Corning boys take 10th at Nike Cross Nationals; Hawks' Sarah Lawson 41st
After ruling New York state boys cross country this season, Corning established itself among the nation's best teams Saturday with a 10th-place finish at the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon.
The Hawks posted a score of 288 in the event, which featured 22 full boys teams that earned berths at regional qualifiers across the United States.
Newbury Park, from California, finished first with a score of 66. A total of 198 boys runners competed in the race at Glendoveer Golf Course.
Corning's season included a repeat Class A title at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships and the team title title in the New York Regional qualifier for Saturday's meet. The Hawks have won four Class A state titles since 2016.
The Hawks were projected to finish anywhere from 16th to 20th by various running websites.
"We did much better than our projected (finish) just based on as we compare teams across the nation," Corning coach Ray Lawson said. "We really ran well. We ran well at the state meet, we ran better at the regional meet, we ran even better here. It was a complete team race."
Bange top Corning boys finisher
Two-time Section 4 Class A champion Ashton Bange, a senior, led Corning's finishers with 57th place in 15 minutes, 52 seconds. He was projected by finish 82nd, Lawson said.
Marcus Homa was next for the Hawks with 97th place in 16:12.2. Other Corning results: Tevin McLaren 105th in 16:18.2, Gabe Cornfield 108th in 16:19.9, DJ Cornfield 112th in 16:20.3, Josh Beres 160th in 16:47 and Jaxyn Mahoney 172nd in 16:52.4.
Corning and Downers North (Illinois) each scored 288, but DJ Cornfield's higher fifth-place team finish gave Corning 10th place on a tiebreaker.
"We had the second-lowest compression of runners. It was 28 seconds between our first and our fifth runner," Lawson said. "It’s a team race, but the fact (Homa) was our second runner, I think that really helped keep our two through five so close together because those guys have been training together."
The finish was Corning's best at a national meet. The 2017 team placed 12th at the same event.
Lawson 41st, Mordvinova 85th
Adding to the success of Corning runners Saturday was a 41st-place finish in the girls race from junior Sarah Lawson. She finished in 18 minutes, 4.6 seconds. Irene Riggs of Morgantown High School in West Virginia finished first in 16:40.9.
"She was engaged the entire race. She got out very, very well," Ray Lawson said of his daughter. "She was in 60th place at the mile, which in this field with the pace they were running was very good. Then she just continued to move up.
"She was very aggressive and really ran the course the right way as well. I was proud of her and proud of our guys. The way we talked about the course, the first mile is just so packed with bodies that you just have to manage the very crazy start for a mile, then the last two miles if you have a chance to move you have to do it."
Elmira High School senior Vicky Mordvinova finished 85th out of 195 girls with a time of 18:39.9.
Saratoga Springs' Kinetic Running Club captured the team title with a score of 81, putting New York's cross country powerhouse 28 points ahead of runner-up Niwot (Colorado).
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Corning boys team places 10th at Nike Cross Nationals
