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Suffern cross country senior Mary Hennelly looking ahead for the team and individual goals Aug. 27, 2019. Tania Savayan, tsavayan@lohud.com

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Sports reporter Nancy Haggerty has picked the top seven and the second seven girls cross-country athletes from Westchester, Putnam and Rockland entering the 2019 season.

This is based on last year’s finishes, including head-to-head comparisons, and projections that take into account long-distance track performances.

Kelsey Crawford

School: John Jay-Cross River

Year: Junior

What makes Kelsey super? All one needs to know about Crawford is in the spring of her freshman year she participated in a demanding trail race (think forging rushing, thigh-high streams) with about 1,400 people at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. She finished 29th overall and was the first female finisher. Last year, she was fourth at the girls Westchester County Cross-Country Championships, second in the girls Section 1 Class B championships and eighth in the girls state Class B championships.

Mary Hennelly

School: Suffern

Year: Senior

What makes Mary super? Hennelly has been a top performer since she placed an astounding ninth at the girls state Federation cross-country championships as a seventh grader. With Katelyn Tuohy out, she won last year’s Section 1 Class A girls cross-country title, but she needed no similar assistance in winning her race at the Manhattan High School Invitational. A two-time Nike Cross Nationals participant, Hennelly also finished seventh at the girls Class A state championships before taking sixth at the Footlocker Northeast Regional and then 29th at Footlocker Nationals.

Morgan Johnson

School: John Jay-Cross River

Year: Senior

What makes Morgan super? The owner of six big-meet top-10 cross-country finishes in 2018, Johnson was also sixth in the girls Class B Section 1 championships. She then placed 23rd out of 113 finishers in Class B at states.

Ava Jolley

School: North Salem

Year: Junior

What makes Ava super? Jolley posted six first-place finishes at nine big cross-country meets last fall and was second in the girls Class C state championship. The girls Section 1 Class C cross-country title was among her wins. Jolley was also third at the Westchester County Championships, running against girls from schools of all sizes.

Haleigh Morales

School: North Rockland

Year: Senior                                                                `

What makes Haleigh super? Morales was second at the girls Section 1 Class A championships, 10th at the Class A state championships and 19th out of more than 160 runners at the Nike Nationals Regional Qualifier. Look for her to turn on the jets to make Nike Nationals this year before running in college.

Katelyn Tuohy

School: North Rockland

Year: Senior

What makes Katelyn super? On varsity track since seventh grade and varsity cross-country since eighth, Tuohy has established herself as the nation’s top high school female runner. She has twice won Nike Cross Nationals and Gatorade has honored her the last two years as the country’s top girls cross-country runner. Her athletic resume is loaded with championships and course records, including posting the nation’s fastest time ever (16:06.87) by a high school girl over the standard high school 3.1-mile cross-country course distance. She’s expected to try for a Nationals’ three-peat this fall.

Katie Turk

School: Carmel

Year: Junior

What makes Katie super? The 2018 girls Section 1 Northern Counties (Putnam and Dutchess) cross-country champion was also third in the girls Section 1 Class A championship. She then placed 18th out of 106 finishers at the girls Class A state championships.

Second 7

Una Boylan, So., Pearl River

Kaitlyn Casas, Fr., New Rochelle

Adriana Catalano, So., Pleasantville

Lily Janjigian, Sr., Blind Brook

Haley McLean, Sr., Ursuline

Catherine Ruffino, Sr., North Rockland

Phoebe Ward, Sr., Dobbs Ferry

TUOHY TOPS IN COUNTRY AGAIN: Cross-country: Katelyn Tuohy breaks own course record, repeats as Nike Cross Nationals X-C champ

TOP 30 FOR SUFFERN JUNIOR: Cross-country: Suffern’s Hennelly meets goal, is 29th at Foot Locker Nationals

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