Cross country

Magnificent seven propel Sullivan West to fifth in state Class C

Tri-Valley’s Iatauro and O’Neill’s Weart win cross-country titles

By RICHARD A. ROSS

	Contributed photos by Lisa Rose Amanda Ward (Click for larger image)

RUSHVILLE, NY — About a month ago, most of the schools in the OCIAA were heading down to a meet in Washingtonville to face off against familiar competition.

Sullivan West coach George Shakelton had other ideas.

He booked passage to a meet at Marcus Whitman High School in Rushville with two thoughts in mind. First and foremost would be a chance to run on the course of this year’s state championship. Second, the meet would pit the Bulldogs against some of the teams outside of Section 9. Shakelton figured his team would win Section 9 and the chance to run against other state heavyweights would pay off. He was right.

The Bulldogs took fifth place in Class C, achieving the highest ranking in the school’s history. That history includes performances by the component schools prior to the merger. Most recently ranked seventh in the state, the Bulldogs dusted sixth-ranked Lansing by more than 50 points.

The race was won by first ranked Skaneateles. Saranac Lake came in second, followed by Bayport-Blue Point, Chatham and Sullivan West. The difference between second and fifth place was only 30 points.

Nicole Lister (19:22) of South Jefferson won the race. She was followed by Amberlyn Mattice (20:06) of Solvay, Kylee Jordan (20:13) of Lansing, Tiffany Coon (20:19) of Chatham and Jessica O’Neill (20:24) of Skaneateles.

On a freezing cold, windy day, the depth of the Sullivan West team once again proved to be a deciding factor. Amanda Ward (21:25.2) led the team again and came in 26th, just one place shy of a medal. Jamie Clifford (21:33.6) finished 31st, Jessica Wagner (21:47.9) came in 44th, April Ackermann (22:09) finished 51st, Michelle Manzi (22:44.1) finished 72nd, Moselle DiPane (23:21.6) finished 91st, and Ashley Relyea (25:36.6) finished 114th.

Ward ran a full minute faster than she had on the same course a month ago. Clifford improved by 33 seconds, Manzi by 56 seconds, DiPane by 35 seconds and Wagner by six seconds.

No Class C girls from Section 9 will compete in the upcoming federation meet that features winners from the state championships in competition with the top NewYork City public schools and the states’s parochial schools for total state supremacy.

In the boys race, David Weart (16:51) of James I. O’Neill blew away the competition winning the state title. Weart will be heading to the federation meet. Sullivan West’s Mike VanWagenen (18:06) came in 30th. Rob Ward (18:36) finished 54th.

Tri-Valley’s Heather Iatauro (19:16.2) recaptured the state title she held in 2000 with an amazing finish. Pushed by Emily Fung and Caitlin Lane, two eighth graders from Argyle, the seasoned Iatauro excelled on the downhill 1000 meters of the race, using her long strides to put away the younger kids who had taken turns leading her up the slopes in the early part of the course. Iatauro, who is heading to Princeton in the fall, will be returning to the federation meet.

Other key runners of the day included Saratoga Springs’ Nicole Blood (18:28), who took the A race, and Fiona Cundy (19:31.5) from Maine-Endwell, who took the B race. Warwick’s Aislinn Ryan (19:49) took fourth place in the A race and will be heading to the federation meet. Other individuals heading to the meet include Bryan Buchanan (16:25) of Cicero-North Syracuse who took first place in the A race, Kyle Heath (16:30) of Victor who won the B race and Lopez Lamong (16:27) of Tully who won the D race.

Other winning girls teams included Saratoga Springs (A), Honeoya Falls-Lima (B) and Argyle (D). Winning boys teams included Shennedehowa (A), Tappan Zee (B), South Louis (C) and Tully (D).

It was a tremendous cross-country season wherein Sullivan West came to be recognized as a force to be reckoned with.

“You couldn’t ask for more from this team,” coach Shakelton said. “This was the most enjoyable season I’ve had coaching cross country. This team had the best attitude and worked hard right to the end.”