Queensbury Meet Preview

Sep 20, 2013

MileSplit NY - Well, enough interuptions from the holidays, it is time to get into the thick of things here in New York. The Queensbury Invite serves as the largest Invitational thus far, as it will be the site of the 2013 Cross Country New York State Championships. We are taking the drive up to Section 2 this Saturday to bring you all the action live, but just to whet your appetities, we'll break down for you what makes this meet so exciting.

Divisional Races

Boys - A great mix of teams looking to take a crack at the state meet, there are some curious entries in the Divisional races. Division 2 looks to be the most hotly contended outside the championship, as it brings together Brewster (B-13), Guilderland (A-25), and Brighton (B-3) in the team competition in that same race. There are also key highlights in the individual competitions. New faces pop up all the time, but Corey Wefing of Maple Grove is looking good to tackle the Division 1 race against a strong Tanner Flint (Corinth). In Division 3, the race is more wide open, as Jake Acito (North Salem), Jeremy Spezio (Greenwich), and Grant Sheely (Dobbs Ferry) will battle out, along with those yet to open the season from defending State Champs Pawling. Divison 2 will also host the defending State Champions Notre Dame- Bishop Gibbons, although the roster has changed with graduation.

Girls - Another stack of hidden gems amongst the Divisional races here. In Division 1, Tully (D-2) and Seton Catholic Plattsburgh (D-4) are in the hunt for team titles. In Division 2, Guilderland (A-10), Tappan Zee (B-11), and Canton (B-17) look to square off. Finally, with Division 3, you have North Shore (B-10) going toe-to-toe with Greenwich (D-3). As for individuals, many accompany the top teams in their races, with some notable exceptions. One such exception is Gianna Frontera (Newburgh) who was ranked NY #5 overall in the preseason. The other exception is Kennedy Jensen (Canandaigua), who was seeded 6th in that same preseason ranking. They will face off with Emily Burns (Guilderland) and Erin Jaskot (Tappan Zee) in a strong Division 2 race. Tori Spezio (Greenwich) will be one to watch in the Division 3 race, while Division 1 looks to be in the wheelhouse of Margaret Champagne (Seton Catholic).

Boys Championship

	Team Name	Rank	Top 10 Seeded Athletes	TR
1	Guilderland	A-25	Only Those Who've Competed Already This Season
2	Pearl River	B-7	TJ Hornberger (Lake Shore)	186
3	Tapanzee	B-9	Kyle Gronostaj (Columbia)	181 (184)
4	Northport	A-3, NY 3	Jay Navin (Saratoga)	181
5	Bronxville	C-3	John Flannery (Bronxville)	179
6	Arlington	A-8, NY 8	Stephen Booker (Bethlehem)	175 (186)
7	Liverpool	A-3, NY 3	Aidan Tooker (Saratoga)	175
8	Saratoga	A-2, NY-2	Steve Morrison (Arlington)	174
9	Stillwater		Jordan Johnson (Colonie)	171
10	Starpoint		Joe Verro (Saratoga)	172
11	Kingston		Brent Freestone (Saratoga)	172
12	Columbia
13	North Rockland	A-22	Ones To Watch
14	Colonie	A-17	Mike Brannigan/ Tim McGowan (Northport)
15	Bethlehem	A-15	Sam Chauvin (Corning)
16	Shenendehowa	A-W	Brian Cook (Pearl River)
17	Sweet Home	B-17	Jack Wesley (Pittsford Mendon)
18	Wayland Cohocton		Luke Gavigan (Tappan Zee)
19	Shaker	A-W
20	Pittsford Mendon	B-2
21	New Paltz
22	Lake Shore	B-12
23	West Islip

Breakdown: Can you tell we've officially hit the Invitational season. It seems the scattered start to XC has left many unknowns in the race. But if the preseason rankings told us anything (spoiler alert: they're all speculation anyway), then it looks like we will get to see one of the great battles that will foreshadow the state meet. Northport, Saratoga, Liverpool, and Arlington are all able to claim the team title here. Liverpool ran its B-Squad at Chittenango the weekend prior, so I imagine they will be ready to come out of the gate. Saratoga showed their impressive strength at a recent dual meet, but will need the essential fifth man they lost in Gavin Gaynor. Northport has been on a National Watchlist for the past few years, and they look to have all the components to make a statement here as well. As for the individual competition, It looks to be very strong. Section 2 will be bringing their best in Navin, Gronostaj, and Booker, but NXN Qualifier Hornberger looks like the biggest medal threat in the field. Finally, in the back of everyones minds will be the ESM Invite, where FM showed just how well they can reload. A race of this quality should bring about the competition quality to push teams to their limits, and will demonstrate if anyone can overtake the Hornets in the rankings.

Girls Championship

	Team	Rank	Top Seeded Athletes	TR
1	Liverpool	A-4, NY-6	Only Those Who've Competed Already This Season
2	New Paltz		Bella Burda (Arlington)	137
3	Holy Names	B-1, NY-2	Sophia Tasselmyer (Starpoint)	130
4	Sachem North	A-W	Ally Ortega (Sweet Home)	128
5	Starpoint	B-12	Maryanna Lansing (Shaker)	128
6	Sachem East	A-14	Sarah Morin (Saratoga)	123
7	Pittsford Mendon	B-5, NY -10	Spencer Hayes (Saratoga)	120
8	Queensbury	B-6	Sam Peterman (Sweet Home)	119
9	Elmira	A-19	Emily Guinther (Queensbury)	118
10	Miller Place	B-3, NY-7	Samantha Vetter (Saratoga)	118
11	Saratoga	A-2, NY-4	Megan Kellog (Queensbury)	118
12	Lake Shore
13	Arlington	A-7	Ones To Watch
14	Shenendehowa	A-8	Mary Barger (Pittsford Mendon)
15	Wayland Cohocton	C-9	Abby Wheeler (Elmira)
16	Shaker	A-13	Tiana and Talia Guevera (Miller Place)
17	West Islip		Hope Pietrocarlo (Maple Grove)
18	Colonie	A-12	Julia Zachgo (Shenendehowa)
19	Maple Grove	D-1
20	Sweet Home	B-15
21	Corning	A-W

Breakdown: There will be many interesting matchups in the girls' championship race. It will be the first time Saratoga and Holy Names meet in Section 2, two of the top rated teams in the state, and even the country. However, during the Springstead Invite, Holy Names showed they could be beaten, as they took third in the team competition. Common sense has it that they took the race as a training run, but it leaves the other teams the possibility. Saratoga looked very strong with their pack running at the Mega Dual, becoming a popular function in NYS. This will also be the season opener for Pittsford Mendon, who could shake up the results with their top 3. Recent Fayetteville-Manlius transfer Mary Barger (Pittsford Mendon) may be just the person to challenge frontrunner Bella Burda (Arlington) to the individual title. Section 6 will be bringing their best as well with Tasslemeyer and Ortega. This competition looks to be a great one, and we'll be on the scene to bring you all the action.