by Kurt Wheeler
VERONA – The Cazenovia girls cross country team got its 2021 campaign off to a strong start as they finished tops among small schools and fifth overall among 20 teams in last Friday’s Vernon-Verona-Sherrll Invitational Varsity 1 race.
Only Class A Fayetteville-Manlius and West Genesee and Class B New Hartford and Whitesboro achieved better totals than the Lakers’ score of 154 points.
The starting line was tense with anticipation as they awaited the opening gun of the first large invitational race in Central New York in nearly two years.
Harriers were allowed to compete in 2020 but meet sizes were severely limited for safety due to COVID-19. Runners were also excited to kick off 2021 competition without masks, which are no longer required for outdoor events.
Sophomore Lauren McLean led the way for the Lakers, racing to 24th place in a time of 23 minutes, 13.9 seconds. Already in her third year on varsity, McLean immediately improved on her position as the team’s number two runner last year.
Cazenovia’s team performance was encouraging at this early stage of the season, with a tight pack finishing near the front of the field.
Olivia Wong (32nd, 23:38.4), Claire Braaten (33rd, 23:41.9) and Mary Williams (34th, 23:53.2) finished within steps of each other, and Zoey Gagne capped the team’s scoring at number 51 in 25:01.3.
Wong’s performance was especially impressive, leaping from her no. 14 ranking on the team last season to finish second for the Lakers in just her second year on varsity.
Melanie Michael (61st, 25:32.5) and Bonnie Pittman (63rd, 25:36.5) represented the depth that helped Cazenovia to undefeated, league title seasons in 2018 and 2019. They displaced numerous scorers from other teams from their number six and seven positions for the Lakers.
Emma Steinberg, Mesi Stevens, Ilsa Denton, Sedona Millard and Iris Casey led Cazenovia to a fourth place finish among all junior varsity teams in the competition while Sophia Gaff and Rachael Caraher also ran well for the Lakers.
Cazenovia would kick off their league season Wednesday as it travels to Altmar-Parish-Williamstown to face the Rebels along with the Firebirds of Phoenix and strive for another title in 2021.
