By Christopher Hunt
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Two miles into the race and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake and Queensbury were nearly deadlocked. Success or failure was just one surge away.
Queenbury senior Brian Gallagher struck first. He spent the whole race running alongside Otis Ubriaco and Scott Maughn. He decided somebody needed to make a move.
“Personally, I kind of felt like we should be going 1-2-3 in this race so it kind of woke me up when (Gallagher) took the lead,” Ubriaco said. “So it woke up some mental toughness in me and it was time to go.”
Ubriaco made his own surge, one that Maughn followed. Then Kent Harlow tore through the last mile on Ubriaco’s cue, and passed two Queensbury runners in the stretch, giving Ubriaco the 1-2-3 he was looking for. In one mile, a race that was too close for anyone to call became a solid 30-40 win for BHBL for the Section 2 Class A championship at Saratoga Spa State Park and a berth to the New York State championships Saturday at Sunken Meadow Park in Long Island.
Queensbury beat Burnt Hills the last three straight years at the sectional championships. The win not only provides some relief but makes Burnt Hills a favorite for the state title.
“It was just an amazing race,” Burnt Hills boys coach Chip Button said. “In a race like that 20 points is huge and 10 or anything less than that is great.”
Button saw four of his boys finish the 5k course in under-16:00. Ubriaco led the top three sweep in 15:26.1 followed by Maughan in 15:28.0 then Harlow (15:33). Sean Pezzulo finished 10th in 15:59.6.
As close at the Class A race was, the Class AA race proved the complete opposite. Shenendehowa dominated the field with 19 points. Shaker finished second with 72. Shen had five guys under-16:00 and finished seven in the top 13 places.
“We had no time goal today,” Shen coach Mark Thompson said. “Everybody stepped up really well today. We’re deep. .. .The top five, I’d say we 95 percent. The back end gave it everything they had. It’s nice that they let you run 10 (people) here. Since you can only bring seven going forward you have guys running their hearts out to get on the team.”
Though Shen controlled the team battle, Shen’s Alex Leuchanka and Demetri Goutos of Saratoga Springs engaged in a two-man contest up front. They ran shoulder-to-shoulder for two miles until they climbed their last hill and Leuchanka took off.
“We both really pushed each other but that’s what I wanted to get to the last mile and take off,” Leuchanka said. “We talked afterward. (Goutos) knew it was coming. I just felt really good.”
Leuchanka won in 15:09.3 with Goutos second in 15:17.4. Dan Harris finished third for Shen in 15:31.5, Brian Trainor fourth in 15:33.4, Mike Danaher fifth in 15:35.2 and Jamie Glover sixth in 15:43.9.
“They’re confident and they’re getting faster,” Thompson said.
The girls’ Class A race, earlier in the day, was just as competitive as the boys. Burnt Hills went 2-3-4 in the race and held off Queensbury in the closing stages, 28-32. Sam Roecker finished second in 17:21.4, Molly Pezzulo third in 17:24.6 and Meaghan Gregory fourth in 17:54.9.
But Alyssa Drapeau became the difference maker. She fended off two charging Queensbury runners in a long dash to finish that could have turned the race around.
“She typically doesn’t have a finishing kick,” BHBL girls coach Shaun Zerf said. “But she’s shown great growth. We’ve done some workouts and she’s shown some speed.”
And Burnt Hills may have passed the biggest test in the road to a state championship by topping Queensbury. Roecker, Pezzulo and Gregory were already tallying the score as soon as they crossed the finish. Gregory thought they lost. Roecker lost track.
“It prepares us really well,” Roecker said of the top competition. “I think that if people, including myself, believe that we can be 1-2 in the state. It’s really disappointing that they don’t get to go but that’s how it is in Section 2.”
Zerf said it only makes them better.
“I think Section 2, it’s just natural,” he said. “You have great teams in your way and if you want to beat them if you want to, well, beat them. We want to be the best and you have to beat best.”
Queensbury’s Danielle Winslow won the race in 17:00.9, leading from start to finish.
“It feels really good to go to the state meet,” she said. “I just wish we were going as a team.”
It’s the depth that helped Burnt Hills hold off Queensbury and the same thing that helped Saratoga Springs keep Shenendehowa at bay in the girls Class AA race. Shen’s Lizzie Predmore won the race in 17:21.9 but Saratoga decided the team race when it squeezed Keelin Hollowood, Cassie Goutos and Amanda Borroughs in fourth, fifth and sixth then Brianne Bellon eighth to seal the win. Sydney Kin finished second for Saratoga Springs in 17:33.0.
Saratoga won with 25 points. Shen finished second with 34.
“They did a good job,” Saratoga coach Linda Kradick said. “They’re been working hard. It really was a team effort. I can’t say there’s a leader on this team because they’re all acting like leaders.”
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.