On this day 33 years ago…

The Whitney family had a banner day at the New York State Cross Country Meet in Malone, NY as senior Mark, junior Andy, and 8th-grader Laura all finished in the top five in their respective races. Laura, only 13-years-old at the time, became the first individual Section XI State Championship in school history, setting the bar for her older brothers.

“Probably the most incentive I’ve had in a long time came when Laura won her race in the state meet,” Mark told The Village Times. “I knew that I’d have to do not less than win. She puts the pressure on.” The boys did not disappoint their younger sibling. Mark, the runner-up a year ago, brought home the family’s second crown of the day while Andy was not far behind in 4th place. Mark’s time of 15:07 was the fourth-best time overall among all classes. As memorable as this day was, both Mark and Laura had one more peerless performance before the season’s end.

On November 19 in the New York State Federation Cross Country Championships held at Sunken Meadow, both Mark and Laura ran against the best public and private school runners from across the state. Laura won on the familiar Sunken Meadow State Park course while Mark finished in 3rd. Before the end of Laura’s Stony Brook running career in 1981 she would blaze to three more individual State titles.

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Girls’ Class B Championship

Place	Name	School	Section	Time
1	Laura Whitney	Stony Brook	XI	18:13
2	Kathy Amato	Pine Plains	I	18:31
3	Emily Wood	Skaneatles	III	18:37
4	Deanna Dennison	Cato-Meridian	III	18:39
5	Maureen Larkin	Pine Plains	I	18:46

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Boys’ Class C Championship

Place	Name	School	Section	Time
1	Mark Whitney	Stony Brook	XI	15:07
2	Kevin Degaaf	Adirondack	III	15:26
3	Dave Davis	Onondaga Central	III	15:34
4	Andy Whitney	Stony Brook	XI	15:40
5	Damian Emery	Shoreham-Wading River	XI	15:45

Stony Brook sent four runners to the New York State cross country championships at Malone, NY. Three of them all live in the same house in Stony Brook.

~ The Village Times

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