Corning sweeps titles at STAC Cross Country Championships

The juggernaut that is Corning cross country displayed its prowess again Saturday by sweeping the varsity titles at the Southern Tier Athletic Conference Championships at Owego Free Academy.

Corning won the boys and girls team championships in decisive fashion and Hawks runners claimed the individual races. Senior Ashton Bange was the boys winner in 15 minutes, 26.7 seconds and junior Sarah Lawson repeated as STAC girls champion in 17:52.5.

The race covered 5,000 meters on a mostly flat course at the high school that concluded inside Christy J. Valvo Stadium.

Corning boys in top form

Corning won last year's New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A title, the third state championship in program history. With the bulk of the lineup back, expectations are again high and Saturday's meet was an indication the Hawks are primed to make a bid for a state repeat.

Seven of the top 12 boys finishers were from Corning as the Hawks won their second straight STAC championship. DJ Cornfield finished third, Gabe Cornfield fourth, Tevin McLaren ninth, Joshua Beres 10th, Jaxyn Mahoney 11th and Marcus Homa 12th.

The Hawks' team total of 27 (calculated by adding up placement of team's top-five finishers) was well ahead of the 61 from runner-up Ithaca and the finishes of Corning's sixth through 10th runners would have put that group fourth in the team standings.

"I think we did great," Bange said. "Coming into the season we were ranked first and then we had some rocky patches in there with sicknesses and injuries. Seeing our performance today was just amazing, to see that we’re still there, we’re in this."

Bange has faced obstacles this season

Bange finished 28 seconds ahead of runner-up Liam Cody of Vestal, whose time was 15:54.9. Bange was the 2021 Section 4 Class A champ and Cody was the section's Class B champion.

An Achilles injury and lung issues described by Bange as "a freak thing" have hindered him this fall. He said the lung trouble is ongoing, but he's been able to run through it and Saturday's race was a smooth one for him.

"The approach was to kind of make that first mile go fast, get through that two mile, and then what do you got?" Bange said. "Just go for it. It was such a flat course today, it was basically race your heart out today."

The STAC crown was his first in cross country and puts him in a strong frame of mind heading into the Section 4 Championships, which will be held Nov. 3 at Chenango Valley State Park. The state meet follows Nov. 12 at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School.

"It tells us that our training has been working and that our injuries and recovery have been getting better," Bange said of Saturday's team effort. "It's a small trampoline to sectionals and then sectionals will be the trampoline to states. It's a significant win."

Lawson leads Hawks girls

Lawson won the girls race by nearly 6 seconds over Ithaca's Tsadia Bercuvitz (17:58). Elmira standout Vicky Mordvinova was third (18:07.1) and Susquehanna Valley's Brynn Hogan fourth (18:50.4).

"I’m very proud of how I did today," said Lawson, who added to the family's growing list of STAC titles started by sister Jessica. "Going into the race I know their times, I know they’re all really good runners. Just try to race each other and stay focused on my race. Very happy with how I raced."

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Lawson was also proud of how Corning performed as a group. Also for the Hawks, Sadie Beres finished seventh and Lauren Roche eighth. Corning had nine runners in the top 24 in the field of 102 and registered a team score of 40, with Ithaca second at 121.

One of the goals of Corning training sessions is to have everyone within touch of each other and the Hawks replicated that in race format Saturday.

"Every race is going to get us better for the championship season, so we try to do every race as hard as we can and really be proud of it," Lawson said.

Rising stars

Bercuvitz is an eighth-grader and has made significant strides this season.

"She's been doing well all season, so definitely somebody to think about going into the race," Lawson said of Bercuvitz.

Elmira's Ella Devlin, another eighth-grader, finished sixth in 19:36.2.

By the numbers

The STAC title was the fourth in a row for the Corning girls, a streak that dates back to 2018. There were no conference championships during the 2020-21 school year because of the pandemic.

Boys Results

Team scores: Corning 27, Ithaca 61, Vestal 87, Union-Endicott 141, Owego Free Academy 162, Oneonta 165, Horseheads 211, Chenango Forks 262, Norwich 270, Chenango Valley 275, Elmira 294, Binghamton 305, Maine-Endwell 345, Johnson City 384.

Top finishers: 1-Ashton Bange (Corning) 15:26.7; 2-Liam Cody (Vestal) 15:54.9; 3-DJ Cornfield (Corn) 15:55; 4-Gabe Cornfield (Corn) 15:56.7; 5-Tim Smith (Ves) 15:59.3; 6-Everett Shaw (Ith) 16:09.9; 7-Crosby Woods (Ith) 16:10.5; 8-Jace Stuart (OFA) 16:19.1; 9-Tevin McLaren (Corn) 16:23.2; 10-Joshua Beres (Corn) 16:24.5; 11-Jaxyn Mahoney (Corn) 16:27.1; 12-Marcus Homa (Corn) 16:29.3; 13-Noah Hilker (Ith) 16:46; 14-Carson Lyman (U-E) 16:50.1; 15-Joshua Mayer (U-E) 16:58.5; 16-Drew Brooks (Nor) 17:01.6; 17-Jesse Rinzel (Ith) 17:03.9; 18-Riley Hubisz (Ith) 17:04.9; 19-Caleb Belanger (Elm) 17:09.2; 20-Lucas Catarella (Ves) 17:11.4.

Girls Results

Team scores: Corning 40, Ithaca 121, Union-Endicott 124, Horseheads 127, Owego Free Academy 137, Chenango Forks 177, Oneonta 179, Elmira 188, Vestal 236, Maine-Endwell 260, Susquehanna Valley 272, Johnson City 324, Binghamton 349.

Top finishers: 1-Sarah Lawson (Corn) 17:52.5; 2-Tsadia Bercuvitz (Ith) 17:58; 3-Vicky Mordvinova (Elm) 18:07.1; 4-Brynn Hogan (SV) 18:50.4; 5-Simone Schuman (Oneonta) 19:27.9; 6-Ella Devlin (Elm) 19:36.2; 7-Sadie Beres (Corn) 19:41.9; 8-Lauren Roche (Corn) 19:42.4; 9-Mackenzie Baker (Hors) 19:50; 10-Jaelyn Chrysler (OFA) 19:56.3; 11-Cassandra Collins (Corn) 20:00.1; 12-Dakota Limbert (U-E) 20:03.6; 13-Ella Grinnell (Corn) 20:04; 14-Madison Buckley (U-E) 20:05.3; 15-Cassandra Burt (M-E) 20:22.9; 16-Olivia Murch (Corn) 20:30.2; 17-Anya Sloth (Oneonta) 20:34.6; 18-Keira Smith (Windsor) 20:38.1; 19-Taylor Farrell (Corn) 20:44.8; 20-Bianca Ortiz (Ves) 20:45.2.

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Corning sweeps titles at STAC Cross Country Championships