John Jay Cross Country Goes Round the Bend at Byram Hills

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On Tuesday September 10, John Jay Cross Country traveled to Byram Hills for their first dual meet of the season, and even Sloan Wasserman and her All State standing intended to ease into the trial run.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. But then I was like, shoot I’m pushing it,” she recounted, and first place it was by a wide margin.

The exhaustion on her finish line face was not a total loss, though. “It’s good because I hadn’t felt the runner’s pain in a while, and with a meet this weekend, I wanted to experience it a little.”

For better or worse, the course didn’t do her any favors. “I took wrong turns about three times and had to circle back,” she revealed. “I probably ran an extra 150 meters.”

Taking such things in stride, Wasserman’s example makes the rounds. “I get inspired to be as fast as her,” said Emma Barniv, who helped her team to a second place finish.

Fourth place (20:38) in Barniv’s case, she got a case of the bends on the way. “I thought it was a pretty tricky course,” said the junior. “I definitely struggled with how sharp the turns were and got slowed down.”

Obviously an away meet, Barniv and her teammates still enjoyed a home court advantage. No hills in comparison to the John Jay circuit,” she clarified, “So easy.”

Barniv had the high step even earlier than that, though. “I grew up running on a really hilly road,” said the runner. “So I’ve always had fun with those hills, being able to challenge myself.”

In 9th at 24:03, Ava Koch unintentionally bit off more than she could chew. “I got stung by a bee,” she explained, and then on some unsteady ground, the senior rolled her ankle.

No excuses, she sticks to the path, which never puts her on the clock. “It’s not always about the times and place,” the senior assured, “It’s about running the sport that you love and enjoying it.”

Of course, taking the top spot never hurts in that regard, and Andy Condon could say first hand at 16:15. On the other hand, with no one to follow, he ran into the same problem as Wasserman. “I got a little bit lost,” said the senior.

The second place finisher having no idea anyway, Condon wasn’t going to overdo it. “You don’t want to get into it too much,” said Condon. “You want to stay healthy.”

At the same time, being lonely on the run - and especially at the end - means the push must remain the same. “It’s all mental, you want to stay strong,” he said.

It ain’t a bad idea to keep up appearances either. Lucas Mongiello looked pretty slick in his sunglasses, but coming off cool had two meanings. “It’s a good choice, because you’re running during the hottest part of the day,” said the third place finisher.

17:38 the time, Mongiello took pride in being close to mid and post season form. “My PB from last season was around 17:30,” said the senior, and being around that time already is a good start, he added.

52 seconds later, Dylan Scott took fourth and credited more off season running to elevating up the leaderboard at this early juncture. So does that mean the spring time tennis player was neck and neck with Condon for his tough summer regimen? “Definitely not, that would have been awful,” the sophomore playfully conceded.

Still, it’s a collective effort, according to the top Wolf. “We’re all working as a team. It’s a really nice chemistry between us. Everyone is talking and staying together,” Condon concluded the day for the boy’s first place finish.