Leading off today: The Fayetteville-Manlius girls cross country team pushed six finishers across the line in 19:50 or less to highlight qualifying for the Nike Team Nationals yesterday at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls.
F-M and Burnt Hills snared the New York region's two automatic spots in the Nike Team Nationals with 40 and 72 points, respectively. Saratoga was third with 83 and must await word on a possible at-large berth.
Shenendehowa and Warwick Valley qualified their boys squads with 37 and 57 points, respectively. Queensbury and Smithtown were next with 98 points apiece.
Dan Harris of Shenendehowa was the top boys finisher in 16:22.9. Sam Roecker of Burnt Hills led the girls in 18:18.5, but Fayetteville-Manlius grouped five runners between fourth and 14th place to assure a return to Portland, Ore., next Saturday in a bid to defend the team championship.
Foot Locker qualifiers: Five New Yorkers have made the cut for the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships by posting top-10 finishes yesterday at Van Cortlandt Park.
Among the boys, seniors Pat Dupont of Fairport and Zach Rivers of Victor placed fourth and sixth, respectively. The winner was Don Cabral of Glastonbury, Conn.
Senior Mary Kate Champagne of Plattsburgh Seton Catholic placed third in the girls race, with Roslyn sophomore Emily Lipari sixth and Suffern junior Shelby Greany ninth. Neely Spence of Shippensburg, Pa., was the winner.
Greany will be making her third appearance in the finals. She was 38th as a freshman and 19th as a sophomore.
The Northeast qualifier was comprised of competitors from 11 states and the District of Columbia. The Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships are Dec. 8 in San Diego, Calif.
More Long Island finals: Last night's 42-0 victory against Farmingdale in the Class I final before 8,000 fans made William Floyd the first team to to win three straight Long Island championships in the same division.
Senior QB Joe Sidaras completed seven of eight passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns, and Brock Jackolski rushed 11 times for 140 yards and two TDS — all in the first half.
Floyd, which has played in five of the last seven title games, finished the season 11-0 and outscored its opponents by a 446-62 margin. North Babylon won two Class II and one Class III championship over consecutive
