By Christopher Hunt
SARATOGA SPRINGS – When the race was over and the scores were tallied; after the runners had done all they could and accepted the result, Burnt Hills coach Shaun Zepf walked over to Queensbury coach Bob Underwood and gripped his shoulders and shook him behind – a playful gesture and ended in a congratulatory hug.
But from further it could have looked like Zepf grabbed his neck instead of his shoulders, which would have been equally understandable. Queensbury had just beat Burnt Hills for the Class A crown at the Section 2 championships after Burnt Hills had crossed five runners before Queensbury’s fourth. But Queensbury went 1-2-3 behind Brittany and Danielle Winslow to win, 28-34.
“We’re really excited and we knew it would really hard to win,” said Brittany Winslow, who won in 17:09.57 followed by twin sister Danielle in 17:11.01. Senior Morgan Mueller completed the sweep in 17:46.05. She missed the Foothills championships two weeks ago with an illness. Carly Wynn, Queensbury’s fourth, missed the Troy Invitational last week.
“You never know when someone is injured or sick, how they are going to come back,” Brittany said. “I was really scared. Our fourth girl was just coming back.”
But Mueller’s performance, a 15-second personal best on the course, essentially stonewalled Burnt Hills, since the race was a virtual dual meet, even after Burnt Hills crossed all their scorers then Wynn grabbed 10th place, first behind the Burnt Hills wave. Even Jolie Navatka, who was more than two minutes slower than the rest of the top five when the season started, was less than 10 seconds behind Wynn, finishing in 18:27.79.
“This is a big confidence booster,” Underwood said. “You always know that Burnt Hills is going to be tough. It’s hard to predict you’re going to be.”
It’s easy to think that the first team to finish five runners wins. But Underwood knew they had a chance. Zepf couldn’t complain. His team qualified four runners to the state meet Saturday in Plattsburgh, led by junior Molly Pezzulo (4th, 17:56.24) along with Kiersten Anderson, Rachel Cyrus and Alyssa drapeau.
“You can be disappointed but you can’t be upset,” Zepf said. “They ran great. To be upset would be disrespectful to the team that won.”
Saratoga Springs won the Class AA race, in a competition that was just as close but seemingly more decisive. Mostly because Saratoga flooded the finish line, placing its top seven in the first 12 spots. Freshman Keelin Hollowood led the entire way for the Blue Wave and extended her lead in the last 1000 meters to win in 17:13.12 ahead of Shenendehowa’s Lizzie Predmore, second in 17:25.70.
Shen matched Saratoga up front and, in fact, the teams were tied after they both finished four runners. But Saratoga’s fifth scorer, Madison Carr, finished four places ahead of Shen’s fifth (including Saratoga’s sixth and seventh), it gave Saratoga a 27-31 win.
“They did a great job,” Saratoga Springs coach Linda Kranick said. “They set season PRs. Nine out of 10 of them set PRs. They’re coming along. That’s how the season progresses.”
Kranick recognized her team’s depth, which means a lot considering the fact that US #3-ranked Saratoga is perennially one of the best and deepest teams in the country.
“We were all just trying to have a good start and run the best we can,” Hollowood said.
Scotia-Glenville won the Class B race with 42 points with Broadalbin-Perth second with 71. Becky Cleorio led the way for Scotia-Glenville winning in 18:41.20. Voorheesville controlled the Class C competition, winning with 42 points. Schuylerville, led by individual champ Samantha Watson (18:50.50). Greenwich earned a perfect 15 points while dominating the Class D race. Senior Roxanne Henningson led the team in 17:58.41 while the team took 7 of the top 8 spots.
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.