Though it was quite close, the Fayetteville-Manlius girls track and field team did pull out last Wednesday’s meet against Baldwinsville, prevailing 73-68 over the Bees as, again, distance runners made the difference for the Hornets.

Sweeping every race from 400 meters upward, F-M had Palmer Madsen take the 400 in 59.7 seconds. Sophia Ryan ran 800 meters in 2:29.8, with Rebecca Walters claiming the 1,500-meter run in 4:56.8 and Claire Walters gaining victory in the 3,000-meter run in 10:23.5.

Also, the Hornets’ 4×800 relay team of Ryan, Phoebe White, Rebecca Walters and Christy Berge’ finished under the 10-minute mark, winning in 9:55.1. Ryan, Berge’, White and Madsen won the 4×400 in 4:07.9. Cady Barns was a pivotal factor, too, prevailing in the triple jump by going 34 feet 3 inches while also recording a winning high jump of 15’6 ½”.

It proved far more difficult for the F-M boys team in a 104-37 defeat to B’ville, where Romello Mitchell provided a bright spot for the Hornets by taking three field events. Mitchell cleared 6 feet in the high jump, went 18’7 ½” in the high jump and had a win in the triple jump by going 39’8”.

Of the running events, F-M won just two of them. Joe Walters ran 3,200 meters in 9:50.61 after he beat the field in the mile with a time of 4:33.4. B’ville’s depth was overwhelming as Kenny Stehle led the way, taking the 110 hurdles (16.4 seconds) and winning the 400 hurdles in 56.3 seconds. The Bees also won all three relays.

Christian Brothers Academy was swept in last Wednesday’s meet at Cazenovia, with the girls taking a 96-45 defeat and the boys falling to the Lakers.

In that girls meet, CBA’s Olivia Morganti went from edging Cazenovia’s Payton Basic, 1:07.5 to 1:07.6, in the 400 sprint to winning the 3,000-meter run in 11:17.2. Claire Bargabos took the 800 in 2:32.4 and helped the Brothers’ 4×400 relay team prevail in 4:37.1.

Skylar Decker needed 17.5 seconds to prevail in the 100 hurdles, while Elana Kantor won the 400 hurdles in 1:12.6. Cazenovia swept all the field events, led by Maddy Gavitt, who won the long jump (15’10 ½”), triple jump (35 feet) and tied teammate Molly Carges in the high jump (4’8”).

In the boys meet, CBA lost, 117-24, to Cazenovia, though Dominic Morganti won the 800 in 2:16.4 and Dan Melvin was second in 2:20.9. Brett VanPatten was second in the 200 in 25.6 seconds, with Riley Nash third in the 3,200 as Zach Medicis and Adam Kantor were second and third, respectively, in the mile.

Joel Gaffney was second in the 400 sprint in 55.7 seconds, but was part of a winning effort when he paired with Medicis, Morganti and Melvin to win the 4×800 in 9:18.4. Jimmy McPherson led Cazenovia with wins in three events – the mile (5:03.9), 400 hurdles (1:09.6) and 3,200-meter run (11:16.8).

CBA’s girls team would go on to find success in Saturday’s Skaneateles-Marcellus Invitational, starting with Cory Knox beating the field in the 400 hurdles, winning in 1;11.51 over Clarence’s Olivia Grande (1:12.27) in second place.

Morganti would go to the 2,000-meter steeplechase and, in 7:31.89, beat Lowville’s Hannah Freeman (7:48.18) by more than 16 seconds. In the 4×800, Knox, Lea Kyle, Deja Jones and Bri Pucci were second in 10:11.79, less than a second behind Lowville, who won in 10:10.88.

Elissa Kempisty was third in the triple jump, going 32’3”, and also had a third-place long jump of 15’3”. Jones was fourth in the 800 in 2:29.72, with Kyle in eighth place. Decker was sixth in the 100 hurdles in 18.03 seconds.