The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake boys cross country team fended off a strong challenge from McQuaid Jesuit of Rochester to win the Class A title at last Saturday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championships in Plattsburgh.
Led by individual champion Otis Ubriaco, the Spartans placed four runners in the top 25 to finish with a team score of 38 points. McQuaid was second with 57 points, and Calhoun High School finished third with 78 points.
Ubriaco pulled away from McQuaid’s Robert Hurlbut to win the individual title in a time of 15:44.1. Hurlbut was second in a time of 15:51.3, and BH-BL’s Scott Maughan placed third in a time of 15:53.9.
Sean Pezzulo (13th place, 16:11.6), Chris Fernandez (25th, 16:23.8) and Dan Fernandez (49th, 16:46.3) rounded out the top five for the Spartans.
BH-BL also had a strong showing in the girls Class A race. Four Spartans finished in the top 20 to help the Section II team win the intersectional championship with 132 points.
Molly Pezzulo led BH-BL’s quartet with a sixth-place finish in a time of 18:21.7. Kiersten Anderson was eighth in a time of 18:31.2, and Rachael Cyrus finished 17th in a time of 18:56.3. Alyssa Drapeau placed 20th in a time of 19:01.9.
Saratoga Springs’ girls team ran into a buzz saw in the Class AA race. Section III champion Fayetteville-Manlius took the top five places to win the team title with 15 points. Saratoga settled for second place with 59 points.
Keelin Hollowood led the Blue Streaks with a seventh-place finish in a time of 17:38.3. Brianne Bellon was 13th in a time of 18:01.7, and Sydney King took 18th place in a time of 18:06.1. Amanda Borroughs (25th, 18:23.0) and Madison Carr (30th, 18:29.6) completed Saratoga’s top five.
The Shenendehowa boys team struggled to a sixth-place finish in the Class AA standings. Only one runner finished in the top 30 for the Plainsmen, who wound up with a score of 141 points. Fayetteville-Manlius won the team title with 48 points.
Dan Harris led Shen with a 10th-place performance in a time of 15:47.1. Ian Dorset was 50th in a time of 16:32.1, while Mitch Todorov placed 55th in a time of 16:36.3.`