Section IV Championships at Chenango Valley. Horton won the race, and Epstein took second in Class D.
Candor's Ashley Horton, left, makes her way past Moravia's Kerrin Epstein in Thursday's Section IV Championships at Chenango Valley. Horton won the race, and Epstein took second in Class D.
Of course, Epstein and Horton had other things on their minds, namely winning a Section IV Class D cross country championship.
When it was over, Horton inched past Epstein at the tape, beating her by three-tenths of a second in 19:28.0.
“She's really fast, so I figured she'd help me get a really good time,” said senior Epstein, whose time of 19:28.3 was about 15 seconds faster than her previous best over 3.1 miles.
“I just tried to stay with her and do what I could.”
In what was one of the most exciting finishes of the day's eight races, Epstein emerged from the woods with a 10-meter lead over Horton and about 250 meters of open terrain to cover.
“Horton is a very strong runner and has a strong kick, and Kerrin knows that,” Moravia coach Jan Hunsinger said.
“That's why Kerrin tried to get ahead of her toward the end to take her kick away, but Ashley showed a lot of guts at the finish.”
Horton, a junior, pulled even with Epstein with 20 meters to go and the two ran even until just before the tape.
It marked the second straight year Horton and Epstein finished 1-2 in the Class D race. They also had the two fastest times of the day, regardless of classification.
“We stayed with each other the whole time,” Horton said. “At the end, it looked like she was going to beat me, so I knew if I was going to beat her it would have to be at the end.”
Both runners will represent Section IV a week from Saturday at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship at Queensbury.
Elmira Heights, the top-ranked Class D team in the state, won the team competition with 22 points, besting defending champion Moravia, which had 59. Delhi was third with 63 points followed by Tioga with 91.
For Epstein, it is the fourth time she's qualified for the state meet.
“She said she probably ran about as fast as she possibly could,” Hunsinger said of Epstein. “She improved over last year and this is her fourth trip to the state meet. She's really gotten better every year.”
Epstein's teammate, Claire Hunsinger, will also have a chance to qualify for her fourth state meet. Freshman Hunsinger finished seventh in a personal-best 21:08.4. The top five runners qualify for the state meet, not including girls from the winning team.
“It's the fastest I've run by 40 seconds,” Claire Hunsinger said.
Another Moravia freshman, Jason Phillips, qualified for states. Phillips finished fourth in 17:33.1.
“The first part of the race I was picking people off, and then I got into my pace and settled in,” said Phillips, who held his position over the final two miles.
Hunsinger said of Phillips, who finished sixth at last weekend's Interscholastic Athletic Conference meet at Marathon: “About halfway through the season, we knew he had a really good shot at making the state meet. He proved pretty early that he could handle the competition.”
In the Class B girls race, Southern Springs junior Katharine Miller qualified for the state meet by finishing third with a time of 20:49.7. Johnson City's Paige Mullins won the race in 19:36.8.
Southern Springs finished third out of five complete teams with 86 points. Maine-Endwell won with 32.
Southern Springs finished last out of nine teams in the Class B boys race, led by Sam Fessenden, who finished 33rd in 19:40.
Place Name Time
Class B Southern Springs Girls,
3rd Katharine Miller 20:49
16 Brittany Wilbur 23:58
27 Rachel Humennyj 25:31
28 Molly O'Hara 25:42
38 Alicia Slywka 27:46
Class D Moravia Girls
2 Kerrin Epstein 19:28
7 Claire Hunsinger 21:08
13 Samantha Lorah 22:09
30 Alicia McLaughlin 25:29
32 Amber Gryziec 26:15
37 Helen Hunsinger 27:28
43 Megan Benson 31:12
Class B Southern Springs Boys
33 Sam Fessenden 19:40
36 Evan Bassett 19:55
50 Roger Olschewske 21:09
51 Evan McGonagle 21:27
52 Matt Cuff 21:36
58 Jared Littlejohn 22:47
59 Alex Axhmitt 22:54
Class D Moravia Boys
4 Jason Phillips 17:33
20 Larry Bentley 19:45
28 Pat Nevius 20:26
When it was over, Horton inched past Epstein at the tape, beating her by three-tenths of a second in 19:28.0.
“She's really fast, so I figured she'd help me get a really good time,” said senior Epstein, whose time of 19:28.3 was about 15 seconds faster than her previous best over 3.1 miles.
“I just tried to stay with her and do what I could.”
In what was one of the most exciting finishes of the day's eight races, Epstein emerged from the woods with a 10-meter lead over Horton and about 250 meters of open terrain to cover.
“Horton is a very strong runner and has a strong kick, and Kerrin knows that,” Moravia coach Jan Hunsinger said.
“That's why Kerrin tried to get ahead of her toward the end to take her kick away, but Ashley showed a lot of guts at the finish.”
Horton, a junior, pulled even with Epstein with 20 meters to go and the two ran even until just before the tape.
It marked the second straight year Horton and Epstein finished 1-2 in the Class D race. They also had the two fastest times of the day, regardless of classification.
“We stayed with each other the whole time,” Horton said. “At the end, it looked like she was going to beat me, so I knew if I was going to beat her it would have to be at the end.”
Both runners will represent Section IV a week from Saturday at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship at Queensbury.
Elmira Heights, the top-ranked Class D team in the state, won the team competition with 22 points, besting defending champion Moravia, which had 59. Delhi was third with 63 points followed by Tioga with 91.
For Epstein, it is the fourth time she's qualified for the state meet.
“She said she probably ran about as fast as she possibly could,” Hunsinger said of Epstein. “She improved over last year and this is her fourth trip to the state meet. She's really gotten better every year.”
Epstein's teammate, Claire Hunsinger, will also have a chance to qualify for her fourth state meet. Freshman Hunsinger finished seventh in a personal-best 21:08.4. The top five runners qualify for the state meet, not including girls from the winning team.
“It's the fastest I've run by 40 seconds,” Claire Hunsinger said.
Another Moravia freshman, Jason Phillips, qualified for states. Phillips finished fourth in 17:33.1.
“The first part of the race I was picking people off, and then I got into my pace and settled in,” said Phillips, who held his position over the final two miles.
Hunsinger said of Phillips, who finished sixth at last weekend's Interscholastic Athletic Conference meet at Marathon: “About halfway through the season, we knew he had a really good shot at making the state meet. He proved pretty early that he could handle the competition.”
In the Class B girls race, Southern Springs junior Katharine Miller qualified for the state meet by finishing third with a time of 20:49.7. Johnson City's Paige Mullins won the race in 19:36.8.
Southern Springs finished third out of five complete teams with 86 points. Maine-Endwell won with 32.
Southern Springs finished last out of nine teams in the Class B boys race, led by Sam Fessenden, who finished 33rd in 19:40.
Place Name Time
Class B Southern Springs Girls,
3rd Katharine Miller 20:49
16 Brittany Wilbur 23:58
27 Rachel Humennyj 25:31
28 Molly O'Hara 25:42
38 Alicia Slywka 27:46
Class D Moravia Girls
2 Kerrin Epstein 19:28
7 Claire Hunsinger 21:08
13 Samantha Lorah 22:09
30 Alicia McLaughlin 25:29
32 Amber Gryziec 26:15
37 Helen Hunsinger 27:28
43 Megan Benson 31:12
Class B Southern Springs Boys
33 Sam Fessenden 19:40
36 Evan Bassett 19:55
50 Roger Olschewske 21:09
51 Evan McGonagle 21:27
52 Matt Cuff 21:36
58 Jared Littlejohn 22:47
59 Alex Axhmitt 22:54
Class D Moravia Boys
4 Jason Phillips 17:33
20 Larry Bentley 19:45
28 Pat Nevius 20:26
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