GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY: LAWSON HIGHLIGHTS FIRST SOUTHERN TIER ALL-STAR TEAM (2021-11-30)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
You know it’s a good year for area cross country when you set out to make an All-Southern Tier all-star team and you have multiple state qualifiers on the second team.

This year’s team is so deep, and talented, that every runner on the first team and more than half of the second team runners qualified for the state meet.

The team is headlined by Corning’s Sarah Lawson. The Hawks sophomore had a huge year, earning a state medal in Class A after winning the STAC and Section 4 titles. She finished 16th at the prestigious Eastbay Regional meet.

Lawson’s dad, Ray Lawson, the Corning coach is this year’s coach of the year. He helped guide the Hawks to a fifth place finish at the state meet, after they won STAC and Section 4 championships this season.

The newcomer of the year is Elmira eighth grader Christina Peet. Peet had a strong showing at both the STAC and Section 4 championships. At the STAC meet she finished 26th. She was the second highest finisher of any eighth grader in the field. She also had a 21st place finish at the Section 4 Championships.

The first team includes Lawson and Elmira standout Vicky Mordvinova, who finished second at the sectional meet and had a huge season for the Express. Another Elmira standout, Payton Ross, who qualified for states this year

Corning had six runners on the first team. Faithe Ketchum, Sadie Beres, Bri Urban, Christina Gaskievic and Julia Hluck all earned first-team honors. Ketchum spent half the season running right with Lawson, before some health things slowed her down. She still was the number two runner for Corning every meet, until states when Beres was the number two runner. The other runners moved back and fourth throughout the year anywhere from three through seventh on the team.

In the end there wasn’t room for all seven Corning runners on the first team and Ella Grinnell heads the second team. She’s in good company on the second team with Elmira state qualifier Payton Ross and Piper Young and Riley Soehnlein of Notre Dame, who were both state qualifiers this year.

A pair of Elmira runners earned second-team nods as Emma Barends and Peet are on the second team, along with Horseheads freshman Corinne DeFilippo, who was 19th at the Section 4 meet, while Barends took 17th at that meet and Peet was 21st.

It would have been easy to include other Corning runners, as Cassandra Collins had a strong year, but we are limiting it to seven runners per team, just as the state meet does.

ALL-SOUTHERN TIER GIRLS’ CROSS COUNTRY TEAM
Runner of the Year: Sarah Lawson, Corning
Newcomer of the year: Christina Peet, Elmira
Coach of the year: Ray Lawson, Corning

First team
Sarah Lawson, Corning
Vicky Mordvinova, Elmira
Faithe Ketchum, Corning
Sadie Beres, Corning
Bri Urban, Corning
Christina Gaskievic, Corning
Julia Hluck, Corning

Second team
Ella Grinnell, Corning
Piper Young, ND
Riley Soehnlein, ND
Emma Barends, Elmira
Christina Peet, Elmira
Corinne DeFilippo, Horseheads
Payton Ross, Elmira
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IN TOP PHOTO: Corning’s Sarah Lawson. . . STSR FILE PHOTO