SJB's Kate McCormack takes second at CHSAA Intersectionals
Kate McCormack of St. John the Baptist finished second with a time of 15:22.73 at the CHSAA Intersectionals cross country championship at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014. Credit: Errol Anderson
It didn't take long for St. John the Baptist's Kate McCormack to figure out that something was amiss. She had just entered the woods at Sunday's CHSAA Intersectional championships at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and something just didn't seem right.
"I was breathing heavier than I should have been," McCormack said.
She had gone out too fast, a potentially disastrous mistake in a long-distance race. But McCormack adjusted, pulling herself together and posting a second-place finish, the highest from a Long Island school. McCormack finished the 2.5-mile course in 15 minutes, 22.73 seconds. Lisa Fajardo of Brooklyn's Bishop Kearney won in 15:04.89.
"It was a tough race," McCormack said. " . . . I think I was a little bit too excited [at the beginning]. I tried to slow down, but I couldn't."
Once she realized her error, McCormack said she was able to "fix" herself enough so she was still in position for an impressive finish. "I worked a little bit harder up the hills," she said. "I wish I had taken it back a little on the hills and gone a little bit faster on the downhills. But, overall, I'm happy with it. It was a good race."
Because a majority of the course's first half is uphill, McCormack believes that the Van Cortlandt Park course actually ran harder than Sunken Meadow State Park, where she won the CHSAA title two weeks ago.
That's precisely the kind of frustration that can come late in the cross country season. The difficulty of a course can change on a daily basis. Those who win consistently are able to adapt accordingly. "It's a race," she said. "Anything can happen."
Kellenberg's Jazmine Fray, who was sixth in 16:14.80, agreed with McCormack's assessment. But, she said, it does have its advantages. "I always thought this course was harder than Sunken Meadow," Fray said. "You just have to think that if the first half is all uphill, than the second half must be all downhill. That's really good also."
St. John the Baptist's Erin Endres finished seventh in 16:15.75, St. Anthony's Gianna Mincone was eighth in 16:21.01 and Kellenberg's Deidre Lewin was 10th in 16:25.06.
St. Anthony's finished highest among Long Island schools in the team competition, taking second with 85 points. Staten Island's Notre Dame Academy (47) was first.
