A season where the Liverpool girls cross country team rose to the top of the state Class A rankings ended just like 2017 did, with an appearance at the Nike Cross Nationals.
Having made the long flight to Portland, Oregon, the Warriors would test itself against the top teams and individuals in America, ultimately finishing 15th out of 22 teams.
Junior Jenna Schulz culminated her superb junior campaign when she finished 22nd in a field of 202 runners, posting a time of 17 minutes, 37.7 seconds. Senior Madison Neuner made it to 38th place in a clocking of 17:55.4.
And the top of the standings were full of New York State runners. North Rockland’s Katelyn Tuohy repeated her national championship, winning in 16:37.8, while Saratoga Springs’ Kelsey Chmiel was second in 16:54.8. Fayetteville-Manlius’ Claire Walters was fifth in 17:13.3 and Tully’s Brooke Rauber got sixth place in 17:19.2.
Behind Schulz and Neuner, Liverpool had Sydney Carlson finish 108th in 18:51 flat. Windsor Ardner posted a time of 19:25.4, with Emily Neuner finishing in 19:43.4. Gabby McCarthy, in 20:15.2, was just ahead of Bella Brancato’s time of 20:46.7.
Fayetteville-Manlius, seeking its 12th national title, would take fourth place in the team standings, beating out state Class A champion Saratoga Springs in sixth place. Summit High School (Oregon) won in its home state with 120 points.
Meanwhile, the F-M boys cross country team, who are state Class A and regional champions, finished fifth in its portion of the Nike Nationals as North Loudoun (Virginia) took the top spot.
