The cheer "Finish Strong" is often heard at running races. In its first season of competition, the Tompkins Cortland cross country team did just that. On Saturday, the Panthers took part in the NJCAA Region III Championship, and all six runners finished their first season by posting their personal best times of the year. As a team, the Panthers finished in 8th place with a score of 183.
Fresh off earning all-conference honors a week ago, Robert Brehm (Groton/Groton H.S.) narrowly missed out on all-region status, finishing in 14th place with a PR of 30:39. With all-region honors going to the top 12 runners, Brehm was just 21 seconds out of the top 12.
Next on the "PR Train" was Griffin Scarlata (Groton/Groton), who took more than two minutes off his time last week to cross in 36:30. Andrew McDaniel (Dryden/Dryden H.S.) dropped nearly two minutes to 38:50, and Tanner Sorbera (Burlington Flats/Edmeston H.S.) improved by more than two minutes to post a 39:26. Anthony McLain (Ithaca/Dryden H.S.) had the biggest improvement, taking nearly six minutes off his time from a week ago to finish at 42:14. Elijah Speight (Ithaca/Dryden H.S.) rounded out the team, crossing at 45:38, just under two minutes faster than last week.