Just as the schedule worked out, the Liverpool cross country teams got to face Baldwinsville three times in a span of eight days.
This included last Tuesday’s CNY Counties League showdown at Longbranch Park, where the Warriors were within inches of toppling the Bees, but lost 27-28, and the boys took a 21-34 defeat.
These same sides ran against each other Sept. 22 in the Baldwinsville Invitational, where Liverpool’s girls won the Large Schools division, edging the Bees in second place.
The league meet was close from the start. Liverpool’s Morgan Mahoney dueled with B’ville’s Annie Peterson for the individual title, and Mahoney finished in 19 minutes, 37 seconds, just four seconds behind Peterson.
It was just as close for third place, where Abby McNamara, in 19:58, edged the Bees’ Rachael Miller (19:59), but B’ville gained a crucial placement when Marissa Lathrop finished fifth in 20:19, with Liverpool’s Juliana Basla (20:31) in sixth.
After Emily Thompson crossed the line in seventh place in 20:34, the Warriors’ fourth and fifth runners, Emily Butler (20:37) and Morgan Chemung (20:38) followed, so the Bees had to get its fifth runner home to hang on. Hannah Olds pulled it off, claiming 10th place in 20:39, and B’ville had prevailed.
Going to the boys race, it was decided early as B’ville earned four of the top five spots, led once again by Alec Peinkofer, whose time of 16:26 was eight seconds better than Liverpool’s Dan Muldoon.
B’ville’s depth was on display, with Andy Fleming rolling into third place in 16:38 and Josh Perez in fourth, just two seconds behind. Jack Martin made his way to fifth place in 16:47.
All of this happened before the Warriors’ second runner, Ben Petrella, made his way to the line in sixth place in 16:50, with teammate Alex Christiansen (16:58) in seventh. Drew Henry finished ninth in 17:14, with Travis Chewning-Kulick 10th in 17:21.
Like many other Section III teams, the Warriors went to Genesee Valley Park in Rochester for Saturday’s 48th annual McQuaid Invitational, aware that they would be put in the same race as Baldwinsville to create the third encounter between the schools in an eight-day span.
Liverpool would get 158 points in the boys AAA race to finish fifth out of 16 sides, just behind B’ville (143 points) in fourth place. Muldoon led the way, finishing 12th in 15:27, while Christensen got to 26th place in 15:46. Henry was 34th (15:56), two spots ahead of Petrella (15:58), as Travis Chewning-Kulick finished in 16:16.
Going to the girls AAA race, it was just as close, Liverpool getting 157 points and B’ville 150, with the Warriors sliding into sixth place and the Bees in fifth.
Mahoney led the Warriors as she ran to 12th place in a clocking of 18:20. McNamara, in 18:51, earned 26th place, with Basla 33rd in exactly 19 minutes. Butler made her way to 42nd place in 19:18 as Morgan Chewning-Kulick (19:30) in 53rd place.
