Lizzie Predmore has gone from young cross country phenom to seasoned veteran, and she’s only a junior.
Predmore doesn’t mind her new role with the Shenendehowa cross country team. As she sees it, it’s a chance to help the next group of Plainswomen.
It’s a different role, said Predmore. `I have to be a little more responsible. I have to be encouraging the younger runners.`
One way Predmore can do that is to show them how to win like she did at last weekend’s Springstead Invitational at Colonie Town Park in Latham. Predmore fended off challenges from Queensbury twins Danielle and Brittany Winslow to win the girls individual title with a time of 17:33.2 ` the fourth fastest in the meet’s history.
Predmore said having the Winslow twins behind her the whole race helped her.
`It’s good because we could push each other,` said Predmore. `I feel that we helped each other get good places and times.`
Predmore’s efforts alone couldn’t help Shen catch Queensbury for the girls team title, though. The Spartans placed three runners in the top 10 to finish first with 42 points. Shen was third with 83 points, nine points behind runner-up Niskayuna.
The Plainswomen had two runners beside Predmore crack the top 20. Hailey Beyer was 14th with a time of 19:54.4, and Gina Stalica placed 16th with a time of 19:58.8.
Predmore said that as the season goes on, she believes Shen will challenge the rest of the Suburban Council.
`We’re looking good,` said Predmore. `We lost a couple of seniors from last year, so it’s a different team.`
The Shen boys team also placed third at the Springstead Invitational. The Plainsmen finished with 87 points, 23 points behind runner-up Queensbury. Shaker ` the host team ` claimed the title with 39 points.
Ian Dorsett led Shen with a second-place finish in a time of 15:47.2. Ed Cody (15th place, 16:29.7) was the next Plainsmen across the finish line, followed by Chris Shartrand (19th, 16:41.7).
In other cross country action last weekend, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake swept the large school division team titles at the Guilderland Invitational.
The girls team fended off a strong challenge from the host school to take first place. BH-BL finished with 38 points, while Guilderland took second with 51 points. Ballston Spa placed sixth with 148 points.
Dani Martino led the Lady Spartans by winning the individual title with a time of 16:57. Guilderland runners grabbed the next two places, but BH-BL had runners in seventh, eighth and 10th place to gain the advantage.
Schuyler Pruyn (seventh place, 17:37), Riley Wilk (eighth, 17:51), Alyssa Drapeau (10th, 17:56) and Meagan Roecker (12th, 18:12) rounded out BH-BL’s top five.
Ballston Spa’s Carleigh Rosenberg and Amber Stevens placed in the top 25. Rosenberg was 23rd with a time of 19:42, and Stevens finished 25th with a time of 19:55.
The boys large school division was a different story. BH-BL placed five runners in the top 10 to cruise to the team title with 22 points. Guilderland was second with 52 points, and Collegiate of New York City finished third with 60 points. Ballston Spa was seventh with 190 points.
Otis Ubriaco led the Spartan charge by winning the individual title in a time of 14:30. Kevin Terbush followed in third place with a time of 14:43, two seconds ahead of teammate Dan Fernandez, who placed fourth. Joe Chapman (sixth place, 14:58) and Buddy Herkenham (eighth, 15:05) rounded out BH-BL’s top five.
Mike Coffey led Ballston Spa with a 32nd-place performance in a time of 16:30.“