PJ Ferguson was just happy to have qualified for the state championship cross country meet. But he ran like someone intent on winning the race.
Ferguson ran one of his best races of the season during Saturday’s Class D championships, finishing three seconds off his personal best at the Queensbury course.
His time of 17:37.7 was good for 56th place in a field of 120 runners and he finished tenth among Section II athletes.
“It feels good to end the season on a great note,” Ferguson said. “I had already accomplished my goal of qualifying so I was just happy to be there.”
Greenwich’s Jeremy Spiezio won the Class D race in a time of 15:46 while Argyle’s Daryn Hutchins was third with a time of 15:58.
Ferguson wraps his varsity career as one of the most successful cross country runners from Whitehall in recent memory.
He is a four-time Adirondack League all-star having never finished lower than fifth at the league meet.
He finished fourth at this year’s event and won the race as a sophomore.
He qualified for the state meet after finishing 10th at this year’s Section II meet.
He is only the third Whitehall runner in the past 25 years to qualify for the state meet more than once. In 2011, he qualified for the race after finishing seventh at the Section II meet. He finished 25th in the state meet that year.
Ferguson said this year’s race was special because it was held 30 minutes from Whitehall in Queensbury.