Westchester/Putnam boys XC all-stars: Panas runner overcomes adversity to earn top spot
There were doubts.
Completely reasonable ones.
Even Lakeland/Panas coach John Benvin, who calls himself Bobby Mayclim's "biggest fan," wasn't 100 percent sure Mayclim was going to fully rebound. The Panas senior, who'd qualified for the state cross-country championships his sophomore and junior years and had been on a steady upward trajectory until injury and illness hit him last spring, saw things become "all undone."
After all, it was September and while Mayclim remained the top runner on his team and was working as hard as ever, he wasn't running the same times he had the previously.
That is until the October league meet at Croton Point Park.
Finally feeling a little more like his old self, Mayclim not only won but did so by nearly 47 seconds.
"He ran a crushing time ... one of the best I've ever seen (at that park)," Benvin said of Mayclim's 16:07.8.
But that race was only a small taste of what was to come.
The Journal News/lohud Westchester/Putnam Cross-Country Runner of the Year repeated as Westchester County boys champion in a field of 230.
He then qualified for the public-school cross-country state championships, finishing fifth in Section 1 Class A and fifth out of all 199 Section 1 boys.
At states, Mayclim medaled in ninth place in the 107-finisher Class A field, his best-ever showing.
While the season for most New York high school runners ended there, states proved a launching point for Mayclim.
The next weekend, at the state Federation meet, which featured elite runners from both public and private schools of all sizes in New York, Mayclim ran to a fifth-place finish in a field of 287.
The following weekend Mayclim took fourth out of 206 finishers in the Nike Cross Nationals New York qualifier to earn one of five individual spots at nationals in Portland, Oregon.
Rounding out his whirlwind fall, Mayclim finished in the upper third of a 201-runner field and as the first runner from New York at that meet
"With the way he started out in spring and summer I wasn't sure he'd have a season," Benvin said. "But he had the drive in him to battle through."
Mayclim, who prefers to look forward and doesn't talk about or dwell on the specifics of the injuries and illnesses that dogged him for months, credits the support of those close to him as much or perhaps more than his own resolve for his memorable season.
"I knew if I stayed patient and trusted the process, eventually things would turn out okay. I give all the credit to my coaches and parents because they always believed and stayed patient," Mayclim said.
Coach of the Year
Jim Agnello, Bronxville: The veteran coach led the Broncos to a second-place team finish behind Somers at the Westchester County championships before the Broncos captured the Section 1 Class C championship and were third among all schools. Then, at the state championships, Bronxville finished second out of 11 Class C teams.
The rest of the first team
Miles Chamberlain, Sr., Briarcliff
Andy Condon, John Jay-Cross River
Kieran McBride, Jr., Bronxville
Indy Minkoff, Sr., Irvington
Ryan Sykes, Fr., Horace Greeley
Matt Thomson, Sr., Eastchester
Second team
Evan Bender, Jr., Fox Lane
Victor Delgado, So., Hen Hud
Jonathan Duraes, Jr., Putnam Valley
Declan Lyons, So., Irvington
Rishi Shadaksharappa, Jr., Scarsdale
Jasper Sizer, Jr., Fox Lane
Micah Taffet, Sr., Rye Neck;
Honorable mention: Liam Ford, Jr., Brewster; Aiden Meza, Sr., Somers; Jackson O'Rourke, Fr., New Rochelle; Jack Sherman, Jr., Scarsdale; Owen Staley, Jr., Sleepy Hollow: Christian Wissa, Sr., Somers
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: Bobby Mayclim leads Westchester/Putnam boys cross-country all-stars
