Jill Lobdell
James Catania and Peter Fogarty come to the finish line as the top two in the Section VII state qualifying meet Nov. 8. The Red Storm will seek to defend their state title after retaining the sectional title in convincing fashion.
ELIZABETHTOWN | Blustery winds and cold temperatures were not enough if anyone was hoping the weather could help them catch the Red Storm.
Saranac Lake easily defended their Section VII/Class C championship Nov. 8 at the Cobble Hill Golf Course in Elizabethtown, taking the top four spots in the Class C race (four of top five overall) and defeating Plattsburgh High by a margin of 17-70.
The sectional title defense gives the Red Storm the chance to defend their NYSPHSAA state championship Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Plattsburgh State Field House complex.
“The guys are ready,” said coach Bill Peer. “Every week you run in November it means something, and the boys know you have to put in the effort every week to get where they want to be so we are very pleased with the result.”
Micah McCulley placed fourth in Class C and fifth overall for the Red Storm in a time of 15:33.8.
“I was pretty happy that we could come out strong as a team and hopefully this pushes us forward for next week,” McCulley said. “I think I ran to my strategy well. I thought the weather was going to affect it more than it did, but everyone had to run in it and it turned out alright.”
The race was led by a trio of Red Storm runners, as James Catania (15:10.5) led Peter (15:11.6) and Andrew Fogarty (15:27.9) to the finish line. Tucker Jackobe and Sam Ash placed seventh and eighth among Class C runners, while Justin Duprey was 10th, rounding out the seven runners the Red Storm qualified for the state meet.
“We are a little bit nervous but I know we have done all of our prep for it and we are going to go in looking to get it done,” said McCulley. “We know we will have the home turf advantage.”
The five runners going to states as members of the Section VII team include Thomas Gilbo of Northeastern Clinton, who placed fifth in Class C, Ian Campbell of Plattsburgh High, Spencer Daby of AuSable Valley, Andrew Woodruff of Saranac and Sam Carter of Saranac.
Jill Lobdell
Connor Goodwin of Beekmantown was the top finisher for the Eagles, who won the Section VII/Class B title Nov. 6.
Eagles advance to states
As the lone Class B team, the Beekmantown boys cross country team will send their squad to states to compete next Saturday, including Connor Goodwin, Alexander Barber, Riley Loughan, Devin Bibeau, Bode Curilla, Nathan Sand and Elijah Mageria.
