Westchester/Putnam girls cross-country all-stars: Wasserman rises to No. 1 in first season

When new John Jay-Cross River cross-country coach Dey Tuach Dey first saw sophomore Sloan Wasserman, the word "potential" immediately to his mind.

Wasserman, who'd run track for the Wolves since she was in eighth grade, had made the tough decision to give up high school soccer this fall to pursue running throughout the year.

It's a decision that has paid huge dividends.

Wasserman may have been immediately good in track. But this fall, she was no less than great in cross-country

The 15-year-old posted first- and second-place finishes in some of the biggest meets of the season. She easily won the 168-finisher Westchester County girls title by more than 45 seconds.

Wasserman not only won the girls Section 1 Class B title to qualify for the state championships, but her time over the tough Bowdoin Park course in Wappingers Falls was more than 30 seconds faster than any of the other 198 girls who completed the course in all classes that day.

All of that would have added up to a truly terrific season, but Wasserman returned to Bowdoin to run in the state Federation meet, which pits the state's top runners from public and private schools of all sizes against one another.

Going into the race hoping to break 19 minutes for the first time at hilly Bowdoin, Wasserman ran 18:56.4, 8.3 seconds faster than her section-winning time.

Wasserman credits much of her success to Dey, saying, "He's taken me to the next level. I don't think it would be possible without him."

To Dey, the key was changing her training and getting Wasserman to believe in her kick, the latter something often absent from her running, which cost her.

He noted she'd asked him to increase her training mileage but he told her, "It's not about a lot of mileage. It's about training properly."

"That's what helped her at the end of the season," he said, deflecting credit by also saying, "When you already have that potential, it's easy for a coach to get you in the right direction."

Dey, who will also coach indoor and out track with the Wolves, noted he came on late to cross-country, meaning he wasn't involved in Wasserman's summer training, which was limited to about a month last summer due to her developing tendonitis and also participating in club nationals in soccer. (She's now doing specific strength training to help reduce the likelihood of injury.)

With a full schedule of summer training, Dey is expecting even bigger things from his rising star in both cross-country and track.

"I think if she stays right (with her training), I believe she can be one of the best runners in New York," he said.

Coach of the Year

Brian Halling, Bronxville: It's remarkable how this tiny school produces such big running performances. The Broncos finished a close second to Somers for the Westchester County team title. But it beat all Class C teams at the sectional meet to go to the state public school championship, where it placed third out of 11 Class C girls squads.

The rest of the first team

Julia Duzynski, So, Somers

Rachel Rakover, So., Scarsdale

Ainara Schube Bariola , Jr., Rye Neck

Mia Sandolo, Jr., Somers

Clara Shingler, So., Pleasantville

Caitlin Thomas, Jr., Hastings

Maddy Williams, Jr., Bronxville

Second team

Julia Aquilino, Jr., Somers

Phoebe Carmel, Jr., Rye Neck

Lily Day, Jr., Lakeland/Panas

Rosemary McManus, Sr., Mamaroneck

Eva Muzichenko, So., Eastchester

Nana Tsunemi, Fr, Keio

Carina Winiecki, Fr., Bronxville

Westchester/Putnam boys XC all-stars: Panas runner overcomes adversity to earn top spot

Honorable mention: Cacie Beades, Jr., Eastchester; Camilla Browand, So., Pleasantville; Meghan Curran, Sr., Bronxville; Jessica Masterson, Sr. , Somers; Celia Mayer, 8th grade, Eastchester; Lily Oberbannscheidt, So., Rye; Catherine O'Brien, Fr., Pleasantville; Kyleigh O'Keefe, Fr., Ursuline; Jessica Masterson Sr., Somers;, Julie Scheffler, Jr., Scarsdale; Natalia Socha, Sr., Eastchester;

Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester/Putnam girls XC all-stars: Sloan Wasserman rises to top