Greyducks Dominate Borough Championships Once Again

As junior Clara Mohri and freshman Julianne Yotov approached the end of the varsity 5-kilometer race, they were side-by-side battling for first. Well ahead of the others, they both had the finish line in their sights. They mustered the energy they had left, and as they crossed the finish line, they both believed they had won. The runners had the same time (21:26:55), but Mohri was crowned the champion by less than a hundredth of a second in an amazing finish.

Going into the Manhattan Borough Championships on October 28, the goal for the Stuyvesant Greyducks, the girls’ cross country team, was the same as it was for the first day of practice: make it back to the state championships. The Greyducks were in great form coming into the race, with fresh, good performances in the Grand Prix and Manhattan Invitational. After the invitational, coach Rachel Beck said, “Our Greyducks went out in full force last week at the last Grand Prix race, as well as the Manhattan Invitational. We had a lot of personal records and we are gearing up for the final push into the championship season. Stay tuned. These girls are on fire!”

As the last runner crossed the finish line, the results brought them one step closer to their goal of reaching State’s. In both the junior varsity and varsity 5-kilometer race, the Greyducks overwhelmed their opponents, handily winning both.

In the junior varsity race, out of 42 total participants, five of the six top finishers were Greyducks, led by junior Vivian Cribb with a time of 25:4:13. She has been a consistent force for the Greyducks, placing third at the NYC Mayor’s Cup on October 1. She was followed by sophomore Jing Su (25:32:28), senior and co-captain Connie Lei (25:48:80), sophomore Ling Chen (25:52:04), and junior Bernice Chen (26:0:65) who finished third, fourth, fifth, and sixth respectively. “During the recent race, we made many accomplishments. Many of our newer JV girls were running their very first 5-kilometer race at Van Cortlandt Park. Some girls broke personal records, [and] others showed steady race times and race ethics,” Chen said. “I’m proud to say that Stuyvesant High School is the Manhattan Borough Champion.”

In the varsity race, the Greyducks had five runners in the top 12, with Mohri and Yotov finishing at the top of the podium in first and second. Junior Tiffany Zhong, who placed 11th (23:21:17) in the varsity race, said, “We prepared for the race by practicing everyday and giving it our all during hard workouts. I’m extremely proud of the team for placing first in both varsity and junior varsity in the Manhattan Boroughs. Our top five JV girls all placed sixth and below, and our top five varsity girls placed 12th and below.”

Despite their win in the Borough’s, the team still needs to work hard to qualify for the State Championships, which will be based on the City Championships on November 11. “Our team is still working hard toward improving our times. Last year, we qualified for states for the first time in 13 years, and we hope to maintain our streak,” Zhong said. After enjoying tremendous success in the Borough Championships, the Greyducks hope to overcome the next hurdle on their quest for State’s: the City Championships.