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Cross-country: Arlington's Green defies humidity, breaks own course record at Somers

nancy haggerty, rockland/westchester journal news
·6 min read

SOMERS — After Ethan Green disappeared for a few minutes after completing the 3.1-mile course at the Somers Big Red Invitational cross-country meet in dripping-humid conditions, an Arlington teammate suggested he might be out on a 10-mile warm-down run.

It was a joke and Green wasn't. He'd soon appear.

But the idea wasn't farfetched.

The senior trained harder over summer break than he ever had, logging at least 10 miles a day, seven days a week.

"Days off are for weak people," he concluded, noting unlike the previous summer, going on a vacation this summer didn't also mean taking a vacation from running.

That dedication paid off Saturday.

With nearly 50 schools on hand and 194 runners in Green's D1 boys race alone, Green broke the Big Red's boys meet record, clocking 15:58.4.

The previous record had been 16:01. It, too, had belonged to Green.

And he did this with what he described as the "worst possible start" and foot speed still not up to what he knows it will be with speed work incorporated into what has for the past few months been just distance training.

Ethan Green from Arlington crosses the finish line during the boys D1 race at the Somers Big Red Invitational Cross Country meet at Somers High School, Sept. 9, 2023.
Ethan Green from Arlington crosses the finish line during the boys D1 race at the Somers Big Red Invitational Cross Country meet at Somers High School, Sept. 9, 2023.

"My legs have to catch up with my lungs," he said, noting distance running has give him a desired slower heart rate.

Green who's looking to go sub-15 later in the season for 3.1 miles, knew nothing that that was going to be in the cards Saturday. But he seemed pleased to break his meet mark, which was his goal from the starting line.

"The conditions were terrible," he said, referring to the high humidity. "I didn't know if I could do it. I felt great but then my body was just hot."

Overall girls winner

Julia Duzynski from Somers crosses the finish line during the girls D2 race at the Somers Big Red Invitational Cross Country meet at Somers High School, Sept. 9, 2023.
Julia Duzynski from Somers crosses the finish line during the girls D2 race at the Somers Big Red Invitational Cross Country meet at Somers High School, Sept. 9, 2023.

As it was, his run seemed remarkable, given the weather. Several runners received medical attention, which ranged from bags of ice applied to their necks to, in one instance, intravenous fluid.

"Stifling" is how Rye Neck's Airnara Schube Barriola, the girls Division 3 winner and overall second fastest female runner 19:38.5), described things.

Her season goal is to go under 19 minutes at Bowdoin Park, Section 1's very challenging championship site.

The only girl to beat Schube Barriola was the host Tuskers' Julia Duzynski.

She clocked 19:29 to lead her squad to the girls Division 2 team championship.

Like probably most, if not all of Saturday's runners, Duzynski didn't get a real practice in in the days leading up to the meet A high heat/humidity combo resulted in games and practices being canceled throughout the week until Friday, when the heat broke a bit but thunderstorms triggered cancelations.

"It was just a crazy week," Duzynski said.

She credited her and her teammates' strong performances to summer training on the course, specifically running hills.

"We push each other. The goal is obviously states (making the state championship) and we need to push each other as a team," she said.

Somers seemed to do that well Saturday with three Tuskers finishing in the top five among D2 girls, the fourth Somers finisher coming in eighth and the fifth to score taking 16th.

While Brewster, which had two runners in the boys D2 top 10 and two others make the top 20, edged his squad for the D2 boys team title, Nanuet's Shane Ethakkan won the individual boys D2 title by 16 seconds.

Ethakkan termed the course tough and said the race provided a means to measure fitness at this season's early juncture.

Shane Ethakkan from Nanuet crosses the finish line in the boys D2 race at the Somers Big Red Invitational Cross Country meet at Somers High School, Sept. 9, 2023.
Shane Ethakkan from Nanuet crosses the finish line in the boys D2 race at the Somers Big Red Invitational Cross Country meet at Somers High School, Sept. 9, 2023.

He noted he took the lead about a mile-and-a-half in, extended it and never looked back.

Scarsdale sophomore Rachel Rackower couldn't catch Columbia's Shea Fajen, the winner of the girls D1 race.

But Rackower's second-place finish helped the Raiders grab third place as a team in the division.

And to Rackower, team is a huge part of cross-country's allure.

"I love my team. They're some of the nicest people I know," she said.

Top 5 individual finishers in each race

Boys

Division 1

193 finishers

Ryan Sykes from Horace Greeley looks over his shoulder at Evan Bender from Fox Lane, as they approach the finish line during the boys D1 race at the Somers Big Red Invitational Cross Country meet at Somers High School, Sept. 9, 2023.
Ryan Sykes from Horace Greeley looks over his shoulder at Evan Bender from Fox Lane, as they approach the finish line during the boys D1 race at the Somers Big Red Invitational Cross Country meet at Somers High School, Sept. 9, 2023.

1. Ethan Green, Arlington (15:58.4)

2. Ryan Sykes, Horace Greeley (16:44.8)

3. Evan Bender, Fox Lane (16:46.2)

4. Bobby Mayclim, Lakeland/Panas (16:53.9)

5. Valencia Ramirez, Arlington (16:56.1)

Division 2

199 finishers

1. Shane Ethakkan, Nanuet (17:03.3)

2. Andy Condon, John Jay-Cross River (17:19.4)

3. Liam Ford, Brewster (17:26.6)

4. Padraig Pearlman, Pelham (17:33.2)

5. Matt Thomson, Eastchester (17:39.6)

Division 3

192 finishers

1. Lorenzo Lopes, Immaculate (16:51)

2. Micah Taffet, Rye Neck (17:09.1)

3. Anish Joshi, Irvington (17:09.9)

4. Jack Cozeman, Haddam-Killingwoth (17:10.6)

5. Daniel McCourt, Haddam-Killingwoth (17:11.5)

Girls

Division 1

87 finishers

1. Shea Fajen, Columbia (20:33.8)

2. Rachel Rackower, Scarsdale (20:21.3)

3. Bailey Guckian, Arlington (21:47.2)

4. Kirsten Anastasio, Arlington (21:47.2)

5. Sabine Yannone, Columbia (22:00.4)

Division 2

114 finishers

1. Julia Duzynski, Somers (19:29)

2 Sloan Wasserman, John Jay-Cross River (19:41.1)

3. Ava Pennachio, Eastchester (19:48)

4. Mia Sandolo, Somers (20:30.7)

5. Julia Aquilino, Somers (21:01.2)

Division 3

84 finishers

Ainara Schube Barriola from Rye Neck crosses the finish line during the girls D3 race at the Somers Big Red Invitational Cross Country meet at Somers High School, Sept. 9, 2023.
Ainara Schube Barriola from Rye Neck crosses the finish line during the girls D3 race at the Somers Big Red Invitational Cross Country meet at Somers High School, Sept. 9, 2023.

1. Airnara Schube Barriola, Rye Neck (19:38.5)

2. Caitlin Thomas, Hastings (19:46.7)

3. Clara Schingler, Pleasantville (19:58.5)

4. Maddy Williams, Bronxville (21:12)

5. Camila Browland, Pleasantville (21:20.2)

Top 5 teams per divisional race

Boys

Division 1

11 teams scoring. Points then top runner on each team listed

1. Arlington 47 (Ethan Green, first place, 15:58.4

2. Fox Lane 92 (Evan Bender, third place, 16:46.2)

3. Columbia 104 (Giovanni Lapietra, eighth place, 17:20)

4. Scarsdale 108 (Rishi Shadaksharappa, sixth place, 17:06.9)

5. New Rochelle 110 (Jack Maiese, 11th place, 17:41.5)

Division 2

13 teams scoring

1. Brewster 68 (Liam Ford, third place, 17:26.6)

2. Nanuet 74 (Shane Ethakkan, first place, 17:03.3)

3. Somers 78 (Chris Wissa, sixth place, 17:46.8)

4. Pelham 101 (Padrag Pearlman, fourth place, 17:33.2)

5. Eastchester 132 (Matt Thomson, fifth place, 17:39.6)

Division 3

1. Haddam-Killingworth 57 (Jack Cozeman, fourth place, 17:10.6)

2. Briarcliff 93 (Miles Chamerlain, seventh place, 17:26)

3. Bronxville 101 (Julian Gonzalez, sixth place, 17:19.4)

4. Irvington 122 (Anish Joshi, third place, 17:09.9)

5 . Immaculate 148 (Lorenzo Lopes, first place, 16:51.1)

Girls

Division 1

8 teams scoring

1. Arlington, 43 (Bailey Guckian, third place, 21:10.9

2 .Columbia 43 (team second in tie-breaker — Shea Fajen, first place, 20:33.8)

3. Scarsdale 56 (Rachel Rackower, second place, 20:41.3)

4. New Rochelle, 99 (Rosie Palmer, sixth place, 22:11.2)

5. Harrison 150 (Filippa Rasmussen, 19th place, 23:49.8)

Division 2

11 teams scoring

1. Somers 32 (Julia Duzynski, first place, 19:29)

2. John Jay-Cross River 67 (Sloan Wasserman, second place, 19:44.1)

3. Eastchester 72 (Ava Pennachio, third place, 19:48)

4. Pelham 133 (Serafina Lavallee, 15th place, 22:24.2)

5. Rye 141 (Jessica Bourne, 14th place, 22:21.4)

Division 3

8 teams scoring

1. Bronxville 70 (Maddy Williams, fourth place, 21:12)

2. Haddam-Killingworth 72 (Grace Mitchell, sixth place, 21:34.9)

3. Pleasantville 73 (Clara Shingler, third place, 19:58.5)

4. Briarcliff 103 (Lauren Isbell, 12th place, 22:22.1)

5. Hackley, 112 (Emma Curran, 14th place, 22:40.9)

Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: lohud cross-country: Arlington's Green breaks record; other results