Kayla Greco | Democrat Monticello’s Joseph Klein, left, leads Liberty’s Luis Campos at the start of Tuesday’s race at Liberty HS. The two eventually finished 1-2.

Liberty course crosses runners

Story by Kayla Greco
LIBERTY – September 27, 2013 — On Tuesday, September 24 Liberty hosted the Tri-Valley, Monticello, and Fallsburg boys’ cross country teams and the Tri-Valley and Monticello girls’ cross country team.
The 2.8-mile Liberty course is a challenge for even the best runner. With its rigorous terrain that includes hills, grass, concrete and rocks, both the boys’ and girls’ teams had some trouble.
Joseph Klein from Monticello took first place with a time of 17.19 minutes. This is Klein’s fourth and final year on the varsity team and his fourth time competing on the Liberty trail. This was his first time coming in first place. As the only senior on the Panthers, Klein hopes that he can lead the team to the state tournament.
“After losing a lot of seniors last year,” Klein said, “I feared wouldn’t be able to connect to the younger guys on the team but we’re a very close knit and a very good team.”
Except for Monticello, none of the girls’ teams had the required five runners for team scores.
Sophomore Camryn Johnson, from Monticello took first place for the girls’ race and her identical twin, Sydney, took second place. The Johnson twins have been a force on the varsity team since they were in eighth grade in 2011. They hope to once again make it to states and stay healthy throughout the rest of the season.
“The beginning of the season is always difficult,” said Camryn, “but once we get back into it, it’s a lot easier.”
Both three-sport athletes, the Johnsons are looking forward the rest of their high school career on the Monticello varsity indoor and outdoor track field team and as distance runners.
Hauk Boyes from Tri Valley finished second in the boys’ race with a time of 18:01. Boyes has been on the varsity team since eighth grade and now, as a senior, is amazed to see how far he has come.
Although Boyes was happy with his time, he felt he could have done better and was more focused on his teammates.
“We’ve got a lot of boys on the injury list… Now we just want to get the team back together.”