The Cazenovia girls cross country team opened their 2018 campaign with a strong showing at the Chittenango Invitational on Sept 8. The Lakers finished seventh out of 18 teams in the “Varsity 2” race, with nearly all the teams ahead of them coming from the ranks of larger Class A schools. Cazenovia (191 points) was second among Class C teams with only rival Clinton (162 points) finishing ahead of them.
Junior Isla Stover led the Lakers, finishing 23rd in the competitive field in a time of 22:03. She was backed up by a tight pack of teammates as Sophomore Molly Hart was second for the team (27th in 22:20) with Senior Captain Clara Rowles just a few steps behind (28th in 22:23). Fellow Captain, Senior Kelly Frost was next for the team, placing 53rd overall in 23:57. Finlay Stover (Grade 8), kicked off her varsity career in strong form, filling the final scoring position for the team with a 60th place finish in 24:17.
The superb depth of this year’s squad was evident as Freshman Claire Braaten (71st, 24:52.3) and Junior Eleanor Wester (72nd, 24:52.9) ran stride for stride to fill the team’s critical sixth and seventh spots. Freshmen Mary Williams (25:33) and Emma Steinberg (25:35) also ran well in their first varsity race with Jenna Steinberg, Maggie Rowles, Jackie Gamlen, Eva Gagnon and Laura Fitzgerald rounding out the Lakers’ deep pack. In total, the girls have 18 runners on this year’s roster, their second largest squad ever.
Cazenovia will be back in action at the East Syracuse Minoa Invitational on Sept 15 before opening their OHSL Liberty league schedule at home on Sept 19 against Hannibal. They will strive to improve on their 7-1 mark in 2017 in order capture this year’s league championship while also working hard to capture their fourth sectional title since 2010 in the competitive Class C field.