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Cross-Country
Sullivan West surpasses rivals at Orange County
Park; girls prevail at Marathon Invitational
By
RICHARD A. ROSS
HAMPTONBURGH, NY — As the cross-country season
continues apace, each week presents new challenges for the Sullivan
West Bulldogs. This week, they had to face the James I. O’Neill
Raiders, a rival C school the Bulldogs must beat to get to the state
championships.
Before the October 11 race, coach George Shakelton
took Matt Gain and Trevor Kreznar aside and said, “We really
need you guys to run hard today.” His number four and five
runners accepted the call, and as a result, the Bulldogs edged O’Neill
and garnered a big win at Orange County Park.
Ian Parnett (17:54) came in third behind David
Weart of James I. O’Neill (16:54) and Tom Cannariato (17:21)
of Goshen. Andy Henshaw (18:04) of O’Neill ran fourth and
Mike VanWagnenen (18:34) of Sullivan West came in fifth despite
an illness.
Bulldogs Rob Ward (18:56), Trevor Kreznar (19:51)
and Matt Gain (19:52) came in ninth, 17th and 18th respectively.
Despite a pre-race understanding that class C Sullivan West would
not be scored against class B Goshen, all of the teams were grouped
together resulting in the Bulldogs’ second loss of the season.
The boys remain undefeated in class C. Their overall record is 13-2
(3-0 OCIAA).
Unfortunately, senior Ian Parnett will be out of
commission for an unspecified period to heal a bothersome knee injury.
Without him, the team will have difficulty getting to states as
a unit. A team entry must have a minimum of five runners. Rob Ward
and Mike VanWagenen have an excellent chance of making it individually.
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The Sullivan West girls’ cross-country team, currently ranked sixth among Class C teams in New York State, placed
second last weekend behind Class B Elmira South at the Marathon
Invitational in Marathon, NY. (Click for larger image)
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The Bulldogs girls’ team dominated their
race, finishing with five out of the seven fastest runners. April
Ackermann (21:32) won first; Amanda Ward (21:54) took second; Jamie
Clifford (22:13) came in third; and Jessica Wagner (22:30) took
fifth behind Amanda Martine (22:35) of Pine Bush.
Moselle DiPane (23:37) came in seventh and Ashley
Relyea (26:29) was 13th. In a complete sweep of all the contending
teams, the Bulldogs, ranked sixth in New York State’s class
C, improved their record to 14-1 (3-0 OCIAA).
Ackermann and Clifford recorded personal best times
on the Orange County Park course.
Girls come in second at Marathon Invitational
while boys finish 10th
MARATHON, NY — The girls’ team continued
to pile up wins against some of the best teams in the state as they
outran the likes of Corning Free’s “A” squad,
Seton Catholic, Johnson City, Thomas A. Edison’s “A”
squad and Maine Endwell.
Rachel Forrest (19:32.4) of Elmira Southside had
the fastest time. April Ackermann (20:42) came in 13th out of a
field of more than 150 runners..
Jamie Clifford (21:30) came in 28th; Amanda Ward
(21:31) came in 29th; Jessica Wagner (21:37) came in 31st; Michelle
Manzi (21:58) came in 41st; Moselle DiPane (23:00) came in 60th;
Eleanor Bryan (24:44) came in 142nd; and Kim Parks (26:00) came
in 147th.
Michelle Manzi won Coach Shakelton’s E award
for effort as she ran hard and continued to pass girls from Seton
Catholic throughout the race. “Our fourth, fifth and sixth
[place] runners (Ward, Wagner and Manzi) really helped us to win
this race,” Shakelton said.
The boys’ team, running without Parnett,
did remarkably well. They finished 10th overall. The meet was won
by Lockport. Tully finished second and Seton Catholic placed third.
Individually, Mike VanWagenen (17:18.9) finished 14th overall. Rob
Ward (18:09) came in 26th; Matt Gain (19:44.8) finished 106th; Adam
Nebzydoski (21:05.9) finished 150th; and Eric Cina (21:34.2) came
in 162nd.
On October 15, the Bulldogs will head to the Orange
County League Division Championships in Orange County. The following
week they will compete at the OCIAA championships. The last week
of the month will feature the Section IX meet.
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