The Cazenovia boys cross country team improved its record to 4-0 last Wednesday by defeating league opponent Solvay by a perfect score of 15-50 and non-league opponent DeRuyter 15-48.
This was the last home race of the 2016 season for the Lakers and the day was met with sunny, cooler weather. Jimmy McPherson was the overall winner with a time of 16:52. He was followed by Brendan Coffey (17:01), Jon Marecek (17:02), Ian Marshall (18:22) and Nick Barna (18:23) for a top-five sweep.
Jacob Wells led the next group, finishing seventh among individuals in 18:44, followed by teammates Jack Gabor (18:56), Zach Wendell (19:24), Colton Kubinec (19:53) and Tony Koppers (20:13). The first opponent to cross the finish line was DeRuyter’s Patrick Moade of DeRuyter, who finished sixth at 18:27.
For the second week in a row, several personal bests were recorded. The top three finishers for the Lakers — McPherson, Coffey and Marecek — all recorded the top times for a Laker on this home course. McPherson was also the first Laker to race the course in under 17 minutes.
All of the Cazenovia runners who scored for the team were within 1:31 of each other, a sign of a strong team that continues to greatly improve each week as the post-season approaches.
Prior to the race, the team celebrated the last home race for the senior runners. Coach Jason Hyatt acknowledged each senior and what they meant to the program. During this presentation, Hyatt described each runner with one word or phrase.
He described Coffey, the senior captain, as being the most dedicated. That dedication has shown through Coffey’s outstanding season thus far. Sam Galasso was described as humorous but quiet, the teammate that keeps everyone upbeat.
Hyatt extended John Henry Light-Olson a heartfelt “Happy Birthday” and characterized him as a person who lives life to the fullest. Kubiniec was described as a person who was totally committed. Orson Sproule was described as a person who leads by example.
As he thanked all of the seniors for their years of hard work and dedication, Hyatt stated that the one commonality among these seniors is that they all just simply loved their team, adding he was happy to note Kubiniec and Light-Olson achieved their personal best on this course during this meet.
Up next for the Lakers is a league contest at Marcellus on Wednesday. The Mustangs are also undefeated in the league and are currently ranked no. 5 in the state in Class C, coming off a 25-32 win over Cazenovia’s neighbors from Chittenango.
