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NYSPHSAA CROSS COUNTRY: OWEGO DUO RUNS AT STATES, EIGHTH-GRADER CHRYSLER CAPTURES STATE MEDAL (10 PHOTOS) (2021-11-14)

By Brian Fees
Tioga County Sports Report
CHENANGO VALLEY — A week ago Jaelyn Chrysler was very good at the Section 4 Cross County Championships.

On Saturday the Owego eighth grader was even better, running at 19:46.4 to finish 13th in the Class C race at the NYSPHSAA Cross Country Championships, to earn a state medal.

“I think I was stronger than last week, so I kind of surprised myself,” Chrysler said.

Earning a state medal before she even hits high school makes Chrysler excited for future years.

“Really excited for what the future will bring, it’s an honor,” Chrysler said.

Chrysler got out fast and stayed away from the big packs of runners, and she was happy with that seeing how many people can get packed together at the state meet.

“It was also very interesting,” Chrysler said. “It’s my first state meet. There are girls running really close to each other, so it’s hard to get to the outside and to the front. But, I think my strategy was good.”

The state meet was something completely new for the eighth-grader.

“It’s really different, because a lot of the invitationals we go to there is probably at the most 70 runners, so this is quite a shock,” Chrysler said.

While the weather was wet and colder, and the course was wetter, it was something Chrysler liked.

“I kind of like the weather though,” she said. “I was expecting this, I like running in a light drizzle. It’s fun.”

Chrysler’s teammate Abigail Fahey finished 91st in the race in 22:36.9.

For much of the race Fahey stayed right in the middle of the main pack of runners.

“That was my goal, I wanted to stay in the middle,” she said.

For Fahey, the strategy was just to run hard.

“I just went with the same strategy as sectionals,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t really have one, I just kind of go for it.”

The weather was different than the sectional meet a week ago.

“It was a little muddier,” Fahey said.

For Fahey, making her second trip to the state meet, she was comfortable with the race. The whole pack gets out fast state states, but it still ended up being a good race.

“It starts out fast, but it was good overall,” Fahey said.
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IN TOP PHOTO: Owego’s Jaelyn Chrysler won a state medal in Class C on Saturday. . . PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES

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