SOMERS, N.Y. - On Saturday, Oct. 17, Somers traveled north to Bowdoin State Park for a cross-country meet, and in the lead-up, Aidan See made preparation a priority.
“I wanted to make sure my workouts and my runs were as best they could be,” said the senior, and the proof was at the finish line.
“It feels pretty good,” the Tusker beamed after finishing first.
At the outset, though, See blended in with the pack.
“I went out in a group of about seven people,” he said.
There, he felt good but not his best. Surprisingly, the hill was another matter.
“I passed a couple of guys and felt pretty good from there,” he said, explaining where he made up the most ground.
Of course, he didn’t mind the downhill stretch.
“Going down was a really good feeling,” he said.
With a big lead down the stretch, See thought he was in cruise control, but the finish proved closer than expected.
“I was really surprised. I finished the race, and the other runner was right next to me,” See said.
Farther back was teammate Gabe Cacsire, who wasn't quite as pleased with his performance.
“I didn’t finish as I expected,” said the 35th-place finisher.
The senior had intended to go out slowly until reaching the top of the big hill, then fly down the other side.
“But the running back down part on this flat field felt really bad,” he said. “I just wasn’t feeling my best.”
Still, the All-State runner remained confident heading into the postseason.
“At the sectionals, I want to run how I ran today — just minus the bad parts,” he explained.
As for the girls, Bowdoin was about maintaining the status quo for their lead runner.
“I was trying to be as strategic as possible,” said Kaya Duzynski. “Because I know that with the sectionals coming up, I’m not running 100% all out.”
Good for eighth place, Duzynski found the course's big hill particularly challenging.
“It was terrible,” she sighed.
The Tusker persevered nonetheless and reaped the rewards.
“I know if I push in the beginning, the end is going to be really easy,” the junior said.
Meanwhile, Ashima Ojha was hoping to break 23 minutes. She did just that, finishing in 22:53, and the hardest part of the course came as no surprise.
“The hills are terrible,” she said. “You just got to push through.”
Even so, her in-the-moment mindset helped her keep moving forward.
“You got to get past one more person, one more person, one more person and keep passing,” said the Tusker.
In her final year, Ojha hopes to continue passing competitors and beating her personal best. But she also hopes her example has left something behind for her teammates.
“You’ve got to do everything for the team,” she concluded.
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