Championship Season

It has been a busy end of the year for Webster Schroeder XC!  For the second year in a row, Schroeder was represented at both the State Meet and the Federation Meet.

At the NYSPHSAA (New York State Public High School Athletic Association) Cross Country Championships, held at Veron-Verona-Sherill High School, east of Syracuse, on November 12th, Amanda Paratore improved upon her 40th place finish in 2010, by placing 25th in the Class A race.  This improvement was especially impressive, given the elimination of Class AA meant that the old Class AA was combined with a substantial portion of Class A, to create a much stronger field.  That is the best performance by a Webster Schroeder girl since 2001, when Kristen Coon placed 3rd, when there was only one high school in Webster.

This past weekend, the Federation Meet was held at Bowdoin Park in Wappinger Falls, south of Poughkeepsie.  Val Palermo, who was the fastest girl in the state that did not qualify for the State Meet, was granted a spot in the Federation Meet, based on her performances at Sectionals and earlier in the year.  Amanda's performance at the State Meet secured her spot at the Federation Meet.  Only 40 individuals are invited from public schools outside of New York City, so for two Schroeder girls to be invited is an excellent accomplishment.

Because of the way the start locations are drawn, Amanda and Val had to line up in different locations along the starting line.  Fortunately, the locations were not too far apart: boxes 25 and 30, respectively.  The race went out very fast, but the girls were able to locate each other through the crowded field by the end of 150 meters.  At the 1/2 mile mark, they were placed in the high 60s, in a very crowded and steady stream of runners.  They passed the mile in just about 6 minutes.  Val was able to move ahead a little bit on the first part of the challenging uphill that dominates much of the first half of the second mile, but Amanda caught back up as they passed the top.  When they came down the hill just before the 1.75 mile mark, they had moved almost to the top 50, with 40th place only ahead by several seconds.  The third mile featured very evenly-matched girls trying to hold each other off as they came off the last part of the downhill, then up for the final loop around the large field.  In the final stretch, Val was able to catch one last girl to move up to 48th place, and Amanda was able to fight off another girl to hang on to 50th.  So, both girls were able to top AJ's 54th place finish from a year ago, which had been the first Schroeder appearance at the Feds, since the schools split.

The girls report that they are already looking forward to next year's Cross Country season!

And so am I!

States

It looks like yesterday's post about Sectionals was deferred to today for some reason.  Anyway, today I will briefly cover the NYSPHSAA XC Championship meet.  This year's meet is being hosted by Vernon-Veronal-Sherill High School, almost in the shadow of the Turning Stone casino.  Complete information is available at the school's web page devoted to the meet. The schedule is repeated here:

• 9:15 - Boys A
• 9:45 - Boys B
• 10:15 - Boys C
• 10:45 - Boys D
• 11:15 - Girls A
• 11:45 - Girls B
• 12:15 - Girls C
• 12:45 - Girls D

Once again, TullyRunners has done a very nice job of previewing the State Meet.  A few comments of my own:
Boys A - R-H predicted 3rd - a good race catches Shaker; a great race catches F-M.  It will depend on 4&5.  Travis Jordan is "seeded" 20th, behind the R-H top trio at 9-13-16.
Boys B - Looking forward to seeing whether East Aurora can pull this off. HF-L started to bring it on last weekend, and expect Cooper Roach to be in the hunt for the individual title.
Boys C - Way-Co will find that the state-level competition is much tougher than the locals!  Tim McGowan, last week's individual winner, will have to have a great race to make the top 20 or 25.
Boys D - Geneseo lost too much to repeat as team champ, but Gabe Rodriguez gives them another legitimate contender for the individual title.  Jeff Antolos beat him last week, so their rematch plus a couple of other strong runners should make this a decent race up front.  I'm rooting for Addison's Thomas Abbey in this one.

Girls A - Amanda just misses the cutoff on the preview, which lists 27 entrants.  She should be able to improve on last year's 40th place finish, despite the faster race this year due to the reduction in classes.  Canandaigua should do well, but they do face the top two teams in the nation in F-M and Saratoga.
Girls B - EA's six-year reign is about to end, and HF-L could push EA all the way back to 5th place.  There are no front-runners in Section V, but they should come in quickly once they start to appear.
Girls C - Two very good teams here will mean that a third place finish for Way-Co would be excellent.  Odyssey's Nicole Bubie is Section V's best hope for a top 15 finish.
Girls D - Maple Grove is very good.  To finish second, Geneseo will have to get by Beaver River.  Liz Valento looked strong last week and is favored to grab an individual title for Section V.

Sectionals

I don't have time to go over the meet in detail right now, but what an exciting day!

Complete results are available at Yen Timing, in this folder: http://www.yentiming.com/results/2011/xc/sectionv/

Our boys had an outstanding race overall, as is best displayed in the "Merged" results, where they took 12th overall, beating everyone that was within reach.  The 11th place team, Hilton, was 115 points ahead, nearly 20 seconds per man.  My favorite statistic of the day was the compare to the [corrected] computer times that I had with me on Saturday.  The 96 boys on the list were, on average, 3 seconds faster than the computer had predicted.  Our team averaged 14 seconds faster, led by Zach's 48 second improvement, slightly better than R-H's 10 seconds faster (Colby Burke was their leader, at 23 seconds faster than predicted).

Our girls also placed 12th in the merged results, which was a good performance after all of the injuries we faced.  And Amanda qualified for the State Meet for the second year in a row.  Val had her best race ever, in terms of speed, but just missed making States.  After reviewing all of the results from all of the Sectional races around the state, it is clear that Val is the fastest girl that did not qualify.  The next fastest, interestingly enough, was Fayetteville-Manlius's 8th girl, who would have been the second individual qualifier in Section III, if she attended a different school.  The speed ratings indicate that Val was 19 seconds faster.  So, I guess that actually means that R-H's girls, Lizzie Greiner and Alana MacDonald are the next fastest non-qualifiers.  What an incredibly fast race!

Section V Preview - Class A

It is Sectional Eve and time to post the preview of our races.

Girls A


Canandaigua has looked solid all year, but won by "only" 15 points at Counties.  Given that their top 3 runners can't score much lower, it will be up to the D'Amore twins to put the meet away.  R-H, on the other hand, while running quite well at Counties, had 12 points available within 2 seconds of their 3-4-5 pack, which would have made it a 3-point meet.  Meanwhile Penfield, 10 points behind R-H, was running without their #4, which likely cost them about 14 points.  So, there are three teams with a legitimate shot at advancing to the State meet.  Here is the prediction:

1. Canandaigua 66
2. Rush Henrietta 82
3. Penfield 90
4. Schroeder 142
5. Hilton 157
6. Fairport 158
7. Victor 169
8. Thomas 172
9. Irondequoit 196
10. Athena 283
11. Brockport 289
12. Churchville Chili 293
13. Spencerport 415
14. Gates Chili 448
15. Edison inc
16. Monroe/Wilson/Jeff inc

As for individuals, this race is loaded: 26 of the top 32 girls from the Monroe County Championships are in this race!  I expect a repeat of Counties at the very top, with Meghan McCormick holding off Katie Lembo and Leila Mantilla.  Here is a look at the possible top 50:

1. McCormick, Meghan Canandaigua 18:20
2. Lembo, Katie Penfield 18:28
3. Mantilla, Leila Penfield 18:33
4. McCormick, Kate Canandaigua 19:00
5. Palermo, Val Schroeder 19:07
6. Paratore, Amanda Schroeder 19:08
7. Jensen, Kennedy Canandaigua 19:10
8. Albrecht, Autumn Brockport 19:15
9. O'Neill, Karli Churchville Chili 19:29
10. O'Hara, Eileen Thomas 19:33
11. Greiner, Lizzie Rush Henrietta 19:35
12. Tuttle, Georgia Irondequoit 19:35
13. MacDonald, Alana Rush Henrietta 19:47
14. Sedita, Erin Fairport 19:52
15. Lawler, Maggie Victor 19:52
16. O'Hara, Shannon Thomas 19:58
17. Griffin, Tishae Rush Henrietta 19:59
18. Tate, Tiffany Irondequoit 20:00
19. Hughes, Ashton Fairport 20:01
20. Quinn, Siobhan Rush Henrietta 20:02
21. Greiner, Becky Rush Henrietta 20:02
22. Heyer, Lindsay Penfield 20:07
23. Palmeri, Amanda Hilton 20:08
24. Keene, Haley Hilton 20:17
25. D'Amore, Lauren Canandaigua 20:21
26. Schnaufer, Illana Penfield 20:21
27. Dehm, Olivia Victor 20:26
28. Camillaci, Zoe Hilton 20:28
29. D'Amore, Kendall Canandaigua 20:36
30. Jones, Emma Rush Henrietta 20:41
31. Griffiths, Monica Hilton 20:41
32. Fries, Aly Victor 20:43
33. Bailey, Alaina Schroeder 20:44
34. Adams, Laura Thomas 20:46
35. McElligott, Meghan Fairport 20:48
36. Garbinski, Dana Canandaigua 20:49
37. Cok, Sarah Penfield 20:51
38. Lafferty, Courtney Athena 20:53
39. Bourcy, Abby Penfield 20:53
40. Roose, Serena Brockport 20:56
41. Wagner, Clara Irondequoit 20:58
42. Glitch, Kristina Rush Henrietta 21:00
43. Rosenthal, Jane Fairport 21:04
44. Miller, Hayley Canandaigua 21:05
45. Bellinger, Megan Victor 21:05
46. Yurksaitis, Sarah Schroeder 21:08
47. Lenhardt, Carly Fairport 21:09
48. Fahrenholz, Tori Penfield 21:09
49. Bucci, Loryn Fairport 21:09
50. Erickson, Kate Victor 21:14  

Boys A

The boys team race should be all R-H.  They scored 30 points at Counties, and actually won a dual meet against the other 23 schools in the county by taking the top 3 spots!  Irondequoit has a good team, ranked 19th in the state, but Thomas was only 11 points back at Counties, while Victor did not seem to be racing hard (MJ Erb and Connor Hayward back in 23-24), and could also challenge for second.

1. Rush Henrietta 25
2. Irondequoit 105
3. Victor 113
4. Thomas 115
5. Hilton 146
6. Fairport 152
7. McQuaid 202
8. Athena 226
9. Penfield 239
10. Schroeder 254
11. Gates Chili 267
12. Canandaigua 316
13. Churchville Chili 356
14. Brockport 415
15. Spencerport 444
16. Edison 505
17. Monroe/Wilson/Jeff inc  

The boys individual race will also feature R-H.  Only 21 of the top 32 from Counties are in the A race this weekend - not as lopsided as the girls race, and 6 of them are from R-H.  Travis Jordan from Gates-Chili and MJ Erb from Victor are the only guys with a reasonable shot of preventing another 1-2-3 finish by R-H.  The battle for the individual state meet slots will be intense.  The computer sees as many as 6 runners within 4 seconds battling for the final spot.  This has been the year of the Sophomore, and behind Mickey Burke, there are 3 more with a good chance to be on the bus for the state meet: Tyler Ranke from Hilton, Josh Dyrland from Irondequoit and Thomas's Josh Goldstein.  In all, 12 of the top 36 spots could be Sophomores in this race.

1. Kozyra, Nate Rush Henrietta 16:09
2. Burke, Mickey Rush Henrietta 16:15
3. Sweeney, Andrew Rush Henrietta 16:16
4. Jordon, Travis Gates Chili 16:23
5. Erb, M.J. Victor 16:33
6. Ranke, Tyler Hilton 16:33
7. Dyrland, Josh Irondequoit 16:45
8. Raymond, Alex Rush Henrietta 16:46
9. Bigenwald, Eric Irondequoit 16:50
10. Goldstein, Josh Thomas 16:51
11. Burke, Colby Rush Henrietta 16:52
12. Sullivan, Michael McQuaid 16:53
13. Hayward, Connor Victor 16:54
14. Scott, Jack Fairport 16:54
15. Andrievsky, Sasha Thomas 16:54
16. Root, Brennan Rush Henrietta 16:57
17. Kassu, Mintesinot Athena 17:05
18. Johnson, Keith Thomas 17:06
19. Roth, Corey Hilton 17:07
20. Burgin, Will Schroeder 17:10
21. Koss, Nick Irondequoit 17:11
22. Shanahan, Luke Victor 17:13
23. White, Jimmy Fairport 17:15
24. Stuver, A.J. McQuaid 17:17
25. Moran, Mitch Penfield 17:18
26. Mizma, Mitch Hilton 17:22
27. Penner, Andy Fairport 17:24
28. Schantz, Mike Rush Henrietta 17:25
29. Beaujon, Allen Canandaigua 17:26
30. Paige, Aaron Irondequoit 17:27
31. Trombley, Nick Canandaigua 17:28
32. Kozlowski, Mike Penfield 17:28
33. Peffley, Chris Thomas 17:30
34. Sykora, Josh Brockport 17:31
35. Buri, Josh Hilton 17:32
36. Mertens, George Victor 17:33
37. Steiger, Aidan Victor 17:34
38. Wilczewski, James Irondequoit 17:36
39. Baller, Mitchell Thomas 17:36
40. Reed, Justin Schroeder 17:36
41. Wagner, Ray Irondequoit 17:38
42. Lauria, Mike Athena 17:39
43. Wolf, Josh Fairport 17:39
44. Pease, Keith Athena 17:42
45. Razavi, Mike Fairport 17:42
46. Ciolkowski, Nick McQuaid 17:42
47. Tassone, Brendan Penfield 17:43
48. Staveski, Adam Fairport 17:44
49. Whitman, Ben Thomas 17:44
50. Muzdakis, Zachary Irondequoit 17:46  

Section V Preview - Class D

OK, on to the little schools.  This is the toughest for me to analyze, since we don't really race any of these schools.

Girls D

The current state rankings include the following Section V schools: #4-Geneseo; #5-Oakfield-Alabama; #8-Red Creek; #12-Campbell-Savona (Honeoye was 13th last week), so I focused my attention on those schools (plus Addison), and it looks like we could see the results shake out like this:

1. Geneseo 89
2. Oakfield-Alabama 114
3. Red Creek 119
4. Campbell-Savona 180
5. Honeoye 201
6. Addison  285

So, it looks like it really comes down to a three-team race, with Geneseo having the edge.  It should be close.  Note - Pavilion is Class D, so this comment belongs here, not in the Class C outlook: Pavilion never found a fifth girl, so they will not factor in the team results.

The individuals that could be in the running for a spot at the State meet:

1. Liz Valento Pavilion 
2. Sarah Coon Red Jacket 
3. Jeanette Schramm Harley-Allendale 
4. Heather Yuhnke Pavilion 
5. Megan Bouton Campbell-Savona 
6. Raylene Wade Red Creek 
7. Brenna Lyons Addison 
8. Anna Warner Notre Dame-Bat 
9. Erin Schiano Keshequa 
10. Casey Emerson Geneseo 
11. Jordan Prescott Pavilion 
12. Brianna Horn Geneseo 
13. Ashley Covel Oakfield-Alabama 
14. Lindsay Ryan Geneseo 
15. Jenny Crossen Oakfield-Alabama 
16. Faith McDonald Red Creek 
17. Allyson Fenton Clyde-Savannah 
18. Anna Phillips Avon

Boys D

This team race has the potential to be the most exciting of the day.  As with the Class D girls, there are 5 teams in the current state ranking list: #6-Geneseo; #7-Batavia-Notre Dame; #8-Oakfield-Alabama; #9-Campbell-Savona and #14-Addison.  So, four teams that are right in a row in the state rankings, plus a team that beat the fourth team by one point at their County Championships last Friday.  Taking into account the information that I could dig up, my best guess scrambles those rankings a bit, although Geneseo retains a slight edge.  Here's how I see it:

1. Geneseo 107
2. Campbell-Savona 118
3. Addison 123
4. Notre Dame-Batavia 155
5. Oakfield-Alabama 187

With the number of schools in this race, these scores can change dramatically.  Although Harley's fourth and fifth kids are back a bit, with 3 runners in the list below, they could be a factor.

Here are the top 22 individuals, according to Tully, with the top 3 being well ahead of the pack (and spaced somewhat themselves):

1. Gabe Rodriguez Geneseo 
2. Jeff Antolos Notre Dame-Bat 
3. Devon Rodriguez Geneseo 
4. Jon Pearl Campbell-Savona 
5. Thomas Abbey Addison 
6. Ethan Richardson Pavilion 
7. Connor George Oakfield-Alabama 
8. Gabe Bender Oakfield-Alabama 
9. Everett Geiger Caledonia Mumford 
10. Andrew Fischer Notre Dame-Bat 
11. Mitch Cicero Perry 
12. Gaylen Snyder Avon 
13. Ben Ivie Wheatland Chili 
14. Jon Chapin Canisteo-Greenwood 
15. Russell Hegedorn Harley Allendale 
16. Alex Hall Caledonia Mumford 
17. Matt Gibney Lima Christian 
18. Mike Verstraete Marion 
19. Arron Carlson Notre Dame-Bat 
20. Aamir Zain Harley Allendale 
21. Duncan Phillips Harley Allendale 
22. Seth Burton Addison

Section V Preview - Class B

Today, we'll look over the Class B races, and the Boys race could wind up being the most exciting race of the day.  But, ladies first...

Girls

There is no doubt that HF-L is the heavy favorite.  Mendon has a very good team (currently ranked 9th in Class B), but HF-L is just enough ahead at each spot to be the team to beat.  Here's the likely top 5 teams:

1. HF-L 26
2. Mendon 44
3. Sutherland 91
4. Brighton 104
5. Livonia 125

The individual race should be exciting, with the top 3 from HF-L and the top 2 from Mendon likely separating themselves from the rest of the field.  Let's call this list the 21 most likely to make the top 15.  Since this specific course has never been run before, I am totally making up the likely winning time - I think that the course will be much faster than this, with the bulk of the hill that defined the course having been removed, and with conditions expected to be ideal for racing on Saturday (let's hope those weathermen are correct) - possibly 15-30 seconds faster.

1. Cole, Hannah Honeoye Falls Lima 18:58 
2. Hallock, Allison Mendon 18:59 
3. Engel, Katie Honeoye Falls Lima 19:02 
4. Roncone, Krista Mendon 19:04 
5. Steinke, Ruth Honeoye Falls Lima 19:11 
6. Wagner, Robin Brighton 19:31 
7. Williams, Jenna Honeoye Falls Lima 19:44 
8. Ryan, Kylie Mendon 19:53 
9. Douglas, Riley Honeoye Falls Lima 19:55 
10. Yancey, Colleen Mendon 20:04 
11. Collins, Michelle Geneva 20:07 
12. Mizes, Alicia Sutherland 20:13 
13. Visca, Mary Sutherland 20:14 
14. Swertfeger, Sarah Olympia 20:20 
15. Pinker, Talia Brighton 20:25 
16. Wojnowski, Stephanie East Irondequoit 20:25 
17. Wojnowski, Veronica East Irondequoit 20:25 
18. Steensma, Erika Wayne 20:26 
19. Olson, Tricia Brighton 20:26 
20. Mineti, Melissa Livonia 20:27 
21. Cole, Ari Honeoye Falls Lima 20:31  

Boys

This is likely to be one of the two most hotly contested team titles on the day.  HF-L sat out the preview last weekend at Counties (with the decline of Wayne this year, the top of this race will be all Monroe County).  I'm not sure if that will help or hurt HF-L, but one should never second-guess Bernie, based on his incredible success at Sectionals over the years.  HF-L won the division, thanks to a 26-29 win over Mendon in the last  meet of the season (and did it without their 4th man).  Early in the season, it didn't look like they would be strong through the 5th runner, but they certainly are.  Interestingly, the computer still does not think HF-L will pull it off, placing them third.  I still consider them the favorite, so I've slid them ahead of Brighton, as a compromise.  Expect this one to be decided by seconds, and any of the top three teams could win.

1. Mendon 49
2. HF-L 51
3. Brighton 60
4. Sutherland 88

The individual title will be a two-man race.  Mike Anvelt beat everyone not from R-H last weekend, but I expect that Cooper Roach is likely to edge him out.  The computer disagrees; here are the top runners in the race:

1. Roach, Cooper Honeoye Falls Lima 15:46 
2. Anvelt, Mike Sutherland 15:47 
3. Wesley, Jack Mendon 16:06 
4. Burton, Will Mendon 16:13 
5. Ronchetti, Will Brighton 16:23 
6. Phelan, Will Sutherland 16:25 
7. Stahl, Eric Brighton 16:27 
8. Mullen, Andrew Brighton 16:28 
9. Brunett, Joe Honeoye Falls Lima 16:31 
10. Green, Connor Mendon 16:33 
11. Paganelli, JT Honeoye Falls Lima 16:37 
12. Mulcahy, Collin Batavia 16:39 
13. Leo, Patrick Honeoye Falls Lima 16:47 
14. Pavia, Corey Mendon 16:49 
15. Kassu, Mintesinot Athena 16:51 
16. Tarduno, Matthew Brighton 16:52 
17. Lawlor, John Honeoye Falls Lima 16:55 
18. VanVleck, Matt Mendon 16:56 
19. Strang, Alex Sutherland 16:57 
20. Douglas, Langton Honeoye Falls Lima 16:57 
21. Northrup, Brian Arcadia 16:58 
22. Laird, Jon Batavia 16:58 
23. Young, Robert Mendon 17:00 
24. Hassett, Jeremy Newark 17:01
25. Simpson, Zachary Brighton 17:03 
26. Tshibangu, Raphael Olympia 17:04 
27. VanDeMortel, Matt Geneva 17:04
28. Cove, Zach Sutherland 17:05  

Expect Class D tomorrow...

Section V Preview

Over the next four days, I'll post some random preview information regarding the Section V Championships on Saturday at Genesee Community College.  First, the schedule for Saturday:

• 10:30 Boys Class DD/D Race
• 11:00 Boys Class C Race
• 11:30 Girls Class DD/D Race
• 12:00 Girls Class C Race
• 1:30 Boys Class A Race
• 2:00 Boys Class B Race
• 2:30 Girls Class A Race
• 3:00 Girls Class B Race

Today, I'll preview Class C, which interests me the least and, therefore, requires the least time to analyze.

Class C Girls

Wayland-Cohocton is the clear favorite.  Their closest challenger is likely to be Byron-Bergen, who was about 30 seconds per runner behind them last week.  Williamson looks like they may be able to get a fifth girl across the line in time to finish third.

Nicole Bubie from Odyssey really surprised me in the opening league meet this year, keeping up with Val and Amanda for over two miles, after being two minutes behind them at Counties a year ago.  So, she has to be the favorite for the individual title.  The other contenders for the state meet berths are simply grabbed from Tullyrunners:

1. Nicole Bubie Odyssey
2. Meghan Curtin Wayland-Cohocton 
3. Evelyn Pinneo Penn Yan 
4. Hannah Groshner Wayland-Cohocton 
5. Sarah Donovan Byron-Bergen 
6. Lauren Cook Bath-Haverling 
7. Maggie Callan Leroy 
8. McKenzie Bennett Dansville 
9. Kim Lovett Byron-Bergen 
10. RaYanne Luke Williamson 
11. Rebecca Schwan LeRoy  

Class C Boys

The Wayland-Cohocton boys should make it a sweep for the school in Class C.  They are the only C team in the section that are currently ranked in the state.  I'm trying to find a team that could be even close.  Williamson won the Wayne County meet with a nice race, but they were about 130 points behind Way-Co at McQuaid.  Way-Co was well off their best performance at their league meet last weekend - I assume that was intentional.

Top dozen individuals, strictly purloined from Tully:

1. David Smith Holley 
2. Tim McGowan Dansville 
3. Brandon Selbig Wayland-Cohocton 
4. Jon Beiswanger Williamson 
5. Jacob Bailey Williamson 
6. Martin Beadle Holley 
7. Jeff Mangiafesto Greece Odyssey 
8. Jacob Champlin Marcus Whitman 
9. Randi Rudnik Pembroke 
10. Aaron Kelly Wayland-Cohocton 
11. Brett Barden Dansville 
12. Charlie Flagg Wayland-Cohocton