by Kurt Wheeler
PARISH – The Cazenovia girls cross country team got their bid for another league championship season off to a strong start as they earned a pair of wins in its first head-to-head match-ups of the fall.
Against host Altmar-Parish-Williamstown and Phoenix last Wednesday afternoon, the Lakers defeated both the Rebels and Firebirds by equal 15-51 margins with a dominant opening performance.
Sophomore Lauren McLean led the way for Cazenovia for the second week in a row as she outran the field from starting gun to finish line and completed APW’s three mile course in 22 minutes, 15 seconds.
Cazenovia’s front pack was impressive for the second week in a row as they swept the first four places and hit the finish line one after another in a span of only 36 seconds.
Sophomore Olivia Wong claimed second for the Lakers in her best time of the year, finishing in 22:25. Senior captains Claire Braaten (22:49) and Mary Williams (22:51) finished in quick succession to give Cazenovia an insurmountable early lead.
Zoe Gordon of Phoenix (23:14) was the only opponent to break up the Laker scorers before Cazenovia’s second wave slammed the door and sealed the victory.
Zoey Gagne (sixth, 24:20) capped the team’s scoring while Bonnie Pittman (24:31) and Melanie Michael (24:47) displaced all but one runner from the opposing teams.
Phoenix was able to place one more runner across the line at 25:00 before another wave of Lakers finished. Emma Steinberg (25:23), Rachael Caraher (25:39), Ilsa Denton (26:07), Mesi Stevens (26:55) and Sedona Millard (27:15) all ran season-best times as they finished ahead of APW’s lead runner.
The double victory got Cazenovia off to a quick 2-0 start in what they hope will be another undefeated, league championship season. The Lakers were unbeaten in both 2018 and 2019 before finishing 4-1 in the covid-shortened 2020 campaign.
Cazenovia will host Solvay in ts first league contest of the season on Wednesday before traveling to the Baldwinsville Invitational on Saturday as the Lakers look to maintain early momentum.
