State of the Action:  Four very different race strategies, yielded four different results.

At the gun, Mikey Brannigan (Northport) set his sights on the race favorite, Alex Ostberg (Darien, CT).  A risky endeavor, considering Ostberg had run #2 All-Time on VCP, but Brannigan was coming off a #2 All-Time at Bowdoin as well.  The pair made their way around the fields, and entered the back hills together.  It was there, that Ostberg would pull away, and the pack would catch Mikey.  Leading that chase pack was Benito Muniz (Carmel).  He held the line in a solid second for much of the race, kept company by Connecticut's Ari Klau (Hall).  The even pace benefited Muniz, who would cross the line in 6th, the same position he had at the NYS Meet.  Jack Jibb (Monroe-Woodbury), had a similar style.  He maintained a steady pace towards the tail end of the lead pack.  Knowing he only needed at least tenth place, he stuck with a strong group of five until the finishing stretches.  Recovering from several off-races recently, the return to form for Jibb garnered a 9th place performance.

And then there was Jeriqho Gadway (Plattsburgh), unranked coming into the race.  He had won the Class C race the year prior at Queensbury, and was running well this year, if not up to his old standards.  But his patience paid off.  He took out from the gun more relaxed than his fellow New Yorkers, slowly passing individuals one-by-one.  His relaxation proved to his benefit, as he managed to eat up positions in the finishing stretches, to grab 8th overall.  All three will be heading out to San Diego to represent the Northeast.  First man out was Nick Ciolkowski (McQuaid), who missed the qualification slot by one position.