by Kurt Wheeler
CENTRAL NEW YORK – The Cazenovia girls cross country team swept Westhill (15-47) and Christian Brothers Academy (15-48) last Wednesday to wrap up its Onondaga High School League season.
Having already clinched the Liberty-National Division title, the crossover match victory with the Liberty-American rivals raised the Lakers’ record to 11-0.
Three days later, the girls ran to a second-place finish among 24 teams at the Tully Invitational.
Against Westhill and CBA, Cazenovia earned perfect totals of 15 points against both opponents as they captured the first five places in the race.
Olivia Ruddy led the entire field with a blistering 18:33 pace on the 2.8 mile course at Santaro Park. One minute later, the Cazenovia pack sealed the win with an impressive team performance, capturing the next four places in 22 seconds.
Dinah Gifford was second in 19:36 followed quickly by Faith Wheeler (19:47), Maeve McGreevy (19:51) and Zoey Gagne (19:58), who all beat the 20-minute mark.
Westhill and CBA each managed one finisher before rapidly-improving freshman Haylee Stearn crossed in 21:12. Senior captain Bonnie Pittman was next for the Lakers at 21:29, displacing most of the opposing scorers.
Ilsa Denton had her best race of the season, finishing in 22:28. Sedona Millard (23:42) and Emma O’Shea (26:37) also ran well for Cazenovia.
Cazenovia entered Saturday’s meet at Tully short-handed due to a spate of late-season injuries and illnesses, but the eight competitors on the starting line each ran gutsy performances to secure a second-place finish among all 24 teams in the combined small and large school divisions.
Only South Jefferson (44 points), who appears to be the Lakers’ primary rival for the Section III Class C title this season, finished ahead of Cazenovia, who finished with 70 points.
Ruddy had her best race of the season, completing the 5,000 meter course in 20:42 for a “speed rating” of 101 despite persistently powerful winds throughout the contest. She was fourth overall in the 118-runner field and second among small school competitors.
Wheeler also had her best race ever, finishing in 22:04 (12th place) for a speed rating of 74. Gifford (16th, 22:20) and Gagne (17th, 22:23) also ran superb races for the team.
Stearns stepped up to fill the gaps in the Lakers’ lineup, taking more than a minute off her time on the same course just 10 days before to secure the team’s final scoring position in 23:22 (33rd place, speed rating of 48).
The Lakers’ two strong performances were the latest indicators that they will be competitors for th sectional title come November.
Two articles published on ny.milesplit.com last week raised Cazenovia’s stock in the New York running world. The first cited the team as the no. 2 finisher among all the Class C teams in the state at the Oct. Manhattan Invitational while the second raised their overall ranking to no. 9 in the state.
The girls will host their Senior Meet Wednesday against Cincinnatus and DeRuyter to wrap up thei regular season before setting their sights on the OHSL Liberty championships on Oct. 26. ]
