Shaker’s Maryanna Lansing put her name in the Grout Run record books Saturday, Oct. 4.
The junior won her fourth straight title at Schenectady’s annual cross country race with a time of 15:40.81, nearly 19 seconds ahead of runner-up Courtney Breiner of Emma Willard.
“I knew there would be some good competition … but I really wanted to win,” said Lansing.
“She loves this course, and her goal today was not only to win it but also break the course record,” said Shaker girls cross country coach Marbry Gansle.
Lansing didn’t break the course record, but she posted an average time of 5:42.2 per mile in the 2.75-mile road course to easily outrun the field.
“I think running this course a few times, you know how it plays out and where you can push (the pace),” said Lansing.
Queensbury took the team title in the Varsity Girls 1 division with 51 points. Shaker was second with 62 points, and Eastport South Manor placed third with 82 points.
Queensbury placed five runners in the top 15 to pull out the 11-point win over Shaker. Sherri Metcalfe was the Spartans’ op finisher with a fifth-place time of 16:27.82, more than five seconds ahead of Shaker’s No. 2 runner, Payton Czupil (sixth place, 16:33.36). Emma Hayes (eighth, 16:41.15) and Alexis Bartlett (10th, 16:49.28) also finished in the top 10 for Queensbury.
Colonie grabbed the team title in the Varsity Girls Division 2 with 41 points. North Rockland and Niskayuna tied for second with 68 points, but North Rockland earned the second-place trophy on the sixth runner tiebreaker.
“I think they came on pretty strong at the end. That’s what we needed,” said Colonie coach Frank Myers.
Eighth grader Katherine Tenney led the Lady Raiders with a third-place finish in a time of 16:17.31. Bellame Bower was fifth with a time of 16:32.90, while Amanda Chambers (ninth place, 16:41.07) and Carolyn Pellegrini (10th, 16:45.97) added top-10 performances.
Colonie’s team victory in the varsity race capped a big day for the garnet and gold. The Lady Raiders also won the freshmen and junior varsity titles, which Myers said was a first for the program.
“I guess it bodes well for our future,” said Myers.
On the boys’ side, Christian Brothers Academy made waves by claiming the Varsity Division 1 title with 34 points. Niskayuna took second place with 58 points, while Connetquot from Long Island placed third with 79 points. Shaker was fourth with 110 points.
Six CBA runners crossed the finish line before many teams’ second runners came in. The Brothers comprised half of the top 12, with Liam O’Brien’s third-place finish leading the way.
“I think this meet was a great opportunity for us to show the rest of the section and the state just how good we are,” said O’Brien, who finished with a time of 14:26.14.
Kevin LaFleche (sixth place, 14:38.88), Kaushik Pilar (seventh, 14:40.62) and Michael Flowers (eighth, 14:52.14) followed O’Brien across the finish line for CBA. Mike Carnavos (10th, 15:01.68) sealed the Brothers’ victory.