Elise Ramirez took off with the lead pack in the Class A race at the Suffolk County XC Championship meet Saturday and never looked back. She finished fourth in the race in a time 20:15 and earned a trip to the NYS XC Championship Meet next weekend at Queensbury High School.
This was Ramirez’s biggest XC race in her second year on the team and in the sport. Strong finishes in big meets throughout the season prepared her for the high level of competition she would face in her race. She prepared for the meet in tough post-season workouts with her equally determined post-season squad Sachem teammates.
Ramirez, in the top 10 right from the starter’s pistol beginning the race, moved through the lead pack and made the final bridge crossing at the Storm Sandy altered Sunken Meadow course only a few meters behind Brigid Brennan of Northport.
Ramirez finished three seconds behind Brigid in Sachem’s dual meet against Northport last month. She charged after Brigid and passed her shortly before reaching the finish line. Ramirez was beaten in dual meets by only three League II rivals all season and was the first League II runner across the finish line Saturday.
Team scoring was far from over 90 seconds later when Gabriella Mott streaked across the Parkway Bridge. Mott was bearing down on Northport senior Cara Jozefowski with only 300 meters to go. She passed Jozefowski and several other runners in an exciting finish as she crossed the finish line in 21:45.31 earning All-County Third Team honors.
Mott was the fastest eighth grader in her race (the second fastest in all four races) and faster than all but two Class A freshman. Dowon Hwang, Mackenzie Coleman, Katie Michta and Oriana Howell finished shortly after Mott, giving Sachem a runners two through six a gap of only 43 seconds. This type of a close pack is what coaches hoped for. Other teams had packs a little stronger than Sachem. The Arrows, ranked No. 2 in Suffolk County’s Class A for most of the season, slipped to fifth in team scoring.
The team was stoic and less than joyous upon learning of its team score, according to Sachem coach Alex Young. There is much to celebrate as Sachem’s post-season continues. The Arrows will send four runners to next week’s All-County dinner – Elise, Gabriella, Mackenzie and Katie.
Ramirez will compete at States next weekend and will be a favorite to make Federation from Section XI. Sachem will also send its largest squad in many years to the Foot Locker XC Championship Northeast Regional race on November 30.