Staff Report
Cooperstown senior Caleb Edmonds earned a measure of revenge Saturday with a sixth-place finish at the Federation Cross Country Championships.
Edmonds completed the 3.1-mile course at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls in 16 minutes, 13.8 seconds, marking the fastest time by a Class D runner. Edmonds finished one second faster than Seton Plattsburgh's Mike Champagne, who won the Class D state championship Nov. 14 at SUNY Plattsburgh.
"That's a really fine time," Cooperstown coach Jessie Ravage said. "This is a tough course."
Ravage said Edmonds moved from 11th place to fourth during a half-mile climb that starts just before the 1-mile mark. Edmonds briefly ran second to winner Max Straneva of Chenango Valley but eventually dropped back to fourth. He maintained that position until North Rockland's Nick Hughes and West Genesee's Steve Houghmaster passed him during the last 300 yards.
"This was not a painful-to-watch finish, but you knew it was a good thing the finish line was where it was," said Ravage, who watched Edmonds fade to a sixth-place finish in 16:10.9 during the Class D state meet a week earlier.
"He was not gathering speed, he was definitely holding on (in the Federation meet). This is high-end racing," Ravage continued. "It was so exciting to watch him race. He did what you want him to do. He went out conservative enough to capitalize on the downhill. ... You get to this level and there's not a lot of room for error anymore."
Ravage said Champagne, who won the Class D state title in 15:54, challenged Edmonds late.
"Champagne was ahead earlier in the race, but I think once (Edmonds) passed him, he never had him again," she said. "(Champagne) closed it at the end because Caleb was slowing down a bit at the end."
Straneva won the Federation meet, which included the state's top runners from classes AA-D, in 15:59.7.
Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton senior Chris Burnett placed 68th in 17:14.2. Burnett finished seventh in the Class D state meet to earn a Federation berth.
Edmonds competed in the Federation meet four years after his older brother Josh placed 10th as a Cooperstown senior. Josh Edmonds, who ran a 16:29.1 on the same course in 2005, is redshirting this season as a college senior at Division I Liberty University.
"Caleb shows more promise than Josh did at this point," Ravage said. "I think he's going to be recruited hard and I don't know what he'll decide to do. He is of a caliber that he will be recruited."
Ravage also said Caleb Edmonds will run in the Nike National New York State Championships this Saturday back at Bowdoin Park. The meet is a non-sanctioned event for high school runners.
