NY's Tightest Sectionals

The NYSPHSAA Championships is a great meet and I have been at every one since 1999, but to me Sectional Championships can provide even more drama than the state meet. Sectional meets are usually between schools and coaches that know each other extremley well — often having raced frequently throughout the season. The races are typically smaller and easier for spectators to follow — in part because the runners wear their school uniforms.

What also makes these races exciting is that only one team gets to move on to the state meet. Sometimes a team that could win the state meet is sitting at home after a close loss at Sectionals. How many times have we seen Burtn Hills or Queensbury not racing after a close one the week before at Saratoga Spa Park?

Another factor that makes cross country so hard to predict — and why I love it — is that it's not just about this-team-versus-that-team as most other sports. It's also about how the other teams in your section can 'help' or 'hurt' you.

With that in mind, we decided to take a look at Sectional races that should be close and have an impact on the top teams at the State Championships the following weekend. State rankings are listed next to team names.

Thursday, November 3rd

Sectiion 4 Boys Class A — No. 11 Corning vs. No. 15 Ithaca

Last weekend Ithaca beat Corning, 70-96, at the Section 4 STAC Championships, but race size made the score wider than it should be this weekend. If scored as a dual meet, Ithaca would have won 25-30 and the meet will only have seven teams instead of the 16 that scored at STAC.

Friday, November 4th

Section 1 Girls Class B — No. 3 Pearl River vs. No. 7 Nanuet

Rivalries run deep in Rockland County and this has become a good one. But in order to be a great rivalry the underdog has to win sometimes. Beating Pearl river will be no easy task as the Lady Pirates have claimed 32 straight Sectional titles. Last weekend Nanuet lost to Pearl River, 39-61, at The Rockland County Championships. The head-to-head score was 24-33.

What complicates this one is the fact that other quality teams with top individuals will be in the mix — No. 18 Tappan Zee, No. 21 Brewster and No. 24 Somers.

Section 1 Boys Class B — No. 1 Pearl River vs. No. 7 Brewster

The rankings are a little misleading as Brewster has been ranked as high as NYS No. 3. Additionally No. 8 Tappan Zee and No. 14 Somers are both capable of running with these two teams on any given day.

But it does appear that Pearl River is the hot team after winning the Rockland County Championships last weekend. Brewster won its County meet and features a front three that very well could beat Pearl River's No. 1. But that's where the Pirates start streaming in a pack that spread a mere 32 seconds last weekend at Bear Mountain. With the depth of this field Brewster will be looking to advance its fifth man in an effort to hold the lead and secure the title.

Whichever team gets out of Section 1 will have a shot at a state title.

Section 2 Girls Class B — No. 2 Burnt Hills vs. No. 6 Holy Names

Holy Names dominated the Colonial Council meets last weekend while Burnt Hills finished second in the Suburban Council Championships. Burnt Hills does look like a pretty solid favorite here, but when you crunch the numbers a bit you see that out of the top 15 girls in this race only two or three will be from a school besides these two. When races are basically dual meets anything can happen. So while we think BHBL looks like it'll win it — keep an eye on this one just in case.

Section 6 Girls Class C — No. 6 Newfane vs. No. 7 Fredonia

Fredonia looks like the solid favorite in this one as Newfane can hang close through four girls, but should lose some points on the back end. Neither team has a lot of depth or room for mistakes. The team that runs the smartest should win this one. Section 6 Class C does have more than 20 teams so this won't be a simple dual-meet-type race. Other teams will affect the score in a big way.

Saturday, November 5th

Section 5 Girls Class A — No. 3 Canandaigua vs. No. 4 Penfield vs. No. 9 Rush Henrietta

Three good teams will go at it for the second straight week. Last weekend at the Monroe County Championships — a huge meet that had 20 teams score — Canandaigua beat Rush Henrietta, 85-100, with Penfield in third (110). In a smaller race with fewer runners, these scores will come down and compress. If you score last week's meet as a tri-meet the scores are super tight — Canandaigua 38, Penfield 42, Rush-Henrietta 42. All it takes is one girls to step up or to have an off day and the whole meet changes.

Section 5 Boys Class B — No. 5 Pittsford Mendon vs. No. 6 Brighton vs. No. 9 HFL vs. No. 13 Pittsford Sutherland

The Section 5 Class B boys have been going at it all season long. A week ago Brighton was ranked No. 1 in the state and Sutherland No. 4. Then Mendon beat them all at the Monroe County Championships to shake things up. If you take Tully state rankings and score the meet between the four schools in comes out Mendon 48, Brighton 49, HFL 50. Statisically speaking that's dead even. Again, whoever gets out of Section 5 will have a shot at a state title.

Section 3 Boys Class C — No. 6 Tully vs. No. 7 Hannibal vs. No. 8 Holland-Patent

On paper this looks like Hannibal is a slight favorite over Holland Patent and then Tully in race that has a total of seven ranked teams. Hannibal has the best runner of the three in Ben Griffin, but Holland-Patent has the best front end with three good runners all within a few seconds of each other and all capable of top-five finishes. Tully might have the best fourth man of the bunch, but will be looking for a fifth man to move up. These type of races are the best — with so many variables, it's just impossible to predict.

Section 3 Girls Class D — No. 2 Beaver River vs. No. 3 Remsen

Remsen has the ability to pull out a win in this one, yet Beaver River is the clear favorite here. There appears to be plenty of places where Remsen can pick up some points but it'll need to play matchup with Beaver River and try to beat the girl ranked just in front.