Baloga Opens Fast, CNS Defends State Rank; Girls WKND Recap

It was a big weekend of competition across New York State and abroad. We picked our three highlight meets below, but be sure to check out all results available at ny.milesplit.com/results.

Baloga Chases After Fast Times In Rhode Island

Ocean State Full Results

The top returner from East Bay Nationals has opened her season with one of her best marks to date. Karrie Baloga (Cornwall) traveled to Rhode Island to take on Goddard Park, home to a staggering course record by Katelyn Tuohy at 16:06.81 for the full 5000 meter distance. Baloga was able to get within exactly one minute of that time, winning the Championship division with her 17:07 performance. The mark is encouraging for two reasons. Tuohy's mark kicked off one of the best Season's ever. One minute back would put Baloga in rare air. It's #2 All-Time on the course, which is not only her best debut ever, but also one of her best race ever. In addition, it shows Baloga can compete well by herself. That means when she has someone close to her, she can be pushed even faster. The performance bodes well for the senior. *Updated*

The Colorado-commit wasn't the only standout mark from the Empire State. Cornwall finished second overall as a team in the Championship race. Breakout star Erin Boler (Albany Academy) continued to improve, finishing as the second overall female in the merge with her 18:11 performance. And then there was Rush-Henrietta, putting together a nice tram performance in 5th overall.

Lose The Battle, Win The War

Baldwinsville Full Results | Photo Album

At the VVS Pre-State Invitational, senior Kate Putman (Cicero-North Syracuse) finished as the top Section 3 athlete (2nd overall) on the course that would hold their Sectional Championship, however, her team placed behind Fayetteville-Manlius, another Section 3 team, in the merge.

On Saturday, those results flipped. Even more impressively, they flipped while CNS held out a member of their Top 5.

Ranked NY #2 heading into the meet, CNS carried a compression of 1:20 through four runners led by Putman up front. Unlike VVS, senior Hannah Boyle was added to their squad, while Sophia Graham was sitting out. Graham was CNS' third finisher at Pre-States, and thirty seconds off Marissa Navarra at the ESM Invite. A return to racing would expand the scoring gap.

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Individually, reigning State Champion Izzie Sullivan (Fayetteville-Manlius) opened up a gap at two miles that secured the win. Her mark of 17:30.2 elicited a 148 Speed Rating, which would stand as the second highest of the Season, as well as Top 10 Nationally.

Breaking up the Section 3 battle was 8th grader Tsadia Bercuvitz (Ithaca) who finished 5th overall, with an 18:29.1 performance.

Western New York Sees Big Marks At East Aurora

East Aurora Full Results

The home team represented well, as East Aurora won the Large School team competition, as well as the merge. The effort was led by Emilia McLaughin, who finished second overall individually. Lillie Bogdan took home the Individual Title with a 17:26.11 effort, establishing her as a Top 5 favorite for the Class A Championships come November.

However, the fastest time of the day came in the small school race. Angelina Napoleon (Allegany-Limestone) had a breakthrough performance, winning in 16:59.20, and grabbing her highest speed rating by over 10 points. Earning a 147, Napoleon is beginning to show again why she is the reigning Class C State Champion, and putting together the credentials to be a major player in the merge.