Leading off today: Fayetteville-Manlius put up a perfect score en route to the Section 3 girls Class A cross country championship Saturday in Chittenango.
Claire Walters (17:59.0) beat freshman classmate Phoebe White across the line by more than 200 meters, and three other Hornets beat the remainder of the pack into the finish chute.
"I think (Walters) ran a great race today. Claire's a gamer. She's a tough, tough, tough competitor. All of our girls are," F-M coach Bill Aris told Syracuse.com. "She ran an especially strong race today and all of the top five did."
The boys large-school race resulted in a surprise as ninth-ranked Liverpool fought off No. 3 F-M 35-46, with Baldwinsville (69) a strong third.
Seniors Stephen Schulz (15:49.7), Ty Brownlow and Josh Hickmott gave Liverpool a sweep of the top three spots to help negate six Fayetteville-Manlius finishers in the top 17.
Mendon wins a squeaker: With half a dozen teams routinely capable of cracking the state top 25 in any given season, the Section 5 boys Class B meet is seldom dull. Saturday at Wayne Central did not disappoint.
Pittsford Mendon's Nathan Lawler (15:43.4) and Brighton's Paul Dellinger (16:01.4) posted the day's top two times overall, and their order of finish was not insignificant with respect to the team results.
"Paul gave me a really good challenge," Lawler told the Democrat and Chronicle. "He brings out the best in me."
Mendon pulled off a 56-57 win over the Barons, with Brockport (89) not far off.
"It could have been us or Brighton or Brockport," Lawler said. "Our guys just came through in the clutch. I mean I'm just one point. Others made the real difference."
Johan Simpson of Brighton was third, but Mendon blanketed the finish line with six of the top 18 finishers.
Affolder conquers Pennsylvania: Two-time New York state cross country champ Noah Affolder has added another state crown to his collection, capturing the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 3A title in Hershey.
He covered five kilometers in 15:33. The senior's younger brother Sam placed third for Carlisle High in the same race. They transferred from Carthage in Section 3 over the summer.
Noah Affolder is undefeated in the 2016 season.
"The first 800 I knew all the kids were going to be flying, so I just let them have their glory," he said. "Things changed, and I felt good through the first mile."
Field hockey: Lakeland is a step closer to its eighth consecutive NYSPHSAA Class B championship after blowing out Red Hook 8-0 in the quarterfinals.
