Trumansburg boys cross country captures sectional crown

It has been an incredibly successful fall season at Trumansburg. The highlights include the girls soccer team winning its first IAC championship in 27 years and volleyball capturing the IAC and the Section IV Class C titles. The boys cross country team became the latest team to triumph in the postseason.

The Blue Raiders won the Section IV Class D championship on November 2 at Chenango Valley State Park, securing their first sectional title since 2021. Leading up to the race, they had a strong regular season with a perfect 13-0 record at dual meets and finished in the top 10 at a trio of invitationals. But the Blue Raiders came up short in the IAC Championship as they finished just two points behind Lansing. Head coach Neil Clifford believed that only helped them come out even stronger at sectionals.

“In the long run. I think that maybe that’s what we needed in order for us to finish the season with a really controlled focus,” Clifford said. “At sectionals, we opted to run what I would say is a less risky race. We took a little more conservative gameplan to make sure that the ultimate mission of getting the states was accomplished.”

It was also a bounceback performance for the Blue Raiders as they finished in third place at last season’s sectional race. This time around, Clifford attributed their victory to all the strenuous work they put in during the offseason.

“We had a really, really good summer of training,” Clifford said. “We started the day track ended. That was really necessary in order for us to be in contention this year…That loss in sectionals last year, while not unexpected, helped us level up this year. The boys just committed themselves to a summer’s worth of work. They didn’t want to do this halfway. They understood that in order for us to be competitive in a strong section, we’ve got to take a longer-term approach than just running in-season.”

Leading the charge was Zayne Howley. The senior finished in third place at sectionals and was under one second away from the runner-up, Marathon’s Andrew Edsall. Clifford has seen first-hand how much Howley has improved over the years.

“Zayne has very much a blue-collar work ethic,” Clifford said. “I think he’s done a better job of picking and choosing his spots when he needs to go into what I call ‘suffer mode.’ When he was a freshman, he would sprint, [then] walk, Sprint, walk, sprint, walk. The drive was always there, but he struggled to kind of master his pace. He’s gotten better at that.”

Howley has formed a sturdy partnership with junior Nolan Scholes as the top two runners on the team. Around halfway through the season, Scholes was the number one runner, but Howley showed resilience by re-overtaking him over the past few races. Scholes finished right behind Howley at sectionals in fourth place.

“Nolan is a very, very humble kid, and he’s just really beginning to tap into his potential,” Clifford said. “Now that the shoe’s on the other foot with Zayne having a resurgence, Nolan’s gotta see how he wants to respond to that. Ideally, those two work together to be collectively successful. I think that Zayne is a really good role model from a work ethic standpoint and a consistency standpoint, and it has made Nolan a better runner and a more thoughtful runner.”

Clifford also sees Scholes as the future leader of the team next season.

“He also understands that when these three seniors graduate, that it’s going to be his team to lead, not just from the front of the pack but to do the little things on the back end that people don’t see that make our team and provide the stability and the necessary ingredients to have a positive team culture,” Clifford said. “I think he’s gonna fill those shoes quite nicely.”

The Blue Raiders’ sectional victory meant that they qualified for states on November 11. Joining Howley and Scholes on the trip to Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School was senior Adam Arco, the sophomore trio of John Feenan, Jacob Taves and Xander Vakkas, and eighth grader Jesse Robertson. Trumansburg placed fifth with Howley and Scholes finishing in the top 40 in 36th and 38th place, respectively.

The lone Blue Raider from the girls cross country team who participated at states was Libby Foster. The sophomore qualified after a seventh-place finish at sectionals and finished 53rd at states. Like Scholes, Foster is a shining example of the bright present and future ahead for Trumansburg cross country.

“Libby is a girl of few words, but she’s very clear-eyed and she has a very steely resolve,” Clifford said. “I think she’s going to have a magnificent junior and senior year ahead of her. She’s a great kid, and she knows that next year she will be a captain of the team as a junior. She’s prepared to be the best captain she can be.”