Some of the same people crossing the finish line first at last year’s Section 4 cross country championships will be back Thursday at Chenango Valley State Park attempting to repeat their successes.

The Elmira and Corning girls each won 2013 team titles in Class A and B, respectively. That can’t happen this time around, since the Express and Hawks are now both in Class A.

The winning squads in each division earn trips to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships Nov. 8 at SUNY Canton. The top five individuals not on the winning teams also secure berths in the state meet.

Corning topped Elmira in the girls team standings last Saturday at the Southern Tier Athletic Conference championships, 40-53. Express coach Ben Cardamone didn’t like Saturday’s result but knows Thursday means a lot more.

“STAC is the first meet of the championship season. Each meet after that gets bigger,” he said. “I’m a bit disappointed at what happened. If it was by two points or so, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But losing by 13, that makes you think what is going on here?”

Elmira was hurt by Olivia Riley having to drop out of the race with leg cramps and Jordynn Kurcoba being sick. They should be fit for Thursday, and Cardamone thinks how they perform may determine the team champ.

“This could be a tie meet. It could come down to a tie-breaker,” he said. “The fifth, sixth, seventh runners often don’t feel as valuable because they don’t score the points. But they could end up being the most important members of the team.”

The top five runners on each team figure in the scoring. If there’s a tie, the sixth runners come into play.

“Saturday was the perfect storm of what could go wrong. Will that scenario present itself again? I hope not,” Cardamone said. “Now is the time to go to the tank and squeeze every last tick out of the clock.

“Corning is a great team. I asked at the beginning of the year why aren’t they ranked higher. We’re evenly-matched teams. We just happen to be in the same league and the same division.”

The national rankings by flotrack.com/milesplit.com agree. Corning holds down the 13th spot, with Elmira right behind in 14th. The websites’ analysis called the Hawks “a team on the rise for sure nationally.”

Sophomore Jessica Lawson leads Corning as one of the top distance runners in the nation. Flotrack/milesplit have her ranked 20th.

Lawson won Saturday’s STAC girls race and was the Section 4 Class B champ a year ago, completing the 3.1-mile state park course in 18 minutes, 40.7 seconds.

Elmira’s Abbey Wheeler ran a 19:04 for the Class A title. Now she has Lawson to compete against. Wheeler finished second to Lawson in Saturday’s STAC race.

“If Abbey can take her, great. If not, it doesn’t hurt us because it isn’t expected,” Cardamone said. “Jessica Lawson has proved she’s the dominant player. We’ll go after her. No one gets a free pass.”

Corning also took home the STAC boys crown Saturday, besting Ithaca 43-63. Those two are the favorites in the Class A sectionals. Last year, Ithaca won in Class A and Corning in Class B.

While he doesn’t see the Express in the team hunt, Cardamone said some of the runners from the other teams could benefit from the Corning-Ithaca battle and earn spots in the state meet.

“Those teams want to win, so they may push each other, blow up during the race and fall back to the field,” he said. “Our kids are smart enough to know if they can hover around 10th place, they can be in the race.”

Ithaca senior Dan Dracup is the defending Class A boys champ, winning in 16:26.8 a year ago. He was the first-place finisher at Saturday’s STAC meet.

Based on showings in the STAC race, Micah Page of Horseheads and Ben Cardamone of Elmira have strong shots at state Class A berths. Page was fifth Saturday, and Cardamone seventh.

Elmira Notre Dame senior Garrett Butters won the Interscholastic Athletic Conference boys race last weekend and should play a major role in the Class C race.

On Twitter: @SGJoeMink

Thursday’s starting times

11 a.m.: Class D boys

11:30 a.m.: Class C girls

Noon: Class D girls

12:30 p.m.: Class C boys

1:30 p.m.: Class A boys

1:50 p.m.: Class B boys

2:10 p.m.: Class A girls

2:35 p.m.: Class B girls

Abbey Wheeler of Elmira comes home in second place at the STAC cross county championship Saturday at Pheasant Hills Country Club in Owego.