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Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015: F-M girls make it 10 straight cross country titles
Leading off today: Go to a major invitational and you'll see some pretty good cross country teams amass 268 points and still finish comfortably among the top 10 squads in a field of 18 or 20 schools.
The Fayetteville-Manlius girls finished the 2015 NYSPHSAA championships Saturday at Monroe-Woodbury triumphant with 268 points -- for the entire decade.
The Hornets scored 28 points in the Class A race to easily secure their 10th straight New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship in the largest class. It's an unprecedented streak by any school in any NYSPHSAA state championship competition.
Their average of 26.8 points per meet over the past decade includes three straight perfect scores from 2009-11. They've averaged an even more astounding 22.33 points over the past nine years.
An individual championship by F-M's Claire Walters ranked as one of the day's surprises. The freshman with no major meet victories on her resume finished in 17:53.5 and edged favorite Jessica Lawson of Corning (17:53.8).
Freshman Kelsey Chmiel was the early race leader and took third place to help Saratoga to its ninth straight runner-up finish.
Consecutive double-doubles: East Aurora rang up team and individual victories in both Class C races for the second consecutive season.
The Blue Devils' Kenny Vasbinder captured a convincing win in 15:52.2 seconds for five kilometers to hit the tape 200 meters clear of the field and defend his crown. East Aurora's boys easily defended with 36 points to 89 for Watkins Glen.
In the girls race, Sophia Tasselmyer also defended, winning in 18:42.3. Teammate Fiona Danieu was second in 19:12.5 as East Aurora easily fought off Bronxville 35-78.
Three-time winners: Hamilton's Sage Hurta won the girls Class D race in 18:33.8 to claim her third state championship. She won in 2010 as a seventh-grader and again last fall as a junior.
The Pittsford Mendon boys won their third straight team title in Class B. The Vikings fended off Maine-Endwell 43-54 with a big lift from sophomore Nathan Lawler's second-place finish in 16:03.3.
"This course delivers a lot of body blows," second-year Mendon coach Chris Compson told the Democrat and Chronicle. "The hills just keep right on coming. It plays right into our team strength–our depth.
"At the end of the day, it's an accurate reflection of the best teams and best individuals."
More from the meet: The Class B individual champ was Carthage junior Noah Affolder, one of four runners to successfully defend.
The other boys individual winners were Ben Petralla of Liverpool in Class A and Dawson Bathgate of East Rochester in Class D, where Lake Placid took team honors.
Petralla's course-record effort of 15:43.0 continued a big season for both the West Point recruit, who finished second as a junior, and his teammates. After advancing last week via a close call against Fayetteville-Manlius in Section 3, the Warriors scored 61 points to fight off Corning (80).
In girls Class B results, John Jay Cross River took team honors with 55 points, just ahead of Shoreham-Wading River (74) and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (88). Diana Vizza of North Shore was the individual winner in 18:15.6.
Greenwich won the girls Class D championship.
Results: Full results for the boys and girls meets are available in our reference section.
More later: I'll be back later with updated brackets in football, soccer and field hockey plus highlights from other Saturday sports action.
