Both the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse cross country traveled to New York City – the Bronx, to be specific – and posted strong efforts during Saturday’s Manhattan Invitational.
The girls Warriors, in particular. stood out, winning the Varsity A division with 122 points to beat Thousand Islands Secondary (138 points) for that top spot.
Lesley Bowers continued her fantastic fall, powering her way to fifth place in a time of 15:41.39 on a course 1,000 meters shorter than what runners usually face in the fall.
Behind her, Trina Bills took 26th place in 16:50.76 and Chelsea Attaway claimed 29th place in 16:52.39, both of them just ahead of Rachel Putman (16:54.45) in 30th place. Melissa Riehl worked her way to 42nd place (17:04.23) as Caroline Deffenderfer earned 43rd place (17:04.92) to clinch the title. Connie Torres finished 83rd in 18:22.93.
In the featured boys Eastern States division at Manhattan, Liverpool finished fifth, with 192 points, behind Fayetteville-Manlius (who was second with 125 points) in the first head-to-head clash between the Warriors and Hornets this fall.
Colin Savage still found his way to eighth place in a time of 12:43.60, beating all of the F-M individuals.
Alex Wilke finished 34th (13:12.67), with Anthony Brais claiming 42nd place (13:19.76) as Nick Hull (13:25.86), Chris Clemons (13:37.86), Mychal Ostuni (13:56.48) and Brandon Rudd (14:05.85) rounded out the roster.
CNS had reason to be proud, too. In the boys Varsity F division, the Northstars took second place, with 136 points, beaten only by West Windsor-Plainsboro, who won with 84 points.
Among individuals, Chris Buchanan claimed fourth place on the 4,000-meter course in a time of 12:55.07. Dan Fritz finished 30th, in 13:46.71, while Alex Bottorff took 39th place (13:58.42) and Rob Donaldo (14:01.53) was 42nd. Ken Ryan was 51st, in 14:13.51, as Mike Kavanagh, in 77th place (14:38.35), rounded out the field.
Over in the girls Varsity D race at Manhattan, CNS was fourth, with 141 points, and Nicole Watterud had a particularly good race, weaving her way to third place in a time of 15:17.62.
Marissa Colburn, in ninth place (15:42.58), also reached the top 10 as Dana Rinaldi eased into 35th place in 16:46.31. Jamie Leone was 49th, in 17:02.55, with Mackenzie Cummings (54th, 17:10.86), Christina Sakowski (59th, 17:15.87) and Katie Laris (60th, 17:16.60) all posting strong finishes, too.
Both teams are on the road this Wednesday – Liverpool at Utica Proctor, CNS at Henninger – before the Warriors host its own invitational meet at Long Branch Park Saturday, starting at 9 a.m.