ONONDAGA COUNTY – For the second time in as many weeks, West Genesee boys cross country junior Peter McMahon found himself at the front of the field at a large-scale meet.
McMahon followed up his Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Invitational victory on Sept. 10 by going to the East Syracuse Minoa Invitational eight days later and again proving the fastest runner.
In a time of 16 minutes, 47.8 seconds, McMahon easily pulled away from Brighton’s Anson Butler, who was second in 17:42.3, nearly a full minute behind.
Still, it was Brighton taking the team title with 31 points to WG’s 49 as it had five of the top 10 team runners in the field, while the Wildcats had three.
Behind McMahon, Kevin Moser gained fourth place in 18:20.1, with Michael Gomes eighth in 18:51.4. Max Broccoli got 17th place among team runners in 19:17.5, two spots ahead of Max Roberston’s 19:31.8. Solvay was led by Redd Long’s 22:27.5.
WG’s girls gained a third-place finish at ESM behind Brighton and Montrose, with Claire Griffin pacing the Wildcats as she got to fifth place in 21:25.8.
Zoe Maupin earned 10th place in 22:24 flat, with Peyton Long 17th among team runners in 23:40.8 as Chloe Fietz (24:12.8) and Madalyn Lauricella (24:28.7) followed.
That same day, Jordan-Elbridge hosted its own invitational meet and Vassianna Klock won the girls race for the Eagles, her time of 20:27.5 well clear of the 21:47.1 put up by the second-place finisher, Christian Brothers Academy’s Bella Cannizzo. Coral Uhle finished 10th as CBA’s girls and Hannibal’s boys took the team titles.
Three days earlier, WG’s girls split Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division opener last Wednesday afternoon.
The Wildcats topped Henninger, but lost 19-41 to Liverpool, led by Griffin, who put up a time of 21:42 behind a trio of Warriors led by Kaleigh Buck, who won in 21:15. Maupin got fifth place in 21:45, trailing Griffin by just three seconds, while Long also reached the top 10, posting 22:42.
Marcellus had its teams run at the McDaniel-Baxter Invitational at Chenango Valley State Park, site of the state championship meet in November. Caeden Cox led the boys Mustangs, finishing 20th in his race in 18:38.1.
Heidi Steigerwald was the top girls runner for Marcellus in 23:14.9. while Westhill, in that same race, was paced by Malia Gutierrez and her time of 24:01.8.
The Westhill boys team was also at Chenango Valley, finishing 11th out of 20 teams in its division with Brandon Mulholland the top performer, finishing 38th in 18:32.6.
