West Genesee’s Carly Benson and Will Randall, along with, Jordan-Elbridge’s Abby Gugel each had one more chance this fall to offer a major impression to cross country followers at the end of a memorable freshman campaign that included a Section III Class A championship and a top-five finish at the state meet.
And they all would all do well, with Benson and Randall rising to top-20 individual placements in their respective races during Saturday’s New York State Federation Championships at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls.
Benson didn’t lose sight of the lead pack in a field of more than 250 runners, ending up in a battle with Shoreham-Wading River’s Katherine Lee for top ninth-grader.
Lee would win that battle, but not by much. Benson, in 18 minutes, 33.8 seconds, took sixth place, just behind Lee’s 18:31.6. Arlington’s Bella Burda, who won the state Class A individual title a week earlier at SUNY-Canton, prevailed here, too, in a time of 17:50.4, holding off Corning’s Jessica Lawson (17:52.9) at the wire.
Randall would have his own sensational effort. Posting a time of 16 minutes, 12.6 seconds, the WG senior made it all the way to 18th place in a 274-runner field, less than a minute behind Northport’s Mike Branigan, who won the Federation title in 15:30.4.
As for Gugel, her third-place finish in the state Class C meet on Nov. 8 led to an invitation to Bowdoin Park, and the J-E junior did not waste it, making her way to 32nd place in 19:18.1, just behind her season-long rival, Skaneateles junior Kaitlyn Neal, who was 27th in 19:13.2 after she finished four spots behind Gugel at Canton.
West Genesee’s girls, as a team, claimed 13th place in a field of 27 squads, finishing with 319 points. Saratoga Springs (81 points) won the title in the absence of state Class A champion Fayetteville-Manlius, who is preparing for the Nike Northeast Regional at Bowdoin Park on Thanksgiving weekend.
Behind Benson, Grace Craig finished 40th among team runners and 69th overall in 19:47 flat. Lindsay Weaver posted a time of 20:17.8, followed by eighth-grader Kendall Dombroski (21:05.9), Maria Matkoski (21:14.0) and Sarah Ferranti (21:22.7).
