While it didn’t make a distinct sound, what was seen last Saturday at the Manhattan Invitational was the Fayetteville-Manlius girls cross country team reminding everyone, through its work, that it is unstoppable when in peak form.
The Hornets left everyone in the Eastern States Invitational far behind them, tearing through Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and, with 22 points, finishing well clear of runner-up Liverpool, who was second with 127 points.
Claire Walters, Sophie Ryan and Phoebe White pulled off a 1-2-3 sweep on the 2.5-mile (4,000-meter) Van Cortlandt course as Walters won the race in 14 minutes, 13.2 seconds, with Ryan second in 14:18.5 and White getting third place in 14:20.1.
Palmer Madsen wasn’t too far behind, either, earning seventh place in 14:35.8, and when Rebecca Walters took ninth place in 14:38.8, F-M had occupied half of the top 10. Grace Kaercher finished 16th in 15:07 flat, with Isabel Crovella finishing in 16:23.7.
At the same Manhattan meet, the state no. 1-ranked F-M boys team nearly won its portion of the Eastern States Invitational, finishing with 149 points, only behind the powerful Christian Brothers Academy team from New Jersey that won with 136 points.
Ben Otis just missed a top 10 individual finish, leading the Hornets as he got 11th place in 12:47.2. Geoff Howles was 19th in 12:56.8, with Sam Otis taking 34th place in 13:14.2.
All of New Jersey CBA’s five best runners fit inside the top 40, which F-M couldn’t quite match, despite a strong effort. Peyton Geehrer was 41st in 13:16.2, with Jack Duncanson 44th in 13:17.6. Matt Tripp (13:39.9) and Max Perry (14:14.0) trailed them.
Jamesville-DeWitt ran at the Manhattan meet, too, and in the girls Varsity B race the Red Rams had a third-place finish with 143 points, behind only Ursuline School and Greenwich, who won with 70 points.
Sophia Vinciguerra and Madelyn Foss both had terrific races, Vinciguerra getting fourth place in 15:21.4 and Foss tearing her way to sixth place in 15:29.8.
Behind them, Abby Palin got 28th place in 16:39.2, while Ayla Erwin finished 50th in 17:14.8. Amelia Gilbert got to 55th place in a clocking of 17:24.4 as Abby Leavitt (17:39.9) and Alisa Salbert (18:43.0) followed.
Moving to the boys Varsity B race, J-D was eighth out of 23 teams, and had Kaleel Boykins lead the way, taking 22nd place in 13:50.5. Ahviere Reese was 40th in 14:07.2, just ahead of Sam Glisson (14:11.4) in 43rd place. Further back were Nick Mannion (14:35.3), Nate Rindfuss (14:51.5), Luke Hobicka (14:55.6) and Fidel Martinez (15:02.4).
East Syracuse Minoa was in the boys Varsity E race, where Nolan Byrd led the Spartans with a 62nd-place time of 14:21 flat, with David Rivers (14:23.9) in 68th place. They were followed by Michael Sanders (15:38.9), Evan Zelenz (15:42.3), Michael Nesci (16:01.1) and Marcus Evans (16:38.1).
The ESM girls got put in the Varsity D race, and Julia Schug led her side by finishing 87th in 18:40 flat, just ahead of Jazmin Tyo’s 19:08.4. Behind them, Mary Roach finished in 19:36.5 ahead of Marina Lopez (20:03.6), Mary Neff (20:13.3), Ellie Beaulieu (20:14.9) and Isabella Talarico (20:56.4).
