All the good work done by the Baldwinsville boys cross country team this fall was in preparation to try and knock Cicero-North Syracuse off its CNY Counties League National division throne.
And in Wednesday’s showdown at Oneida Shores Park, the Bees were within inches of pulling it off, only to have the Northstars snatch it from them in a 27-30 defeat.
This was the second time B’ville and CNS were running in a four-day span, counting its Oct. 9 appearance at the Manhattan Invitational, but neither side was backing away, given that first place was on the line.
Out in front, it was the Bees’ Alec Peinkofer in the spotlight, easily claiming the victory in a time of 16:01, nearly half a minute clear of Northstars teammates Anthony Lupia (16:26) and Neil Gill (16:27).
Then they traded spots. Josh Perez got fourth in 16:48 and Matt Pond was sixth in 16:49, but somehow CNS’s Paul DeGennaro squeezed between them for fifth place.
It was still undecided after Andy Fleming got eighth place in 16:59, just behind the Northstars’ Ken Ryan (16:52) in seventh. But before the fifth Bees’ runner could cross, three CNS competitors did so, in the ninth through 11th spots, clinching the meet for the hosts.
The girls meet wasn’t as close, B’ville falling to CNS 21-36. Rachael Miller, with a time of 19:48, had to settle for third place behind the CNS duo of Jackie Halstead (18:56) and Nicole Waterrud (18:59), while Annie Peterson was fourth in 19:49.
Here, the Northstars occupied the fifth through seventh spots, finishing off its scoring before the Bees’ Hannah Olds got eighth place (20:46) and Julia Johnson got 10th place in 21:14.
