Ithaca cross country flies high into the postseason

Cross country has been one of Ithaca High School’s strong suits over the years. This season promises to be another special one for the Little Red, if the regular season is anything to go by.

The boys and girls cross country teams have combined for 12 individual wins and five team wins, achieving at least one individual victory at each meet. Becca Lovenheim is the head coach of both teams after a successful stint at Lansing, and she attributes their outstanding results to all the hard work they’ve put in to continue the proud history of both programs.

“They have been locked in and focused on being a part of the rich history of Ithaca cross country and track and field,” Lovenheim said. “Distance running in Ithaca has a long and rich history, and I think each of these student-athletes—particularly our veterans, shall we say—they’re looking forward to being a part of that history. We ask them a lot, ‘What do you want your legacy to be and how do you want to play a part in this?’ I think that that is a huge part of it: their dedication to the work and really striving for excellence.”

It certainly helps that the Little Red have some of the best runners not just in the section but in the entire state. Tsadia Bercuvitz more than fits the bill, having won five races and putting up incredible times. The highlights so far include setting course records at the Baldwinsville Invitational and McQuaid Invitational, two of the premier meets in the state. She’s achieved all this as only a sophomore.

“She is certainly very talented, but talent only gets you so far,” Lovenheim said. “The thing that’s really making her stand out in addition to her talent is her bravery, her humility and her ability to really push herself to see what she can truly do. I talk a lot about how brave she is, that she is willing to go to that spot where she wonders if she can do more, and she will always push a little more and see if she can find it. You can’t really train that into someone. It’s part of who she is, and it’s really impressive.”

Another underclassman who has really impressed is Avery Whittaker. The freshman took first place at the McDaniel-Baxter Invitational and has continued to rise up the ranks in her burgeoning running career.

“Avery is our very curious runner,” Lovenheim said. “She is always curious to see if she can do something like, ‘Huh? I wonder if I can do that. Alright, let’s try.’ She’s quiet, but she’s fierce, and we’re excited to see what’s coming next. She’s doing some fantastic workouts. She’s stepping up her game. It’s going to be exciting to see what comes next for her, for sure.”

On the boys team, Riley Hubisz has garnered four race victories this season, with his standout performance occurring at the McQuaid Invitational where he set the second-fastest time in course history. A state and federation champion during the indoor track season, more glory could be on the horizon.

“Riley is another incredibly hard worker,” Lovenheim said. “He is so driven. He is so focused on what he wants to do… Riley is all business when he is out there in a workout or on the course, and he is just having a blast when he’s hanging out with his buddies, it seems like. It’s nice that he’s finding that balance. He’s excited to get out there and do what he needs to do. He’s definitely been putting in the work, that’s for sure.”

Hubisz and fellow senior Noah Hilker have been an effective one-two punch, always finding their way at the front of the pack. Hilker has won two races this season, most recently the Marathon Invitational with his performance making the top 50 all-time. Lovenheim praised not just his ability out on the course, but also his leadership as a captain.

“He gets the kids excited,” Lovenheim said. “We have a very young squad, generally. Most of our boys roster are freshmen, so it’s been cool to see Everett [Shaw] and Noah really thinking as they leave their final season of cross country about what kind of state they want to leave the team in. They’re doing a lot of work with that, which is great too, because after you look at Riley and Noah, our next eight guys are so tight with each other in terms of time [and] certainly in terms of their teamsmanship and sportsmanship and just being good friends.”

With sectionals and states coming up in a few weeks’ time, the Little Red are hard at work preparing to bring home more hardware.

“We are really trying to make sure that we are reinforcing our physical fitness and our strength as runners out on the course with a really strong mental game,” Lovenheim said. “We’re really locking in on how to keep our mental focus and also the control of our mental energy as efficient and productive as how we try to control our physical energy.”