by Kurt Wheeler

The Cazenovia girls cross country team earned a perfect score last Friday as it placed the first five runners across the line to sweep Manlius-Pebble Hill 15-51.

Despite competing on the coldest day of the season to date, with temperatures just above freezing and Fenner wind chills well below, seven members of the team ran season best times on the Lakers’ home course.

Freshman Lauren McLean led the team, outpacing the rest of the squad by over a minute to finish in 21 minutes, 54 seconds.

The other Laker scorers finished in a tight pack as junior Claire Braaten finished second for the team in 23:19 with senior Maddie McGreevy right on her heals at 23:20, a season best.

Freshman Zoey Gagne ran her best race ever, improving 36 seconds to place fourth in 23:23, with junior Melanie Michael achieving her highest finish of the season to cap the team’s perfect score with a fifth-place, 23:57 effort.

Sophomore Bonnie Pittman, competing in her first season of cross country, ran a personal best of 23:58 to capture sixth while senior Captain Mia Chesbrough also ran her best time of the year to capture seventh in 24:09.

The Lakers’ exceptional depth was on full display as Senior Laura Fitzgerald was eighth in 24:37. Caryn Gagnon, a volleyball player for the Lakers in a normal fall season, continued to improve rapidly as she ran a person best of 25:02 to claim ninth.

Karly Vaas improved on her best time by over two minutes as she ran to a personal record of 28:53 and Senior Jenna Steinberg also turned in her fastest time of the season at 29:40.

The Lakers, 4-1 so far in the pandemic-shortened season, will host its final league meet of the fall this Saturday against Marcellus.

The contest was originally slated for last Wednesday afternoobn but delayed by Cazenovia’s one day of remote learning as the Madison County Health Department conducted contact tracing for a positive COVID-19 test in the high school.