By Christopher Hunt
PLATTSBURGH – People often talk about how the greatest athletes create challenges for themselves or invent doubters that otherwise do not exist. It’s rare that an entire team has to create imaginary resistance or in this case, turn on each other.
“We told them yesterday that we wanted each one of them contending for the first spot,” Fayetteville-Manilus coach Bill Aris said.
Aris wanted his girls to race each other. That’s how good they are. And they took the opportunity to again prove why many have called Fayetteville-Manilus the best team in high school cross country history. FM scored a perfect 15 points to win its fourth straight Class AA title at the New York State Championships at Plattsburgh High in a race that included, third-ranked Saratoga Springs, which scored 59 for second. It was the first time in New York State history that a team earned a perfect score at the state meet. The Albertus Magnus boys team once won Class B with 17 points in 1974.
“It’s certainly very gratifying,” Aris said. “It was our goal. Our ultimate goal is a zero compression. That’s what we’re always aiming for.”
For that, FM’s top five would need to cross the finish line five-abreast and practically be holding hands. But they weren’t far off this time either. A bit more than 11 seconds separated the first five girls with Courtney Chapman winning her second straight individual title in 17:25.4. Molly Malone, Jillian Fanning, MacKenzie Carter and Katie Sischo all finished within two seconds of each other behind Chapman. Sischo, a sophomore, squeezed ahead of Shenendehowa’s Nicole Irving just steps before the finish line to secure that FM swept the first five places (FM already would still had 15 points as Shen didn’t qualify a full team).
To illustrate the team’s depth, it was Sischo’s first state meet since she sat out last year’s meet with a broken leg. Hannah Luber, FM’s sixth runner (15th place, 18:04.6) was the team’s top runner at the Manhattan Invitational last month.
“This is the best team we’ve ever had, “Aris said. “We enjoy it for the day. It sounds a little arrogant but we feel like success is corrupting. We want to continue to try to get better.”
As dominate as Fayetteville-Manilus proved to be again, the same was the case for Cornwall junior Aisling Cuffe. The rising star won the Class A race in 17:00.1, the fastest time of the day, leading wire-to-wire for her first state championship. Her race would have been the most anticipated head-to-head matchup headed into the meet before Roslyn’s Emily Lipari announced that an injured ankle may cost her at least states and federation meet, if not the rest of the season.
“I was disappointed,” Cuffe said. “I wanted to race her. It’s disappointing knowing your season could be over like that. I just hope she gets better.”
Lipari’s absence didn’t change much of Cuffe’s race plan though. She started fast with Danielle and Brittany Winslow of Queensbury chasing. Cuffe admitted that because of the weather and the fact that she had control of the race, caused her to be cautious around the course’s sharper turns. But she planned to break 17 minutes for the race and when she reached the last stretch Cuffe realized she had a chance and accelerated. She just missed her goal but earned her first state title.
“It’s just so nice,” she said. “I’ve always been present but I’ve always come in second or third. You can’t get this title anywhere else but the state meet.”
Queensbury won the Class A team title with 34 points. Danielle Winslow finished second in 17:43.6 with Brittany third in 17:47.7.
“It’s always a goal to win and it’s so hard to get here,” Queensbury coach Bob Underwood said. “You almost have to run well here out of respect for Burnt Hills.”
Queensbury hadn’t qualified for the state meet since 2004 when the team won the second of back-to-back titles. Burnt Hills had won the last three consecutive state championships before this weekend.
“We all just wanted to run as hard as we could and hopefully we would win,” Danielle Winslow (above) said. “It’s pretty exciting.”
Most races finished the way they were predicted or at least the way that history would suggest. East Aurora won its fourth straight Class B title with 48 points. Honeoye Falls-Lima finished second with 60 and North Shore third with 74. The team took its push from Catherine Phillips who finished sixth overall in 18:06.6, followed by teammates Marta McLaughin in seventh (18:25.4) and Megan Hulton eighth (18:34.1).
“It’s incredible,” said Phillips (right), a senior who has been on a state cross country title every year each of her four years on the team. “It’s just such a sense of achievement. You’re depending on each other. You trust each other so everything is bigger than you. “
Nanuet freshman Megan Young (left) continued her red hot season by taking the individual crown in 17:56.6, outkicking Geneva’s Christine Driscoll in the last 50 meters. The two entered the track at Plattsburgh nearly shoulder-to-shoulder. Young threw in a surge and created some breathing room, which Driscoll promptly closed. Then Young found another push that put her across the finish line smiling.
“Amazing,” Young said. “I won states. It’s my greatest dream ever come true.”
Bronxville won its seventh state championship since 1999 and second in a row, winning Class C with 41 points. Tully finished second with 65. The Broncos’ top five included one senior, Henrietta Miers, who was on the team that won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. Miers also missed the Section 1 championships, missing a week of training and school with the swine flu.
“Those were just very mature teams,” Miers said. “It’s really interesting to look back. It’s cool to see it come full circle. This team is going to be amazing next year and the years after.”
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.