By Christopher Hunt
PLATTSBURGH -- This season seemed destined to be a special one for Fayetteville-Manilus. On paper, it housed the best squad around. Even when Alex Hatz missed the better part of the season after having kidney surgery in August, many believed that FM would still be the best team in the state.
That was when people still expected that Hatz, the pre-season pick to win everything under the sun, would at least return for the championship portion of the season. Hatz ran a couple races but was out for the state meet. Then two of FM’s top five caught the flu before the meet and North Rockland was steamrolling through the season.
When there’s a crack in the armor, doubt tends to seep in. But if there was any uncertainty going into the race, they instantly vanished when the gun sounded. Fayetteville-Manilus used a 30-second 5-man compression to hold off North Rockland for the Class AA crown at the New York State championship, 48-63.
“We knew we had our backs to the wall coming in,” said senior Brendon Farrell, who finished sixth overall in 15:40.9. “They just really stepped up.”
Paul Merriman placed 15:53.8 with Mark McGurrin 20th in 16:00.9, Andrew Roache 28th in 16:08.4 and Joe Harnett 30th in 16:10.8. Farrell gave a lot of the credit to Harnett, for closing the gap. Both McGurrin and Roache suffered with the flu this week. Roache fought through 10 minutes of FM’s workout session Wednesday before coaches sent him home and hadn’t run another step before he took the starting line Saturday.
“He told his team Friday that he’d rather die than let his team down and there was no doubt he would run. He wouldn’t let us rest him. He didn’t sleep last night. He ran like a champion. It was the most courageous performances I’ve seen in a while.”
North Rockland coach Barry Baloga said his team had an opportunity and simply didn’t capitalize. Nick Hughes led the Red Raiders, claiming his first individual state championship in 15:26.3, the fastest time of the day. Chris Buchanan of Cicero-North Syracuse actually led the race with a half mile to go but slipped around a sharp turn leading to the track. Hughes said it looked like Quinn Raseman of Ward Melville clipped his foot. Either way, Hughes took the opening and made a frantic dash past them both.
“I was definitely trying to remember that corner,” said Hughes, remembering the Section 7 Pre-State Invite in September. I definitely didn’t want to fall. I was actually hoping one of them would fall. I just saw my opportunity and I went for it.”
Burnt Hills handled the field in the Class A race, winning with 38 points behind a 1-3 finish by Otis Ubriaco and Scott Maughan. Ubriaco finished in 15:44.1 and Maughan in 15:53.3.
“I felt great from start to finish,” Ubriaco said. “This is the first race this year that I felt fully like myself.”
Maughan said he just didn’t make the proper moves to put himself in position to secure the 1-2 finish and even challenge Ubriaco for the win.
“Otis never has a bad day,” Maughan said. “I don’t think he’s ever had a bad race.”
It was coach Chip Button’s fifth state championship with Burnt Hills, since his first in 1996 but it’s the first time in his team has ever won back-to-back titles.
“He’s all about the things that have never been done before,” Maughan said. “It’s because he’s been around for so long so all those little things mean so much more because he’s done so many things.”
Honeoye Falls-Lima won Class B with 42 points with Bayport-Bluepoint second with 85. Seniors Alex Dier and Steve Mangan went 1-2 for HFL. The win gave HFL back-to-back Class B titles and three of the last four.
Dier won in 15:41.9 and followed Mangan followed in second in 15:47.5. Earlier this week, HFL, with coach Bernie Gardner, went through a war room-type preparation. They used toy Army men to simulate the race and how they planned to matchup with Bayport-Bluepoint so that each runner knew exactly what his role was. Dier’s job was easy though. He led nearly the entire way.
“Before the gun went off I felt better than I have at any point this year,” he said.
Barker won the Class D title over Beaver River, 66-76. Beaver River had three runners finished before Barker crossed its first. But Barker’s 25-second compression forced the entire top five around the finish before Beaver River’s fourth man, which secured the win.
Seton Catholic senior Mike Champagne, a Plattsburgh resident, won his second straight individual state championship in 15:54.0 and probably had the largest cheering section of the meet. Champagne was leading when the runners emerged with just over 800 meters to go. He spent most of the race battling Caleb Edmonds of Cooperstown but had taken the lead before the last mile. Edmonds was only steps behind before he slipped, on the same turn that victimized many runners. Champagne ran away and Edmonds faded to sixth.
“I was freaking out,” Champagne said. “I was looking behind me. The hometown fans really helped.”
Champagne’s sister, Mary Kate, had won three state championships before Mike won his first last year.
“Before the race I was crying,” he said. “I can’t believe this is going to be my last cross country states.”
Holland Patent controlled the Class C race with 40 points as Pawling finished second with 91. But the excitement in the race came for the individual title. Pawling’s Brendan Freyer and Max Straneva of Chenango Valley went stride for stride through the last 500 meters of the race and were in full flight as they careened toward the finish. Freyer barely out-leaned Straneva. Freyer finished in 15:30.9 and Straneva was given credit for 15:31.2, but the race looked even closer.
“I literally was trying to put any negative thoughts out of my head,” Freyer said. “I felt him coming up on me. I thought, this can’t be happening. … You can’t let it get to you before it gets to them. It’s like who’s going to crack first?”
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.
