The West Genesee boys cross country team had a tough CNY Counties League opener with Rome Free Academy last Wednesday afternoon, needing a tie-breaker on the boys end to prevail after both sides finished with 29 points.
Individually, the Black Knights went 1-2, as Erik Winberg won in 17:34 and Matt Silver was second in 17:36, with Connor Butters fourth in 17:41.
In between all this, WG’s Luke Conroy led his side with a third-place clocking of 17:38. It was Luke Potash, fifth in 17:44, leading the real Wildcat pack as Jack Erhard was sixth (17:46), Ethan Osborne took seventh (17:58) and Mark Reilly was eighth in 18:02.
With a tie in points, it came down to which team’s sixth runner would finish first. Mike Lannon did the honor for the Wildcats, finishing in 18:09, seven seconds behind Reilly and 12 seconds ahead of RFA’s Jeff Brown.
None of this suspense could be found on the girls side, where WG rolled past the Black Knights 17-46. Laura Leff won the individual race in 20:45, four seconds ahead of Lindsey Weaver, while Abby Kastick took third in 21:03.
After RFA’s Aleigha Hawkins got fourth place, the Wildcats swept the rest of the top 10. Kelly Powell was fifth (21:37), comfortably ahead of Amy Hannahan (21:54) in sixth, while Lauren Brieant (22:05) was seventh. Mary McGlynn got eight in 22:21 ahead of Elise Dunshee (22:26) and Alycia Andolina (22:36).
All of the local cross country teams will compete at Saturday’s Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Invitational, where the state championships will get decided on Nov. 12.
