It took a supreme effort, but the Saratoga Springs and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake girls cross country teams are headed back to the state championships.
Saratoga placed its front five runners in the top eight to fend off Shenendehowa by nine points for the Class AA title, while BH-BL edged Queensbury by four points for the Class A championship at last Friday’s Section II meet at Saratoga Spa State Park.
BH-BL had to hold its breath while waiting for the team results after Queensbury got its first five runners across the finish line before the Spartans’ top five finished the 3.04-mile course. Fortunately for BH-BL, the trio of Sam Roecker, Molly Pezzulo and Meaghan Gregory placed second, third and fourth, respectively, to give the Spartans the margin they needed to defeat Queensbury 28-32.
I think in Section II, (the competition is) just natural, said BH-BL coach Shaun Zepf. `You don’t have a choice here. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.`
Likewise, Saratoga Springs received a strong challenge from Shen in the girls Class AA race. Led by freshman Lizzie Predmore, who won the individual title in a time of 17:21.9, the Plainsmen placed five runners in the top 15 to finish with 34 points. But, Saratoga packed its front five much closer than Shen did to win its ninth consecutive Sectional title with 25 points.
`They did a great job. It was a group effort,` said Saratoga coach Linda Kranick.
`We knew it would be a close race,` said Shen coach Lynn Lindquist. `They (Saratoga) just packed a little better than we did.`
Sydney King led Saratoga with a second-place finish in a time of 17:33.0. Keelin Hollowood was fourth in a time of 17:42.7, followed by Cassie Goutos (fifth place, 17:54.5), Amanda Borroughs (sixth, 17:57.1) and Brianne Bellon (eighth, 18:15.0).
`Our top runner is Sydney King, and she’s only a sophomore, but everyone’s been running well for us,` said Kranick.
Predmore earned an individual berth to the state meet, along with Shen teammates Cara Janeczko, Jordan Westcott and Alex Burtnick. Janeczko was third in a time of 17:39.6, while Westcott placed seventh in a time of 18:06.1 and Burtnick finished 10th in a time of 18:22.4.
Saratoga County boys teams were equally strong at Sectionals. Shen easily won the Class AA crown after taking five of the top six places, while BH-BL swept the top three places on its way to winning the Class A championship.
Alex Leuchanka led the Shen pack at Sectionals by winning the boys Class AA individual title in a time of 15:09.3. He was followed 24 seconds later by a group of Plainsmen beginning with Dan Harris (third, 15:31.5) and continuing with Brian Trainor (fourth, 15:33.4), Mike Danaher (fifth, 15:35.2) and Jamie Glover (sixth, 15:43.9).
Saratoga Springs ` which finished third behind Shen and Shaker in the team standings ` qualified two boys for states. Demetri Goutos finished second with a time of 15:17.4, and Sam Place took 10th place with a time of 15:58.9.
BH-BL staked its claim to the boys Class A title with strong performances from Otis Ubriaco, Scott Maughan and Kent Harlow. Ubriaco won the individual championship with a time of 15:26.1, while Maughan placed second in a time of 15:28.0. Harlow finished third in a time of 15:33.0.
Sean Pezzulo (10th place, 15:59.6) and Anthony Romeo (14th, 16:16.2) rounded out the top five for the Spartans, who defeated Queensbury 30-40 for the Class A team title.
All of the individuals and teams that qualified for states will travel to Sunken Meadow State Park on Long Island Saturday.“