Running star Alex Hatz, on the brink of his senior year at Fayetteville-Manlius, has been sidelined for the moment.
Hatz underwent surgery last Friday at New York University Medical Center in Manhattan to address the narrowing of what is considered the “plumbing” leading to his kidney.
According to F-M cross country head coach Bill Aris, Hatz began complaining of back pain in mid-June, just after the surgery went well and, after a few days to recuperate, Hatz should leave the hospital this week.
Still, the recovery will mean that Hatz will have to wait until late September, at least, to resume his normal running regimen with the cross country Hornets. He’s got time, though, since F-M’s most important events at the Section III and state level do not take place until November.
Last year alone, Hatz (1) had a top-10 finish in December 2008 at the cross country Nike Nationals in Oregon, (2) broke Lopez Lomong’s Section III indoor mile record and took the state 1,000-meter indoor title and (3) set another sectional mark of 4:06.11 in the outdoor mile.
Hatz, Paul Merriman, Brendan Farrell and Andrew Roache are expected to lead F-M’s cross country squad this fall, as they are among the state championship favorites.
