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French, Hinsdill win races; Adirondack girls, Whitesboro boys win team cross country titles

Jon Rathbun, Herkimer Times Telegram
·14 min read

VERONA - Three runners and three teams repeated as champions Saturday at Section III's 2023 cross country championship meet.

Boys and girls competed in four classes at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School which will also be the site for the state meet this coming weekend. Fayetteville-Manlius senior Nolan McGinn and the Auburn Maroons repeated as champions among the Class A boys and Fayetteville-Manlius won a team title for the Class A girls. Class D South Lewis also repeated as a girls team champion while runners Cora Hinsdill from Adirondack and Brynn Bernard from South Lewis were again individual winners in classes C and D.

The race winners for the girls were not big surprises. In addition to Hinsdill and Bernard repeating, Fayetteville-Manlius junior Izzie Sullivan, the runner-up last year, won her second title in three years. In Class B, sophomore Alexandria French and freshman Abigail Neale had a 1-2 finish for New Hartford; French finished second last year behind Oneida's Molly Myatt who ran the Class C race this year and finished second behind Hinsdill, a sophomore, as an eighth-grader.

Adirondack Wildcat Cora Hinsdill (385) runs during the Class C girls race at the 2022 NYSPHSAA championship meet. Hinsdill will return to run at the 2023 state meet in Verona Saturday after repeating as a Section III champion on the same course.
Adirondack Wildcat Cora Hinsdill (385) runs during the Class C girls race at the 2022 NYSPHSAA championship meet. Hinsdill will return to run at the 2023 state meet in Verona Saturday after repeating as a Section III champion on the same course.

Myatt and Hinsdill won the Tri-Valley League and Center State Conference championship meets, respectively, earlier this fall. Hinsdill also posted the fastest overall time for girls at the EJ Herrmann Invitational this season.

Sullivan (19:11.3) and Bernard (19:17.2) were the fastest girls Saturday with 12 runners completing the course in less than 20 minutes. Hinsdill (19:39.5) was seventh fastest and Myatt (19:57.7) 12th.

Joining Auburn and South Lewis as girls team champions were Class B Chittenango and Class C Adirondack; in split class scoring, South Lewis took the Class D-2 title and Pulaski, second overall, won Class D-1.

Adirondack was fourth in the merged team results after placing its five scoring runners among the top 12 finishers in the Class C race to start the day. The Wildcats outscored runner-up South Jefferson 43-56 in field of 111 runners and 12 complete teams. Johannah Northrop ran ninth, Eliana Pitts 10th and Kaylee Mathis 11th with Nicole Steria placing 13th as a 12th scoring runner. Among other area Class C runners, Kasadee Leonardo of Vernon-Verona-Sherrill placed third.

In Class B, Whitesboro Warrior Catherine Manna followed French and Neale across the finish line while Central Valley Academy's Grace Lally and Whitesboro's Lana Moore ran ninth and 10th. New Hartford won the team title over Chittenango last year and finished third Saturday, five points behind Whitesboro.

New Hartford Spartan Alexandria French descends a hill late in her race at the Section III's 2022 cross country championship meet. French finiched second that day but returnes and won the 2023 Class B race Saturday at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School.
New Hartford Spartan Alexandria French descends a hill late in her race at the Section III's 2022 cross country championship meet. French finiched second that day but returnes and won the 2023 Class B race Saturday at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School.

Bernard, a senior this year, was the Class D runner-up to her sister in 2021 and previously had top five finishes in Class C in 2019 and Class D in 2018; teammate Mallory Kraeger finished third Saturday and Felicity Szucs was eighth. Westmoreland/Oriskany's Emma Szarek ran fourth as a freshman, Dolgeville sophomore Grace Seeley finished seveth, and Waterville junior Miranda Mathews was eighth; they placed second, fourth and eighth at last fall's meet.

Proctor teammates Megan Lew and Jasmin Gonzalez-Rivera placed 22nd and 24th in Class A.

McGinn was the fastest runner on the course for the second year in a row and shaved almost half a minute off his time from 2022 when he beat Solomon Holden-Betts by one-10th of a second in the Class A race. McGinn's time this year was 15:39.8; Holden-Betts won last year's state meet at 16:06.9, exactly one second slower than his sectional finish.

McGinn won Saturday's Class A race by 41 seconds with three of the next four finishers from Auburn. Carson Campbell was the top finisher for Rome Free Academy in 26th place as the team was fifth.

Hamilton's Joseph Berry (16:57.9) and Waterville teammates Logan Baker (17:03.0) and Danny Casatelli (17:10.9) were the fastest Center State Conference/Tri-Valley League boys, finishing third, fourth and fifth in Class D. Sauquoit Valley teammates Alex Keller and Johnny Mudge ran eighth and ninth with Ean Piaschyk 10th for Remsen/Town of Webb, the second place team and D-2 champion in split-class scoring. Remsen/Town of Webb sophomores Ethan Karis and Burke Gates were fourth and sixth among D-2 runners.

Joining Auburn's boys as team champions were Class B Whitesboro, a three-point winner over neighbor and rival New Hartford, Class C Mexico Academy with 2022 champion Vernon-Verona-Sherrill finishing third, and Class D South Lewis, the D-1 split class champion opposite Remsen/Town of Webb which finished second overall.

Whitesboro's Seth Stevens competes in the 2023 Tri-Valley League Cross Country Championship meet in Holland Patent Oct. 21. He was the top finisher for Warriors Saturday as they won Section III's Class B team title.
Whitesboro's Seth Stevens competes in the 2023 Tri-Valley League Cross Country Championship meet in Holland Patent Oct. 21. He was the top finisher for Warriors Saturday as they won Section III's Class B team title.

Whitesboro teammates Seth Stevens and Joseph Labarbera ran second and third behind Oswego's Daniel Dunn in Class B with a third Warrior Leo Wengert running 10th. New Hartford Spartan Anthony Falvo finished after the first two Whitesboro runners with teammates Jameson Stockwell and Troy Luley finishing eighth and ninth. New Hartford's fourth runner, David Daley, finished one spot ahead of Whitesboro's Evan Destefanis, and Spartan Jordan Palmer was two spots ahead of the fifth Warrior, Schuyler Riley-Jones, but the scoring stop the lineups carried Whitesboro to the championship.

Central Valley Academy contributed to a strong Tri-Valley League showing in Class B with Anthony Joyce in fifth place and Christopher Joyce 11th, ahead of Camden's Elijah Jackson. Central Valley Academy was fifth as a team, losing a tie-breaker for fourth to 2022 champion Jamesville-DeWitt.

Ethan Becker of Mexico Academy won the Class C race and led his team to its championship. Tyson Fuller of Oneida ran fourth and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill placed Jordan Wingert eighth, Nathan Geroux ninth and Killian Bauer 12th.

Beaver River senior Connor Zehr, the runner-up to Sauquoit Valley's Kole Owens last year and a fourth place finisher in 2021, won the Class D race.

The top five other individual finishers in each class in addition to members of the championship team will return to Verona for the state meet.

Class A Boys

TEAM SCORES: 1, Auburn, 32 points; 2, Baldwinsville, 56; 3, Liverpool, 89; 4, Cicero-North Syracuse, 141; 5, Rome Free Academy, 175; 6, West Genesee, 190; 7, Fayetteville-Manlius, 191; 8, Syracuse-Nottingham, 212; 9, East Syracuse-Minoa, 224; 10, Watertown, 305; 11, Syracuse West, 309; 12, Central Square, 329; 13, Utica-Proctor, 358.

TOP 20 FINISHERS (119 runners): 1, Nolan McGinn (F-M), 15:39.8; 2, Ryan Maher (Aub), 16:21.2; 3, Brady Ruediger (Liver), 16:29.2; 4, Owen Gasper (Aub), 16:43.7; 5, Austin Ferrin (Aub), 16:48.9; 6, Noah Covert (Bald), 16:54.0; 7, Charles Raymond (CSq), 16:54.2; 8, Ryan Wilson (Bald), 16:54.4; 9, Christopher Howard (Aub), 16:56.6; 10, Paul Clark (Bald), 16:57.8; 11, Adam Kozman (Bald), 17:10.4; 12, Jerry Czyz (Aub), 17:17.6; 13, Michael Gomes (WGen), 17:18.4; 14, Henry Zhe-Heimerman (Nott), 17:20.0; 15, Coen Fierke (Nott), 17:22.3; 16, Joshua Vang (Liver), 17:28.2; 17, Keegan Brady (Aub), 17:30.0; 18, Rhett Andrews (C-NS), 17:42.8; 19, Roman Murray (Liver), 17:42.9; 20, Nathan Aurelio (Liver), 17:49.9.

Class B Boys

TEAM SCORES: 1, Whitesboro, 56 points; 2, New Hartford, 59; 3, Oswego, 92; 4, Jamesville-Dewitt, 109; 5, Central Valley Academy, 109; 6, Chittenango, 112; 7, Indian River, 182; 8, Camden, 205; 9, Carthage, 285; 10, Cortland, 285; 11, Fulton, 333.

TOP 20 FINISHERS (99 runners): 1, Daniel Dunn (Oswego), 17:41.0; 2, Seth Stevens (Wboro), 17:59.0; 3, Joseph Labarbera (Wboro), 18:04.4; 4, Anthony Falvo (NH), 18:15.6; 5, Anthony Joyce (CVA), 18:30.9; 6, Ryan Gauthier (IR), 18:42.0; 7, Ryan Carter (J-D), 18:45.0; 8, Jameson Stockwell (NH), 18:46.2; 9, Troy Luley (NH), 18:52.1; 10, Leo Wengert (Wboro), 18:53.3; 11, Christopher Joyce (CVA), 18:55.3; 12, Elijah Jackson (Cam), 18:56.9; 13, Andrew Shaver (Oswego), 19:00.6; 14, Ethan Lavier (Chit), 19:06.2; 15, Paul Fischi (J-D), 19:06.8; 16, Daniel Mahle (Chit), 19:08.9; 17, David Daley (NH), 19:12.0; 18, Evan Destefanis (Wboro), 19:12.0; 19, Peter Drew (J-D), 19:20.1; 20, Jack Getman (CVA), 19:29.7.

Class C Boys

TEAM SCORES: 1, Mexico Academy, 65 points; 2, Westhill, 100; 3, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, 116; 4, Cazenovia, 153; 5, Syracuse-Christian Brothers Academy, 162; 6, Clinton, 202; 7, South Jefferson, 225; 8, Marcellus, 255; 9, Hannibal, 263; 10, Phoenix, 296; 11, Skaneateles, 298; 12, Jordan-Elbridge, 298; 13, Solvay, 301; 14, Adirondack, 313; 15, Oneida, 358; 16, Holland Patent, 366; 17, Homer, 372; 18, Herkimer, 503; 19, Sherburne-Earlville, 516. C-1 champion: Mexico Academy. C-2 champion: Cazenovia.

TOP 20 FINISHERS (173 runners): 1, Ethan Becker (Mex), 16:38.4; 2, Drew O'Reilly (Westhill), 16:41.0; 3, Noah Melita (Hann), 17:13.4; 4, Tyson Fuller (Oneida), 17:18.2; 5, Joseph McMahon (CBA), 17:19.1; 6, Jake Woolbert (Caz), 17:22.9; 7, Edward Popp (Westhill), 17:27.5; 8, Jordan Wingert (V-V-S), 17:34.0; 9, Nathan Geroux (V-V-S), 17:41.8; 10, Kyle Gaffney (CBA), 17:43.6; 11, Logan Fitzgerald (Mex), 17:57.0; 12, Killian Bauer (V-V-S), 17:57.6; 13, Everett Bryant (Mex), 18:05.3; 14, John Musante (Clin), 18:05.5; 15, Ethan Cossette (Oneida), 18:06.7; 16, Liam Eldridge (Marc), 18:10.3; 17, Tritan Boucher (Skan), 18:13.0; 18, Aiden Bartlett (Mex), 18:16.6; 19, Eddie Comeau (Caz), 18:19.8; 20, Peyton Bates (J-E), 18:26.9.

Class D Boys

TEAM SCORES: 1, South Lewis, 44 points; 2, Remsen/Town of Webb, 124; 3, Cato-Meridian, 164; 4, Tully, 183; 5, Beaver River, 209; 6, Pulaski, 236; 7, Fabius-Pompey, 251; 8, Sauquoit Valley, 252; 9, Cooperstown/Milford, 280; 10, Manlius-Pebble Hill, 284; 11, Utica-Notre Dame, 297; 12, Onondaga, 334; 13, New York Mills, 339; 14, Westmoreland/Oriskany, 358; 15, Port Byron/Union Springs, 361; 16, DeRuyter, 366; 17, Hamilton, 404; 18, Weedsport, 414; 19, Thousand Islands, 417; 20, LaFayette, 428; 21, Sandy Creek, 456; 22, Cincinnatus, 502. D-1 champion: South Lewis. D-2 champion: Remsen/Town of Webb.

TOP 20 FINISHERS (184 runners): 1, Conner Zehr (BR), 16:31.0; 2, Collin Stafford (SLew), 16:36.5; 3, Joseph Berry (Ham), 16:57.9; 4, Logan Baker (Water), 17:03.0; 5, Danny Casatelli (Water), 17:10.9; 6, MacCoy Maciejko (SLew), 17:14.8; 7, Aiden Sampson (SLew), 17:16.7; 8, Alex Keller (Sauq), 17:18.4; 9, Johnny Mudge (Sauq), 17:41.4; 10, Ean Piaschyk (R/ToW), 17:58.3; 11, Braedon Hurlbert (DeR), 18:08.5; 12, Carter Stevens (Coop/Milf), 18:14.9; 13, Tyler Boliver (BR), 18:17.1; 14, Mason Zehr (BR), 18:20.5; 15, Ben Schouten (Pul), 18:21.2; 16, Ethan Karis (R/ToW), 18:21.8; 17, Ryan Britschge (F-P), 18:26.0; 18, Michael McGrath (SLew), 18:26.7; 19, Dakota Maciejko (SLew), 18:30.7; 20, Brandon Knisely (MtM), 18:41.8

Class A Girls

TEAM SCORES: 1, Fayetteville-Manlius, 41 points; 2, Liverpool, 85; 3, West Genesee, 96; 4, Baldwinsville, 118; 5, Auburn, 119; 6, Cicero-North Syracuse, 136; 7, Utica-Proctor, 196; 8, East Syracuse-Minoa, 198; 9, Rome Free Academy, 229; 10, Central Square, 271; 11, Watertown, 305; 12, Syracuse West, 364.

TOP 20 FINISHERS (100 runners): 1, Izzie Sullivan (F-M), 19:11.3; 2, Kamryn Barton (Bald), 19:21.8; 3, Taylor Page (Liver), 19:25.9; 4, Mary Alice Pineau (Aub), 19:27.8; 5, Kennedy Jones (C-NS), 19:37.1; 6, Kaitlyn Hotaling (Liver), 19:46.2; 7, Camille Ryan (F-M), 19:48.4; 8, Chloe Fietze (WGen), 19:55.0; 9, Maria Khalifeh (F-M), 20:03.7; 10, Abigail Ringwood (Aub), 20:17.7; 11, Ava Beecher (F-M), 20:27.6; 12, Ella Defio (Bald), 20:30.7; 13, Jordan Giannetti (F-M), 20:42.8; 14, Claire McDonald (F-M), 20:46.6; 15, Ciena Ferguson (CSq), 20:47.3; 16, Zoe Maupin (WGen), 20:50.0; 17, Charlotte Warner (Liver), 20:51.6; 18, Cameron Sisk (C-NS), 20:54.1; 19, Rachael Burt (ES-M), 20:54.3; 20, Nora Burroughs (Aub), 20:57.8.

Class B Girls

TEAM SCORES: 1, Chittenango, 38 points; 2, Whitesboro, 51; 3, New Hartford, 56; 4, Jamesville-Dewitt, 137; 5, Central Valley Academy, 153; 6, Oswego, 182; 7, Carthage, 184; 8, Camden, 191; 9, Fulton, 216.

TOP 20 FINISHERS (73 runners): 1, Alexandria French (NH), 20:59.6; 2, Abigail Neale (Nh), 21:04.1; 3, Catherine Manna (Wboro), 21:06.5; 4, Joslyn Cantine (Fult), 21:39.9; 5, Laura Powers (Chit), 21:46.9; 6, Natalie Digennaro (Chit), 21:48.7; 7, Ani McCarthy (Chit), 21:52.1; 8, Mariah Stewart (Chit), 21:52.4; 9, Grace Lally (CVA), 22:04.8; 10, Lana Moore (Wboro), 22:09.3; 11, Evangeline Gwilt (Wboro), 22:15.6; 12, Ava McLean (Chit), 22:27.1; 13, Elizabeth Friot (Wboro), 22:27.7; 14, Ashley Attilio (Wboro), 22:29.7; 15, Abigail Northrup (NH), 22:40.6; 16, Hayley Vanputte (Car), 22:41.1; 17, Sophia Digennaro (Chit), 22:51.3; 18, Kaitlyn Appler (NH), 22:57.5; 19, Riley Scott (CVA), 23:00.2; 20, Tara Fobare (NH), 23:10.2.

Class C Girls

TEAM SCORES: 1, Adirondack, 43 points; 2, South Jefferson, 56; 3, Clinton, 122; 4, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, 133; 5, Westhill, 135; 6, Skaneateles, 142; 7, Cazenovia, 146; 8, Oneida, 180; 9, Homer, 195; 10, Marcellus, 310; 11, Phoenix, 312; 12, Canastota, 320.

TOP 20 FINISHERS (111 runners): 1, Cora Hinsdill (Adk), 19:39.5; 2, Molly Myatt (One), 19:57.7; 3, Kasadee Leonardo (V-V-S), 20:09.2; 4, Lucy Fleckenstein (Skan), 20:22.6; 5, Ingrid Aagaard (Homer), 20:24.6; 6, Annabelle Renzi (SJeff), 20:36.7; 7, Ellie Roberts (SJeff), 20:45.1; 8, Carley Worden (SJeff), 20:52.0; 9, Johannah Northrop (Adk), 20:59.2; 10, Eliana Pitts (Adk), 21:26.6; 11, Kaylee Mathis (Adk), 21:26.8; 12, Aubrey Herrington (Mex), 21:28.7; 13, Nicole Steria (Adk), 21:39.7; 14, Tobi Dirubbo (Skan), 21:41.6; 15, Natalie Heselton (Clin), 21:52.6; 16, Stella Napolitano (Westhill), 22:06.4; 17, Eileen Mullen (Westhill), 22:06.7; 18, Reese Roberts (SJeff), 22:11.2; 19, Sophia Watts (SJeff), 22:12.5; 20, Abigayle Bates (J-E), 22:13.2.

Class D Girls

TEAM SCORES: 1, South Lewis, 46 points; 2, Pulaski, 94; 3, Cato-Meridian, 142; 4, Sauquoit Valley, 150; 5, Tully, 208; 6, Weedsport, 215; 7, Waterville, 217; 8, Fabius-Pompey, 221; 9, West Canada Valley, 243; 10, New York Mills, 257; 11, Thousand Islands, 285; 12, Dolgeville, 296; 13, Remsen/Town of Webb, 307; 14, Port Byron/Union Springs, 323; 15, LaFayette, 330; 16, Hamilton, 333; 17, Sandy Creek, 390; 18, Onondaga, 409. D-1 champion: Pulaski. D-2 champion: South Lewis.

TOP 20 FINISHERS (152 runners): 1, Brynn Bernard (SLew), 19:17.2; 2, Anna Congelli (Tully), 19:47.0; 3, Mallory Kraeger (SLew), 20:11.3; 4, Emma Szarek (W/O), 20:26.7; 5, Edy Livingston (Grimes), 20:32.6; 6, Myah Keenan (F-P), 20:37.3; 7, Grace Seeley (Dolge), 20:37.4; 8, Miranda Mathews (Water), 20:44.0; 9, Maggie Brown (C-M), 20:46.1; 10, Felicity Szucs (SLew), 21:11.2; 11, Olivia Snodgrass (Weed), 21:27.9; 12, Grace Carguello (Pul), 21:33.4; 13, Raina Christensen (Sauq), 21:34.9; 14, Jamie Allen (Sauq), 21:36.8; 15, Grace Bailey (SLew), 21:39.6; 16, Elaina Williams (C-M), 21:43.2; 17, Camryn McGrath (Pul), 21:44.0; 18, Alex Dickson (Tully), 21:46.3; 19, Celine Juchheim (Dolge), 21:59.4; 20, Arianna Piazza (NY Mills), 22:02.0.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Adirondack girls, Whitesboro boys win Section III cross country titles