Morse, Kostarellis, O'Hara, Patterson claim Runner of the Year honors

 
Final standings

The 2022 USATF Niagara Runner of the Year Series (RotY) concluded on November 6 with the Niagara Cross Country Championships.

The series was comprised of eight events this year with the top 15 runners at each event earning points in the Open and Masters divisions.  The winner at each race earned 25 points with the 15th place finisher earning 1 point.  In the masters division athletes earn points based on their age-graded performance score.  The athletes best six scores counted towards their final point total.

The eight races in the 2022 series were:

• 4 Mile Championships (March 05; Tipperary Hill 4 Mile Shamrock Run)
• 5 Mile Championships (March 12; Running of The Green 5 Mile)    
• 10 km Championships (May 22; Lilac 10 km)    
• 1 Mile Track Championships (June 25; Niagara Outdoor T&F Championships)
• Mountain Running Championships (August 6; Swain Mountain Race)
• 5 km Championships (September 2; Tom Donnelly Hall of Fame 5k)
• Half Marathon Trail Championships (September 25; Unlimited Breadsticks Trail Cross Country Championships (November 6; Glavin XC Series)

The division winners were Sam Morse (Open Men) of Camden; Annamaria Kostarellis (Open Women) of Rochester; Chip O'Hara (Masters Men) of Auburn; and Heather Patterson (Masters Women) of Rochester.

In the open men's division, Sam Morse accumulated 108 points to win by 14 points over William Hilbert (94 points) of Kenmore. Morse won the 4 mile and 10 km championship; finished second at the 5 mile and 1 mile track championships; and was fifth at the cross country championships. This was the third time Morse has earned a top-3 finish in the series (2nd in 2019; third in 2017). Robert Cooper of  Buffalo finished third with 79 points.

Previous RotY standings (Open Men)

2021 - 1. Adam Pacheck; 2. Greg Selke; 3. Steve Haagsma
2019 - 1. Adam Pacheck; 2. Sam Morse; 3. Tim Chichester        
2018 - 1. Adam Pacheck; 2. Garrett Kenyon; 3. Matthew Herbert   
2017 - 1. Omar Boulama; 2. Elliott Martynkiewicz; 3. Sam Morse    

In the open women's division Annamaria Kostarellis scored 144 points to win by 21 points over Trisha Byler (123 points) of Honeoye Falls. Kostarellis' point total was the highest in the 2022 series.  She won four championships (10 km, 1 Mile Track, Mountain Running, and Cross Country) and finished second in two championships (5 km and 1/2 Marathon Trail). Kostarellis and Byler each competed in six of the eight championships.  Third place in the division was Katie Lembo of Penfield with 72 points.

Previous RotY standings (Open Women)

2021 - 1. Donna Langerfeld; 2. Amanda Dole; 3. Jennifer Boerner Selig
2019  - 1. Trisha Byler; 2. Laurel Leone; 3. Ann Ball              
2018 - 1. Laurel Leone; 2. Donna Langerfeld; 3. Mackenzie Donahue
2017 - 1. Kathryn Potter; 2. Donna Langerfeld; 3. Monicah Otwori

Chip O'Hara dominated the masters men's division as he accumulated 122 points to win by 36 points over Mike Nier (88 points) of Rochester.  O'Hara competed in six championships earning the best age graded score in two (10 km, 1/2 Marathon Trail) and the second best score in two (5 mile, Mountain Running). Marcus Gage of Palmyra finished third in the division with 73 points. Nier nabbed his fifth consecutive top-3 series finish.

Previous RotY standings (Masters Men)

2021- 1. EJ Boyce; 2. John McMahon; 3. Mike Nier             
2019 - 1. Mark Andrews; 2. Bill Beyerbach; 3. Mike Nier
2018 - 1. Mike Nier; 2. Mark Andrews; 3. Kevin Clinefelter     
2017 - 1. Kevin Clinefelter; 2. Derrick Jones; 3. Mike Nier

Heather Patterson competed in seven of the eight championships to win the Masters Women's division with 129 points.  In five of the races she finished in the top two including winning the Half Marathon Trail Championships.  She finished second in the 4 mile, 10 km, 1 Mile Track, and Mountain Running Championships. Barbara Sauer of Buffalo finished second in the division scoring 105 points with last year's Runner of the Year Elizabeth Matthews of Pittsford just 4 points behind Sauer in third place.

Previous RotY standings (Masters Women)

2021 - 1. Elizabeth Matthews; 2. Amy Fakterowitz; 3. Martha Doody
2019 - 1. Amy Fakterowitz; 2. Barbara Sauer; 3. Colleen Magnussen
2018 - 1. Colleen Magnussen; 2. Karyl Sargent; 3. Karen Blodgett  
2017 - 1. Karyl Sargent; 2. Heather Webster; 3. Martha Doody