It proved quite a satisfactory conclusion to a championship season for West Genesee boys cross country runner Matt Bartolotta.
The Wildcats senior zoomed all the way to a top-10 finish in the New York State Federation championship race, held Nov. 23 at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls.
A week earlier, Bartolotta helped Section III win the team portion of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A meet at SUNY-Plattsburgh on a snow-covered course shortened to 2.8 miles by those conditions.
But the snow was gone at Bowdoin Park, and with the full 3.1-mile course to deal with, Bartolotta covered it in 16 minutes, 34.8 seconds.
That put Bartolotta in 10th place, less than a minute behind the winning 15:57.2 posted by Pittsford Mendon’s Sam Lawler as, in the team portion, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (151 points) held off Mount Academy (172 points) to prevail.
A day earlier, a quartet of West Genesee girls swimmers took part in its NYPHSAA championships at Ithaca College, competing in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Seniors Hannah Murdock and Maggie Smith, along with sophomores Anna Ivery and Victoria Senus, had made some history during the Nov. 10 sectional state qualifier, its time of 1:41.60 earning them a berth in the state meet from a consolation race, a rare feat.
At Ithaca, Murdock, Smith, Ivery and Semus could not match that time, posting 1:43.63 to finish 52nd. The winning time of 1:35.82 was posted by Section I’s Sleepy-Hastings-Edgemont-Irvin.
