John Jay's Wasserman Takes Second at State Meet

CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - On Saturday, Nov. 16, Sloan Wasserman made her second straight appearance at the Cross Country State Meet. 

At Queensbury High School, the uptick in competition initially had her on unfamiliar ground. In 7th or 8th place, she said, “It was pretty concerning. But I knew they were going out too fast, and I knew I had the endurance to keep the pace I was going at.” 

She was right and taking second place was no disappointment. 

“It was great,” said Wasserman. 

Of course, the excursion began on wheels. Section One met in Fishkill on Friday, and the bus ride let everyone kick back.

Arrival gave her a look at the course, and the amenities were just fine. "It was a really nice trail - no rocks, no stumps and no potholes," she said. 

Even so, her main takeaway was Queensbury wasn’t Wappingers. At Bowdoin with the hills, she said, “You have to conserve a little bit.”

In contrast, this course was more flat, and Wasserman didn’t have to hold back. “You could just run hard the whole time,” the junior revealed.

 A pace that was good enough to overcome the expediency of the field ahead of her. “I slowly crept up and ended up getting within Sophia McInnes,” said Wasserman.

Around the 3K mark, Wasserman ran neck and neck with the eventual state champ. “I would take the lead, and then she would take the lead,” said the runner. “It was kind of like that the entire time.”

The rest of the field far behind allowed Wasserman to enjoy the showdown. “It was a battle, but it was fun,” she said.
The final 200 meters told the tale, though. “That’s where she got away from me,” lamented Wasserman.

Settling for second, Wasserman still took the win. “The winner beat me by 45 seconds last year, and this year she only beat me by seven,” she said. “So it was really nice to see the progression and nice to see my hard work pay off.”

One year to go, Wasserman knows what must come next to win the gold. “I just have to keep working, and the times and the places will come with that,” she concluded.