Fayetteville-Manlius in fine form with 35 points

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

The No. 1 girls team in America -- this year and for the past decade -- won another New York Class A cross country title at Chenango Valley State Park last Saturday.

Fayetteville-Manlius freshmen Claire Walters and Phoebe White went 4-5 and three more Hornets finished in the top 16 in a state meet with some of the most talented runners in the country. F-M scored 35 points. North Rockland was second with 65 points and Saratoga Springs was third with 93. RESULTS

No one was more impressive than Saratoga Springs sophomore Kelsey Chmiel, who ran 17:17.5. and won the individual title by 19 seconds over North Rockland freshman Katelyn Tuohy. Jessica Lawson of Corning was third in 17:39. Also of note, track star Sammy Watson of Rush-Henrietta placed sixth in 18:08.5, which is an extraordinary achievement for a sprinter who also runs 53.21 for 400 and 2:03.06 for 800 meters.

Over on the boys side, Liverpool went 1-4-11 but did not have the depth to match Corning, which scored 59 points to win the state championship. Warwick Valley edged out Liverpool on a sixth-runner tiebreaker after both teams scored 80.

Liverpool's Ty Brownlow ran 15:27.5 for the win as seniors took the top eight spots.

Nathan Lawler of Pittsford Mendon dominated the Class B race and ran 15:30.3 to win by a half minute. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake won the boys team title with 53 points.

Katherine Lee led Shoreham-Wading River to the girls championship with her individual win in 17:53.7. She won the B division by a half minute and would have competed well against the Class A crowd.

Watkins Glen crushed the Class C field with a 21-point boys team victory. Ryan Gallagher from Briarcliff ran 15:40.7 for the individual win a year after placing 19th.

The girls from Newfane scored 75 points and beat Canton Central (82) and Bronxville (84). Junior Hayleigh Palotti of Livonia Central ran 18:29.4 for the win.

In Class D, the Maple Grove boys edged Lake Placid Central 63-66 for the team title and the Greenwich Central girls got past Maple Grove, 51-57. Sophomore Brooke Rauber of Tully Senior ran 18:30.6 to win the girls race; Kyle Fulk of Norwood-Norfolk Central took the individual boys win with 16:01.4.