State of the Action: A last minute decision, that changed the fate of the race.  Double-entered in both races,  Anna Flynn (Ursuline) and family made their way up to Bowdoin the day before.  Deciding the icy conditions, and slippery slopes put too many questions into the race, the decision was made to attend Foot Locker at VCP.  The decision paid off, as Flynn was the only New Yorker to make Top Ten, solidifying her spot to San Diego.

She was not without competition.  Freshmen Carly Benson (West Genesee) and State Champ Katherine Lee (Shoreham-Wading River) went out hard with Flynn from the gun.  Into the woods, all three rounded out the top five, led by the favorites in Brianna Schwartz (Shaler Area, PA) and Hannah DeBalsi (Staples, CT).  Of the three, only Flyyn would survive the suicide pace, prognosticated by the popular Prefontaine quote.  Flynn would move through the back hills, surpassed by competition, then surging past.  She would eventually finish 6th overall, by mere seconds at best.  For Benson, the back hills coupled with the cold, drained legs with a seasons worth of sprinting.  For Lee, she managed to hang on, but was unable to recover a top ten slot.

The first New Yorker out, was Lisa Farjado (Bishop Kearney), who finished 17th overall.  Van Cortlandt was a second home to the city-based strider, and the final time on course capped off a season's worth of successes.