Everyone expected the first state championship conquest of a Section III team. But will a whole lot more follow? Early on Saturday morning, as the warm sun rose above Lakeside Park in Pawling, F-M’s cross country girls set about the task of dismantling any semblance of Class AA competition. From having Christie Rutledge and Jillian Fanning finish 1-2 to seeing Katie Sischo, Courtney Chapman, Heather Martin and Katie Brislin also finish in the top 10 (with Maggie Malone close behind), the Hornets took another step toward peaking for that next December assault on the Nike Nationals in Oregon. And it didn’t stop there. Hamilton’s super seventh-grader, Sage Hurta, took the girls Class D state race. Then CNS’s Chris Buchanan did the same in a close boys Class AA race where Baldwinsville’s Shaun Thompson took third despite losing a shoe. Then Holland Patent’s terrific teinws, Cody and Dylan Racha, went to the front in Class C, and Beaver River’s Matthew Cheney did the same in Class D. Amid all that, the Remsen girls rose up to second in the girls state Class D race. Then six of them made their much-anticipated four-hour bus ride to Chittenango and, wonder of wonders, beat Milford 3-1 to earn a berth in the state final four. Erin O’Connor, one of those girls that went the two-sport route, led the way with two goals and one assist. The Remsen double highlighted a near-sweep of soccer regionals by Section III’s sides. Nine teams went in, and eight came out victorious, four in each gender. Just before the Rams’ remarkable feats, Sauquoit Valley made it back-to-back Class C final four trips by holding off Marathon, 2-1, Elisa Marchione getting her 28th goal along the way. Marcellus made the long ride to Plattsburgh in Class B and, by blanking Peru 3-0, made it five final four trips in eight years (each of the previous times it’s reached the finals). And Baldwinsville jumped all over Bethlehem in Class AA, prevailing 3-0 on the Fulton turf, all the goals coming in the first half. Earlier in the week, J-D, the Class A champs, ran into Burnt Hills (again) and lost (again), no shoot-out needed as the Spartans won 2-0 with a superb defensive effort. This leads to Friday’s state semifinals in the Cortland/Homer area. You’ve got Marcellus against Center Moriches (9 a.m., Homer), Sauquoit taking on S.S. Seward (9:30 a.m., SUNY-Cortland), Remsen facing Smithtown Christian (11:45, Tompkins CC) and B’ville facing Massapequa at 12:15 on the Cortland turf. All want to get to Saturday’s finals. Just as the girls soccer teams finish their championship work, the boys final four begins in the new locale of Middletown with, again, four Section III champions part of the picture. Baldwinsville, in Class AA, returned by fending off Saratoga Springs 3-2 at Liverpool on Saturday, just after J-D, the Class A champs, negotiated its way past Scotia-Glenville by that same 3-2 margin when Josh Kiesa got his first goal of the season to break a 2-2 tie. Down at the Wright National (former Hall of Fame) complex in Oneonta, Skaneateles made it 21-0 by pulling away late from Trumansburg 4-0, Jeff Baldetti and Kevin Rice getting two goals apiece, as Hamilton gave up a quick goal to South Kortright in Class D, but tied within a minute and, with Drew Thompson’s three assists and Dan Kraynak scoring twice, prevailed 4-1. Only MPH, with a 1-0 defeat to Marathon in Class C, could not make it to Middletown. Want an early start on Saturday? Try J-D playing Pittsford Mendon in the state semifinals at 8:30 a.m. and Hamilton doing the same against Northstar Christian at 8:45. B’ville moves against Clarence at 1:30 and Skaneateles plays Akron at 1:45, with all the finals set for Sunday. Speaking of the morning, that’s when Cazenovia’s field hockey heroes will be on the field at CNS’s Bragman Stadium Friday when it meets Briarcliff Manor at 11:30 in the Class C semifinals. The Lakers had to overcome a first-half deficit, and some hot goaltending, to escape the Greenwich Witches 2-1, the game-winner arriving on Belle Hoagland’s penalty stroke with less than two minutes left. Caz has a real shot at this title, since neither of the other semifinalists, Barker or Pierson/Bridgehampton, post a major threat. At least not yet, anyway. Just a few feet from the stadium, up in the CNS gym, the boys volleyball Northstars, having swept Horseheads in the rgionals, are part of the State Division I round-robin with Bethlehem, Rochester McQuaid and Half Hollow Hills West. B’ville’s girls volleyball team make their return to Glens Falls for the state final four, looking for that elusive first championship – if Horseheads, or Wesbster Schroeder, or Arlington, or Lindenhurst, get in the way. So counting the football troika of B’ville, Whitesboro and General Brown, a total of 14 Section III teams still could win state championships, which must be some kind of record for mass survival. That’s a tribute to the quality of competition around here, and the willingness to embrace the big moments – which could lead to bigger things this weekend, in many different places.