2017 NY Girls XC Preview: Class C

Newfane			Panthers
Section: 6		Class: C	Colors: Royal blue and white
Newfane's Vanessa Burkard finished 16th in the McQuaid A race and her sister Nina (at right) finished one place behind to help lead the Panthers to 2nd place there, and they combined with frontrunner Kimberly Goerss to take the Panthers' first state championship.
XC History
States Teams:  1982 (B-3rd), 2002 (C-8th), 2003 (C-8th), 2016 (C-1st)
States Individuals (Top 10 finishers):  Sue Russell (1980, B-9th), Kim Wood (1983, B-2nd), Lacey Watkins (2001, C-3rd)
Last Year's Summary: 1st in States C, 1st in Sectionals C
Roster Name Grade Sect. Place Top Notes States Results Season TR Kimberley Goerss 11 5 6th in McQuaid-A 18 106 Nina Burkard 11 9 2nd in Niagara-Orleans 22 101 Vanessa Burkard 10 7 3rd in Niagara-Orleans 26 101 Lydia Chunco 9 17 31st in McQuaid-A 45 89 Marina Ersing 9 17 47th in McQuaid-A 75 73 Caitlin Clack 11 20 10th in Niagara-Orleans 87 64 Leah Siegmann 8 42nd in McQuaid-A 51
This Year's Outlook
The reigning States champs have their top 6 back this year and will likely be able to say the same next year, so the Panthers are set for a while. With Kimberly Goerss and Nina and Vanessa Burkard returning as a solid top 3, Newfane is in a strong position to fight off repeat challenges from last year's top contenders.

Canton			Golden Bears
Section: 10		Class: C	Colors: Gold and brown
Canton's Grace Bessette (no. 1042) finished 11th at States to lead the Golden Bears to 2nd place.
XC History
States Teams: 1990 (C-10th), 1995 (B-12th), 1997 (B-11th), 1998 (B-10th), 1999 (B-7th). 2000 (C-6th), 2004 (B-8th), 2006 (B-10th), 2008 (B-7th), 2010 (A-7th), 2011 (B-6th), 2012 (B-6th), 2014 (C-6th) , 2016 (C-2nd)
States Individuals (Top 10 finishers):  Elizabeth Van de Water (1977, B-8th), Aimee Beaudette (2009, C-2nd), Laura Pierce (2013, C-4th)
Last Year's Summary: 2nd States C, 1st in Sectionals C
Roster Name Grade Sect. Place (CC) Top Notes States Results Season TR Grace Bessette 12 1 2nd in Section 10 Interdiv. 11 115 Claira Royce 10 3 5th in Section 10 Interdiv. 21 100 Hannah Tupper 11 4 7th in Section 10 Interdiv. 69 85 Gabriella Scott 12 8 9th in Section 10 Interdiv. 76 75 Maria Allen 10 5 10th in Section 10 Interdiv. 83 70 Autumn Crabtree 11 16th in Section 10 Interdiv. 55
This Year's Outlook
Canton lost two runners from last year's States runner-up team and fell a little further behind Newfane to enter 2017. But five runners are back including senior States medalist Grace Bessette as one of the top 3 runners in Class C and freshman Claira Royce who missed a medal by one place, so the Golden Bears should be heavily in the competition for a state championship this year.

CBA-Syracuse			Brothers
Section: 3		Class: C	Colors: Purple and gold
CBA-Syracuse's Deja Jones (no. 364) placed 25th at States as a freshman to lead the Brothers to 4th.
XC History
States Teams:
States Individuals (Top 10 finishers):  Megan Ann Pierce (2012, C-7th), Katie Brislin (2008, C-10th) (2009, C-7th)
Last Year's Summary: 4th in States C, 1st in Sectionals C
Roster Name Grade Sect. Place Top Notes States Results Season TR Deja Jones 9 6 8th in OHSL Liberty 25 99 Lea Kyle 10 7 6th in OHSL Liberty 33 99 Cory Knox 11 11 7th in OHSL Liberty 50 96 Bri Pucci 11 17 9th in Auburn 93 75 Claire Bargabos 12 25 6th in Auburn 68 71 Lucy Person 12 20 24th in OHSL Liberty 91 67
This Year's Outlook
A band of young Brothers earned CBA its first visit to States in 2016 and now looks well set to keep the new tradition going for a while. Deja Jones, Lea Kyle, and Cory Knox all earned top 50 places at the state championship, and if the Brothers keep developing and enlarge the ranks, they could be aiming for a States title.

Bronxville			Broncos
Section: 1		Class: C	Colors: Blue and white
Bronxville's Kaitlin Ryan at right had her best ever States finish in her senior year as both she and the Broncos finished 3rd.
XC History
States Teams: 1981 (C-3rd), 1982 (C-3rd), 1983 (C-1st), 1984 (C-2nd), 1985 (C-2nd), 1986 (C-4th), 1987 (C-5th), 1988 (C-3rd), 1989 (C-4th), 1995 (C-11th), 1997 (C-9th), 1998 (C-5th), 1999 (D-1st), 2000 (D-1st), 2001 (D-1st), 2002 (D-3rd), 2003 (D-3rd), 2004 (C-1st), 2005 (C-1st), 2006 (C-2nd), 2007 (C-2nd), 2008 (C-1st), 2009 (C-1st), 2010 (C-1st), 2011 (C-1st), 2012 (C-1st), 2013 (C-1st), 2014 (C-2nd), 2015 (C-2nd), 2016 (C-3rd)
States Individuals (Top 10 finishers): Maria Sachs (1983, C-4th) (1984, C-3rd), Maggie Silver (1987, C-4th) (1989, C-10th), Catha Mullen (1999, D-2nd) (2000, D-3rd) 2001 (D-4th) 2002 (D-3rd), Caroline Mullen (1999, D-7th) (2000, D-6th), (2001, D-7th) (2002, D-4th), Michelle Rorke (2000, D-8th) (2001, D-2nd) Amanda Hudson (2004, C-6th) (2005, C-3rd), Emma Clarke (2004, C-7th) (2006, C-9th), Virginia Connor (2005, C-4th), Henrietta Miers (2005, C-10th) (2009, C-8th), Tori Flannery (2005, C-6th), (2006, C-4th) (2007, C-10th), Caitlin Hudson (2008, C-9th), Meredith Rizzo (2009, C-4th) (2010, C-2nd), (2011, C-5th), Mary Cain (2010, C-1st), (2011, C-1st), Kaitlin Ryan (2012, C-5th) (2015, C-8th) (2016, C-3rd), Emelie Hoffer (2013, 5th), Courtney Campbell (2013, C-9th), Delia Hayes (2014, C-5th)
Last Year's Summary:  3rd in States C, 1st in Sectionals C
Roster Name Grade Sect. Place Top Notes States Results Season TR Patty Haggerty 11 -- 1st in Xavier -- 102 Avery Widen 9 6 15th in Xavier 43 87 Emma Mandranas 11 10 51st in Manhattan-C 42 87 Gigi Chrappa 11 13 10th in Xavier 57 78 Lyric Abbott 11 14 65th in Manhattan-E 67 71 Olivia Scotti 12 -- 25th in Xavier 67 Lindsey Nobles 12 18 39th in Manhattan-JV-C 73 66
This Year's Outlook
Last year Bronxville lost its #2 runner early on in the season and went down at States by 9 points. This season the Broncos will be running without longtime standout Kaitlin Ryan who finished 3rd at States in her senior year, and their best States placement by any returning runner is 43rd and team's preseason TR rating has slipped below 90. Those are not usual Bronco numbers and would usually portend dire happenings in the future, however Patty Haggerty will be back this year hopefully for a full season, Avery Widen will finally be in high school, and a crystal ball powered by fuzzy rumors foresees Bronxville as maybe the top favorite again at States once November rolls around and #13 is calling. (Late update: As of 8/11, it is confirmed that former Rye runner Natalie Weiner and her 110 TR average has moved to Bronxville for her sophomore season, and that will indeed make the Broncos the favorite for a 13th title.)

Saranac			Chiefs
Section: 7		Class: C	Colors: Red and white
Saranac's Elise Lepage (no. 749)  moved up at the States race to lead the Chiefs to 7th place.
XC History
States Teams: 1992 (C-10th), 1994 (C-11th), 1996 (C-8th), 1991 (C-11th), 1992 (C-10th), 1994 (C-11th), 1996 (C-8th), 1997 C-11th), 1999 (C-6th), 2000 (B-8th), 2001 (B-9th), 2011 (C-10th), 2012 (C-10th), 2013 (C-10th), 2014 (C-9th), 2015 (C-6th), (2016, C-7th)
States Individuals (Top 10 finishers):
Last Year's Summary:  7th in States C, 1st in Sectionals C
Roster Name Grade Sect. Place (S7) Top Notes States Results Season TR Rachel Woodruff 10 5 1st in South Jefferson 51 102 Elise Lepage 10 7 9th in CVAC 41 89 Heather Dutko 11 8 8th in John Killian 58 88 Julia Drolet 11 22 27th in John Killian 123 64 Caitlin Cliche 11 25 20th in CVAC 109 61 Desiree Dashnaw 12 27 83rd in Burnt Hills-JV 117 54 Sarique Moore 10 28 6th in John Killian-JV 54
This Year's Outlook
The Chiefs fell back one place at States last year from their 6th place finish in 2015, but the top 3 of Woodruff, Lepage, and Dutko should be back for at least the next two years and provide Saranac with the base to build around. If the team can put together the same kind of performance at States as it does at Sectionals, it could break into the top 5 in Class C, and Lepage could certainly provide some lessons on that point.

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