DIARY OF A MAD SPORTSWRITER

May 5 – Kyle Wofe opens new doors at Queens University

BURNT HILLS — Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake senior Kyle Wolfe utilized his future to pave the way to a track scholarship at Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina.
“I had to sell myself, it’s only my second year of track,” Kyle Wolfe said during an interview in the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School Library last week. “That was my selling point, I’m a pent athlete in high school and I’m doing well for myself and I can contribute a lot and improve a lot.
“Given that it is my second year I can do a lot more with the individual events and when you combine them together, it tends to look good as a decathlete,” the finance major and entrepreneurial minor said.
Wolfe had to work for this opportunity at the Division II School.
“My second year I didn’t have a name for myself, I had to email the coach,” Wolfe said. “I started by saying that I was looking for a spot as a walk-on, do you have any open positions, how would I go about trying out for that?”
“He actually responded, calling me 20 minutes later, asking me about it and when he found out that it was only my second year and I gave him some of my statistics,” Wolfe said. “I went down for my college visit and met with one of the assistant coaches. He called me up over spring break and said that we have some money set aside we’re interested in having you run for us.”

Kyle Wolfe also credited his dad, David, with finding Queens University from his own personal searches.
“My dad found it when he was looking for MBA programs for himself and it came across his radar.” Kyle Wolfe said. “When I was looking for schools down there, I was looking for schools down there I was born down there. When I said I wanted to go to school down there that was one of the schools came up.”
Things have changed for the Wolfe family since the previous college searches by David Wolfe.
“I had looked at MBA programs when we were down there and eventually I went to Duke,” David Wolfe said. “It was Queens College when I looked at it, now it’s Queens University.
What attracted me to that school for him was that they focus on internships,” David Wolfe said. “They require 172 hours from every student who graduates from that program. He’s going to the McCool School of Business, named after the former CEO of Bank of America so there is some credence there. We could tell the first 10 minutes after stepping on campus that this was it.”
The search for schools came after a change for the former three-sport athlete for the Spartan.
“Previously I played lacrosse and had too many concussions,” Kyle Wolfe. “I made the choice to stop doing that. Before I played football, basketball and lacrosse, now I’m running indoor and outdoor. I love it.
“I went in and talked to Coach Button, I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Wolfe said. “The first indoor season last year he had me try several things, shot put and they bounced me around with long jump and then high jump. In outdoor the pentathlon came around and said ‘You seem to be a good athlete, we’ll see how you do in this.’ I held my own there.”
It’s been a perfect fit.
“The multitude of sports was appealing, I felt that I could contribute in different sports,” Wolfe said. “I like the high jump and hurdles my favorite, if you ask any pent athlete, decathlete, the 1,500-meter is the least favorite. At the end of the day, you just want to get through it. Somehow you just find a way to muscle your way through it.”

April 10 – Weather postpones Burnt Hills girls track opener

BURNT HILLS — Wednesday afternoon had everything going for it at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School. The rain had passed and the girls varsity squad was aiming to repeat the varsity boys feat in its Suburban Council meet the day before, sweeping Shenendehowa and Niskayuna — but Mother Nature had other ideas.
Fast starts and quick times gave way to huddling under umbrellas, adding layers of clothing by the athletes and long strides quickly moved to unsure steps as a heavy rain and thunder postponed the event shortly before 6 p.m.
“We’re going to have a delay for at least a half an hour and it’s torrential,” Burnt Hills varsity girls coach Shaun Zepf said. “You can’t do any field events, you can’t hurdle safely and if the AD’s (athletic directors) want us to re-schedule we will, if not, we won’t.
“In 15 years of having a meet, I’ve never had this happen ever at a dual meet. Usually you don’t start them and if you do, there is some break, but nothing like this.”

The air temperature started to dip as the meet began at 4:15 p.m. followed by periods of rain, but as the 400-meter races were being concluded, prior to the hurdles a low rumble made its way through the air, causing the track officials to initially halt the contest for 30 minutes and direct the athletes into the school. The rain turned torrential within minutes and the meet was then postponed.
While several of the athletes celebrated the cancellation, more for the conditions than the competition, both local coaches lamented the postponement of the season opening contest for both.
“We had some good stuff going on,” Shenendehowa girls varsity coach Rob Cloutier said. “We’ve got young guys doing some stuff, we’ve got some good freshman.
“We had a girl in the 4×800 go out strong, set the tone, winning and it kind of goes from there. Audrey Meany winning the 400, I can’t remember more right now… we are getting depth in the high jump, five of the seven girls left in the meet were Shen.”
The available results were secured by Zepf and could be used to conclude the meet at a later date or reschedule, hoping for an opportunity for all competitors to put their best foot forward under more agreeable conditions.
“This is the first one and you get to watch kids hurdle for the first time, high jump for the first time, shot put the first time, so all of those things are fantastic,” Zepf said. “I thought the other two teams were great too. To get this going is nice, then it got bad.”

April 9 – Sun shines on boys track Suburban Council spring opener

NISKAYUNA — The weather cooperated Tuesday afternoon, allowing the first Suburban Council dual meet to go off and despite the times, distances or heights, it was great to get outside for Shenendehowa and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake as the boys squads squared off at Niskayuna High School.
Shenendehowa’s depth prevailed over Niskayuna for a 104-66 victory, but losing sophomore triple-threat Sean Bleichert in the hurdles after a spill took off a lot of points for the Plainsmen, allowing the Spartans to squeak by, 90-85.
“He’s coming off a great indoor season too, so it’s real disappointing to not have him today,” Shenendehowa varsity coach Justin Burlingame said. “He won state qualifiers in the hurdles and was real excited about it today, took the last hurdle a little wrong.
“He was one of the only guys tripling (three events) today, so you get one of your leaders taken out of three events, that’s tough.”
The Plainsmen could still rely on senior Jared Allen to capture the 200-meter dash in 23.60 seconds, sophomore Jack Vite to win the 800-meter run in two minutes, 7.09 seconds, senior Danny Janeczko to win the 1,600-meter run in 4:36.45 and senior Michael Borini to hold off Burnt Hills senior Joe Girard to win the 3,200-meter in 10:08.64.

“The kid I was running against, Joe Girard, we’ve been running together for years and we have a nice little rivalry going and the joke is that I always kick on him,” Borini said. “Today I felt good, I ran an 800 (meter race) earlier in the day and I had tied my PR (personal record) in the first meet of the season with that.
“I had to come back for the two mile, I didn’t have great expectations for that, but then I decided let’s see how long I could hang on and found myself there with two (laps) to go. felt a little cramp opening and Coach Thompson said if I had it, go ahead. I got around him with one to go and held on.”
Burnt Hills captured the 4×100-meter relay with the quartet of juniors Luke Cameron, Dane Manhey and seniors Michael Danz and Shomari Ingram with a time of 45.69 seconds. The foursome of Danz, Cameron, juniors Robert Kirsty and John Rabideau also won the 4×400-meter relay in 3:39.75.
The Spartans captured several field events, including senior Kyle Wolfe in the high jump, who cleared 5-feet 9-inches, senior Sean Baker winning the long jump at 20-feet 1-inch along with the triple jump with a three-step hurl of 41-feet 4’s-inches.
“I didn’t have the depth on the distance side, but our sprinters had a really good indoor season and our sprints have almost become our strength now,” Burnt Hills varsity coach Chip Button said. “Not that there is anything wrong with our distance runners and we have some field event guys who are seniors who have done an awesome job. It should be a good year for us.”
Shenendehowa’s four man band of Borini, junior Robert Benson, sophomore Jack Vite and senior Jerome Pabulayan won the 4×800-relay in 8:33.77 with Patrick Millington leading the field events, claiming the pole vault with a height of 9-feet 6-inches, tied by teammate Kevin Albagli for the 1-2 finish.
Senior J.T. Buttimer won the shot put with a toss of 48-feet, but was bested by sophomore discus teammate Erik Kromer with his spinning throw of 124-feet 9-inches.
Both Saratoga County coaches won’t lose sleep over the win or loss, taking it one sunny day at a time this spring.
“Having a double this week, we’re looking ahead to Saratoga at Averill Park on Thursday and where all the pieces fit,” Burlingame said. “As the weather gets warmer we’ll get a little faster and see what the season has in store for us.
“It was hard for us to anything in the time trials in the pre-season so I think everything was a pleasant surprise. It’s the first time we have to look at these guys at full speed, that’s nice to start to put the pieces of the puzzle together.”
For Button, the future lies in facing similar size schools as a small school division representative once again in May.
“I look at our sizes, how we do against Shen, Colonie, Shaker I just want to get good performances out of running against those guys,” Button said. “Today was a good day for us.
“Last year in the large school sectionals… I just look build throughout the season, putting all the pieces together so when we go to that meet (Section II) we can win again.”

Suburban Council Dual #1
Burnt Hills, Shen vs. Niskayuna
Shenendehowa 104, Niskayuna 66
Burnt HIlls 90, Shenendehowa 85
Burnt Hills 113, Niskayuna 52
100-meter dash —1. Jor dan Ivery (NISK) 11.48; 2. Marcelino Christie (SHEN) 11.63; Michael Danz (BHBL) 11.79; 200-meter dash — 1. Jordan Allen (SHEN) 23.60; 2. Robert Kirsty (BHBL) 23.66; 3. Jordan Ivery (NISK) 24.04; 400-meter dash — 1. Robert Kirsty (BHBL) 52.73; 2. Brendan Smith (BHBL) 56.33; 3. Robert Kaucic (NISK) 57.18; 800-meter run — 1. Jack Vite (SHEN) 2:07.09; 2. Patrick McGuinness (BHBL) 2:07.71; 3. Karsten Barbagelata (BHBL) 2:12.91; 1,600-meter run — 1. Danny Janeczko (SHEN) 4:36.45; 2. John Rabideau (BHBL) 4:37.55; 3. Mitchell Halpern (SHEN) 4:45.48; 3,200-meter run — 1. Michael Borini (SHEN) 10:08.64 2. Joe Girard (BHBL) 10:10.16 3. Jared Short (BHBL) 10:27.70; 110-meter hurdles — 1. Sean Baker (BHBL) 16.19; 2. Shawn Bleichert (SHEN) 16.60 3. Kyle Wolfe (BHBL) 17.53; 400-meter hurdles — 1. Alden Dicruttalo (BHBL) 63.03;2. Ryan Azer (NISK) 65.14; 3. Jerome Pabulayan (SHEN) 65.94; 4 1×100-meter relay — Burnt Hills (Michael Danz, Luke Cameron, Robert Kirsty, John Rabideau), 3:39.5; 2. Niskayuna 3:56.67 3. Shenendehowa 4:04.81; 4×800-meter relay — 1. Shenendehowa (Michael Borini, Robert Benson, Jack Vite, Jerome Pabulayan), 8:33.77; 2. Burnt Hills 8:45.40 3. Niskayuna 8:46.26; High jump — 1. Kyle Wolfe (BHBL) 5-09.00; 2. Anthony Lee (SHEN) J5-09.00; 3. Shomari Ingram (BHBL) 5-06.00; Pole vault — 1. Patrick Millington (SHEN) 9-0.00 2. Kevin Albagli (SHEN) J9-06.00; Long jump —1. Sean Baker (BHBL) 21-01.00 2. Justin Hickok (SHEN) 18-05.00 3. Chris Lemelin (NISK) 17-11.00; Triple jump — 1. Sean Baker (BHBL) 41-04.00 2. Alden Dicruttalo (BHBL) 39-09.50 3. Justin Hickok (SHEN) 37-08.00; Shot put — 1. J.T. Buttimer (SHEN) 48-00.00 2. Stephen VanHoesen (NISK) 42-05.00; 3. Angelo Cavallaro (NISK) 39-01.25; Discus — 1. Erik Kromer (SHEN) 124-09 2. David Carloni (SHEN) 116-11 3. Steve Emerich (BHBL) 107-10.

Feb. 10 – Shen girls take Section II indoor track title
Courtesy DAVID M. JOHNSON djohnson@saratogian.com Twitter.com/davidmichael10
ALBANY — Having a Section II champion cross country team often translates into dominance in long-distance track events in the winter and spring.
In the next few years, however, the Saratoga Springs’ girls squad may add sprints to the list.
Sophomores Olivia Ventra and Ellery Bianco took second and third place in the 55 meter dash at the Section II Division I (Class A) Indoor Track and Field Championships at University at Albany Sunday.
Ventra’s second place time of 7.61 seconds was a personal best and if teammate and rival Bianco — who finished in 7.62 — was jealous of being beaten, she didn’t show it.
“I’m happy for Olivia because today she had a really big PR (personal record),” Bianco said. “I can usually see her out of the corner of my eye. It’s good having her next to me because I know, as a team, this is going to help us out a lot.”
The finish helped Saratoga Springs’ girls team to second place at the event behind Shenendehowa with several field events not completed by press time. The Blue Streaks edged their Suburban Council rivals by a single point in the league meet but Plainsmen have a comfortable 108-78 lead in the rematch. Bethlehem is currently in third place with 77 points.
Saratoga Springs was once again led by seniors Taylor Driscoll and Keelin Hollowood.
Driscoll picked up first place finishes in 600 and 1000 while Hollowood earned Class A titles in the 1600 and 3000 events.
Bianco started running indoor track and field as an 7th-grader, then met Ventra during the outdoor season of their 8th-grade years. The sprinters not only practice together, their times are so similar they often end up in adjacent lanes. At least, that was the case at UAlbany Sunday.
“We definitely push each other,” Ventra said. “It’s like a competitive friendship. We’re both really competitive.”
Although Bethlehem senior Arnelle Thomas won the 55 dash with a time of 7.52, Ventra and Bianco look forward to the day when they are the ones leading the Blue Streaks.

“It’s exciting knowing all the people ahead of us are going to graduate,” Bianco said.
“And we’re just going to keep getting better and better,” Ventra said.
“It’s ours for the taking,” Bianco finished.
The duo also ran the 4×200 and 300 together.
For coach Linda Kranick, having two sprinters that can finish with points is a huge advantage for the team.
“They are good training partners,” Kranick said. “They’re good friends so they both help each other.”
Saratoga Springs’ boys team sat in third place in Class A as of press time with 68 points, trailing Shaker’s score of 108 and Colonie’s 82 points.
Like the girls team, the Blue Streaks boys have a distinct advantage in distance races. Jay Navin captured the 1600 and 3200 individually and anchored the 4×400 team to first place in 8:30 along with Joe Verro, Travis Briggs and Evan Quinones.
Briggs and Quinones, the seniors on the relay team, hope a repeat of their effort on Feb. 24 will qualify them for their second state meet of the school year. The seniors were part of the Saratoga Springs cross country team that won states this past fall and now have the experience of competing at the Nike Cross
National Meet in November.
“Now that we’ve gone out to Oregon and out to Buffalo, a couple of big races, the pressure is not as much there,” Briggs said.
Division 2
One misstep at the beginning of a 55 meter race can be the difference between winning and losing. That is, unless you have the speed of Shomari Ingram.
The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake senior may have stumbled a bit at the start of the Section II Division 2 (Class B) boys 55 meter sprint, but he was still the first one across the finish line.
“A lot of emotions going through me,” Ingram said after the race. “I was happy, nervous. I slipped a little bit but the guy next to me made me run as fast as I did.”
Ingram’s time of 6.81 edged Amsterdam junior Chris Rost’s 6.85 to give the Spartans senior his second Section II win of the year. His first was as part of the BH-BL football team’s run to the Class A state championship.
The individual title was just one of many on the day for the Spartans. BH-BL’s boys team held an insurmountable 131-54 lead over second place Amsterdam as of press time. Ballston Spa sat in eighth place with 20 points and Sough Glens Falls had 16.
When the event concludes, the Spartans will have secured their third straight Class B team title.
“A lot of different kids ran great efforts and people who didn’t even score had big PRs,” said BH-BL coach Chip Button. “Even though a lot of those guys aren’t here from the last two years, the people who were here know what it means and that really helps us.”
It also helped having a huge day from long-distance runners Patrick McGuinness and Joe Girard, Jr. The two finished first and second in the 3200 in 10:01.05 and 10:06.34 respectively — more than eight seconds faster than third place Alex Gifford of Gloversville.
“It’s really good to have one of your teammates with you, who you can trust to get a nice pace going and run a nice even race,” Girard said.
The win was the first Section II title for McGuinness. The junior made it to the cross country state meet this past fall, and could add a trip to the indoor state meet to his resume in two weeks.
Other individual champs for BH-BL were Kyle Wolfe in the high jump (5-foot-8), Sean Barker in the 55 hurdles and the 4×400 relay team of Matt Bunch, Robert Kirsty, Luke Cameron and John Rabideau.
The BH-BL girls team (53 points) was neck-and-neck with Niskayuna (76 points) for much of the afternoon, but a string of good finishes by Academy of the Holy Names put it in first with 88.5 at press time. Ballston Spa was in fifth place with 18.5 points and South Glens Falls sat in 10th win 6.
Leading the way for the Spartans was a first place finish in the 4×800 by Allie Fernandez, Dani Martino, Josette Messere and Melanie Taylor.

Nov. 21 – Christopher Dailey Turkey Trot numbers continue to wow
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Early this morning, before you even made it through your pile of door buster ads and had your first cup of coffee and started thinking of what pants you may wear to make room for the amount of turkey you plan to ingest, more than 3,800 people have burned off their Thanksgiving Day dinner at the 11th annual Christopher Dailey Turkey Trot.
The annual 5k race that begins and ends on Broadway in the Spa City is a fundraiser for the Christopher Dailey Foundation in celebration of the life of Christopher Dailey who died on Nov. 23, 2001, the day after Thanksgiving.
The son of Mark and Maria Daily of Wilton created the foundation with the goal of building a youth recreation center in the Saratoga area and to enrich the children of the local community with a place to play, learn and enhancer their lives. That facility was built and paid for by the summer of 2009.
Since then, the foundation has been a benefactor for a variety of sports organizations and venues throughout the Capital District.
That wouldn’t be possible without the more than 3,800 who will take to Broadway this morning.
For foundation director, Mark Dailey, it is a huge event that continues to grow, surprising even him.
“We have 500 additional registrants come in tonight,” Daily said about Wednesday’s last day of registration and race package pick up. “It went smooth, we had a lot of 10th grade kids helped us.”
The numbers have grown in leaps and bounds, from breaking the 1,000-runner mark in 2006, to the 2,000-runner mark in 2010 and in just two years, the 3,000- as well as the 3,500-runner achievement today.
“A lot of people have made it their tradition and we have that base, I think people like the race,” Dailey said. “It must be word of mouth because we haven’t increased our advertising that much, but the numbers continue to amaze. The weather is looking good and people are like ‘Hey, let’s go.’”

The event continues to draw on family and friends of the foundation to be successful.
“We do have a good crew of volunteers, (Albany Running Exchange) is an excellent company to work with that puts on our race,” Dailey said. “Maria has a good handle on the global picture; we can handle the registration lines and not make people wait too long in line. It feels good about who we have coming tomorrow.”
Dailey said he doesn’t have an ultimate goal of what the race could evolve to, but smiles as the pre-race registration numbers rise year after year.
“We track the sign ups from 14 days-out year to year and we were always up at each milestone,” Dailey said. “At that point, we have a race here, didn’t think we’d exceed by as much as we did.
The Saratoga Hilton will again be packed as the remainder of runners and supporters arrive this morning prior to the 8:30 a.m. start across from city hall on Broadway.
“We don’t keep track of it, but I don’t think we got 50 percent (pre-registered runners), it was close to 40 percent,” Dailey said. “A lot of the bibs went down quite a bit, but we’re going to be a busy morning. We’re ready for it.”
With an early wake up call to start his Thanksgiving Day, Mark and Maria Dailey will again be manning their stations with smiles at the annual event to honor their son’s life.
“We were already up from last year,” Dailey said. “A lot of things have to go well. I don’t rest until it goes off and goes well.”
Nov. 21 – Saratoga resident, Emma Willard runner Sarah Ohanesian earns fall academic honors
Saratoga Springs resident and current Hamilton College cross country runner Sarah Ohanesian was once again named to the NESCAC 2012 fall all-academic team. Ohanesian was earned the same honor last year.
Thirty-four Hamilton College student-athletes were recognized by the NESCAC on Nov. 21 when the conference announced its 2012 fall all-academic team.
Eight Hamilton athletic programs were eligible for the NESCAC all-academic awards. A total of 636 student-athletes were honored by the conference. To be honored, individuals must have reached sophomore academic standing and be a varsity letter winner with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.35. Transfer students must have completed one year of study at the institution.
The NESCAC, established in 1971, is comprised of 11 highly selective colleges and universities located in the Northeast. The NESCAC sponsors 26 conference championship sports (13 for men and 13 for women) while member schools offer extensive and broad-based intercollegiate as well as club and intramural opportunities for both men and women.
Nov. 16 – Ugly Christmas 5K run Dec. 8
The Town of Milton, Village of Ballston Spa and local businesses, along with dedicated volunteers have teamed up to host the First Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater 5K run/1-mile walk to benefit Gateway House of Peace a future support home for end of life care located in the Town of Milton.
The event will take place at the Town of Milton Community Center on Saturday December 8 with registration starting at 8:30 a.m, race time 10 a.m. Awards will be given to male and female overall, top three male and female per age group.
Gateway House a local non- profit 501(c) 3 charitable hospice is 100% volunteer, donor driven, community owned organization, which receives no insurance reimbursements, government or public funding. Gateway will provide a safe, nurturing, home-like environment free of charge for Saratoga County Residents who are under the medical care of Community Hospice of Saratoga.
Anyone wishing to join the First Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater 5k Run and 1 Mile walk, can register online at www.gatewayhouseofpeace.org Printable application form for mailing available online.. Pre-registration $25 Day of Race $30. For more information call 654-5403.

Nov. 15 – Reindeer Run 5k Dec. 1 at Adirondack CC
QUEENSBURY — Registration is open for the Reindeer Run and Reindeer Jr. Kids’ Fun Run 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 1 at SUNY Adirondack on Bay Road in Queensbury.
The net proceeds from this year’s race help support Cindy’s Comfort Camp, a free, weekend sleep-away camp for children and teens ages six- to 17-years-old who have experienced the death or serious illness of a parent or close relative.
The Reindeer Run 5k (3.1 miles) is a flat and fast course with a short hill at the start. Early registration is encouraged, as the first 250 entrants will receive a custom, high-quality long-sleeved T-shirt. Race entry is $23 for pre-registered runners ($20 for Adirondack Runners members), or $25 on the day of the race. Packet pickup and race-day registration will be held at SUNY Adirondack, Student Center, Bay Rd, Queensbury from 7:45 to 8:45 a.m.
Prizes will be awarded to the overall first through third male and female finishers along with as the top three-age group winners in five-year increments
A Reindeer Jr. Kids Fun Run is open to children ages 12 & under, and begins immediately following conclusion of the 5K. The first 50 registrants for the kids run will receive a t-shirt and all entrants will receive a finishers’ medal! Kids’ Fun Run entry fee is $5.
For further information, to obtain a race entry form, or to find out about volunteering, visit www.adirondackrunners.org or email Race Director, Heather Doran at reindeerrun@adirondackrunners.org.
First Night Saratoga 5K registration open, sign-up quick!
There is no better way to start your New Year’s Eve than with a 5K run with 1,500 of your closest friends and a few bandits along the way.
Register now before the race closes out and it ALWAYS does at:
First Night 5k sign-up.
The race goes of at 5:30 p.m. sharp Monday, Dec. 31 at the Skidmore College Athletic Complex with an early registration fee of $22 through Nov. 23. After that it goes to $30 and you could be shut out of the race, it’s limited to 1,500 runners.
This is on a USATF certified course and is a grand-prix event of the Adirondack Runners
Start and finish on the beautiful Skidmore campus. The first ¾ mile is a gradual uphill on the perimeter road. The course exits the campus at Clinton Avenue and continues to Greenfield Avenue, continuing up North Broadway and back to campus. This is a moderately challenging course, including both hills and downgrades.
Check-In: Packet pick-up 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. the day of the race at Skidmore College Athletic Complex. Parking, restrooms, and showers are available. Refreshments after the race.
The race will be timed by ARE Event Productions using the ChronoTrack B-Tag. This is a small and flat chip that comes affixed to the back of your bib. You must wear your bib on your outer-most layer and it must not be altered in any way. Do not flatten, bend, nor crease your bib. These chips do not get returned, making for a smooth and easy finishing process. Results will be immediately available at www.AREEP.com following the event.
Awards: To the top three overall male and female finishers, and top three male and female finishers in each 5-year age division. No duplicate awards.
Shirts: All registered runners will receive a limited edition First Night Saratoga moisture wicking, long-sleeve t-shirt.
Finisher Medals: All race finishers will receive a commemorative First Night Saratoga medal.
We reserve the right to cancel the race due to weather conditions that cause the running surface to be hazardous to the runners’ safety.
Proceeds support the community arts programs of Saratoga Arts.
Sign-up at First Night 5k sign-up
Nov. 12 – Shaun Donegan captures Shenendehowa Veteran’s Day Dash 5K

CLIFTON PARK — It was a day to honor those who have served and it was a day to join together and run as the annual Shenendehowa Veteran’s Day Dash 5k continued to grow on its fifth anniversary Monday morning at the Shenendehowa Campus.

Shaun Donegan continued to impress, sticking with his race plan and winning the annual 5K event in Clifton Park, covering the 5K on campus route in 16 minutes, 50 seconds, finishing in front of Plainsmen harrier Jacob Evans at 17:34 and current Shen indoor varsity track coach Rob Cloutier at 17:50.
“I’m in shape this year and you have to show the kids how it is,” Cloutier said. ‘The deal was indoor track started this week and if anybody beat me they were free of pushups all year and we had one kid beat me. Congrats to him, but the rest of them have push-ups.”
Cloutier returned to the Shenendehowa campus event for the second year in a row.
“The race went out hard, a lot of people got excited,” Cloutier said. “The plan was to pace my assistant (Jeff Nastke) through for a PR (personal record) and sit back and follow those guidelines.
“Shaun (Donegan) was up front, he ran a smart race, had a good time,” Cloutier said. “At about two miles I thought I might have a shot at moving up and I felt good. I think it’s a successful race for everybody.”
One of the goals for Cloutier was to show his runners to “Run as I do and Run and as I say.”
“I don’t know if Shen is known for gangs, but you need some street credit,” Cloutier joked. “To get out there, so some kids that when they see me in my jeans and sweatshirt at practice barking out commands that there is something behind it, maybe I’ve done this before, maybe I’ll show them that my name is on the wall in a few spots. It’s fun to get out there and kind of become one of them for a day.”
One runner who has his name at the top of numerous races throughout the Capital District is Shaun Donegan who raced to another Shenendehowa Veterans Day Dash 5K title.
“I heard a lot of talk at the front of the line, guys wanted to go out and go for a mile PR at the beginning so I knew I didn’t want to get trampled up,” Donegan said. “At the first corner they all stopped running, but at the first mile we were at five flat, which is really fast, even for me. I just stuck to my strategy and knew I would get them eventually.”
A teacher at Lansingburgh, Donegan was happy to get a day off to run a race Monday morning, competing in his fifth consecutive Veterans Day Dash.
“This is a great race and for a great cause,” Donegan said. “Both Coach Jeff (Nastke) and Coach Rob (Cloutier) ran cross country, they are both good friends of Saratoga Stryders and I wanted to come here and support these young guys and these runners for a good cause,” Donegan said.
Melanie Staley of Saratoga Springs will never forget this weekend, competing in the Schenectady Stockade-A-Thon on Sunday and finishing as the top female at Monday’s Veterans Day run at 18:58 in her final race in the United States. She returns to England next week as her husband’s two-year contract Visa expires, she will return to running in the United Kingdom.
“I didn’t know what to expect from my legs today, but it was a lot of fun,” Staley said. “I tried to keep with Coach Jeff who is a friend of ours and enjoyed the race.”
During her stay in the United States, she found comfort in the Saratoga Stryders running club and embraced the chance to return to racing.
“I’ve made it a mission to race every weekend since September and I’ve run three half-marathons, a marathon, the Stockade-A-thon and this race here,” Staley said. “I fly back to the UK in five days, so this is my last race in America.”
Her running days aren’t over.
“We’ve got a house in Cambridge, England. I have a few months off and we are going to Cypress and then I will train for the London marathon in April and back to work at a prison in the UK,” Staley said. “Hopefully, I can find a running community as wonderful as the Saratoga Stryders.”
The weather cooperated Monday morning, bringing out another strong turnout for race organizer Beth Haig.
“I took over the event after some of the officers who started the event five years ago, their children graduated so we needed someone to fill their shoes,” Haig said. “We saw the potential of the event can be. It’s great for the kids, great for the community, great for the vets and we said we needed to keep going with it.”
Haig took a day off from the road after competing in Sunday’s Stockade-A-thon and focusing on Monday’s smooth operation.
“I’ve always run this race in the past with my kids, we try to do it and I wanted to become involved and keep it going,” Haig said. “I see the growth in eat and the benefit to our kids.
“It’s a fundraiser for our kids, we also give a donation to the Wounded Warriors Foundation and I want the kids to see what the Vets have done for us,” Haig said.
Oct. 19 – Shen harrier Dan Janeczko Athlete of the Week
CLIFTON PARK —Shenendehowa senior Dan Janeczko has been reeling in the competition on the cross country courses since giving up soccer and looks to peak at the end of his final high school fall season.
“I started running in eighth-grade. I was just trying to get in better shape for soccer and I ended up sticking with it,” Dan Janeczko said. “I started to run to get in shape, but I had a bunch of friends, so it was a lot of fun and it suited me better because I’m better at the longer distances than start and stop sprinting. I had some kids to run with and I wanted to be successful with it and I stuck with it.”
The Plainsmen harrier had to adjust from the start and stop on the pitch to the longer distances associated with cross country.
“It’s definitely tough some times, your whole body hurts by the end of a race and it’s a lot more physically painful than soccer was,” Janeczko said. “I started out with a 1.5s (kilometer races) in the freshman level and I worked my way up from that to the 5K. I think I’ve progressed nicely and it’s become second nature for me.”
His coach, Mark Thompson can relate with his senior runner.
“He’s very consistent, he likes to run even, he reminds me of me,” Mark Thompson said. “He’s not a guy who goes out hard; struggling in the middle of a race can be challenging and hard to come back from. He tends to be very even and we had that dual meet with almost every school there a few weeks ago and just kept on picking guys off and finished second.”
The senior runner is modest about his finishes this season.
“I’ve had some good finishes in the invitationals and helped my team in the dual meets and looking to continue that the rest of the season,” Janeczko said. “I hope to make the state team at sectionals and if I do that, the season will be a success.
Janeczko was second in the large Suburban Council Dual Meet Sept. 19 at Saratoga Spa State Park with a time of 15 minutes, 53.27 seconds and was second in his Oct. 2 dual meet with Averill Park, Shaker and Guilderland. He finished fifth at the Queensbury Invitational Sept. 22 with a time of 16:12.76 and on his most challenging course, finished fourth at the Manhattan Invitational.
“I usually try to take it out at a reasonable pace and keep it up, stay with the leaders and finish with nothing left,” Janeczko said. “My favorite course, SPAC, it’s not too hilly and the flat courses suit me the best. My least favorite, Manhattan is really tough and the hills in the back are really challenging. It’s a short course and I do better on the longer courses.”
Janeczko has been running under Thompson’s guidance since his eighth-grade season and has become a leader.
“He’s the type of kid who does everything you ask,” Thompson said. “He’s a quiet leader, he leads by example, carries about a 98 average in school is looking to go to Cornell, and really the only school he wants to go to.
“I’m trying to get him to apply to other schools, but that’s the type of kid he is,” Thompson said. “Once he sets his mind to something that’s what he is going to go for.”
The year is not done yet for Janeczko as the multiple championship running weekends are quickly approaching.
“I envision his season getting better than he has so far,” Thompson said. “He has a great shot to make the state meet and hopefully make the federation meet; you know he’s had a great year.”
Shen runner Abby Weaver Athlete of the Week
CLIFTON PARK —Shenendehowa’s Abby Weaver isn’t new to running, but she is new to cross country and has encountered more challenges than any senior runner should.
“Last year I decided to do spring track outdoors and I found a love of the 3,000 (meter race) and I started to knock off some time and my coach kept on bugging me time after time to let field hockey go and do cross country in the fall,” Abby Weaver said. “I trained all summer, but I still didn’t know what it was going to be and at the last meet of spring track.
“Before the first day of school I had an illness, an ovarian cyst, and I tried running through that,” Weaver said. “It caused a lot of pain, going through the hills, going up and down the courses to get to the point where I can let it go.”
Before her illness, Weaver had choices to make for the fall.
“It was really hard to put down the stick because I thought I was walking away from a team sport, but now after the first meet I found out that this is more of a team sport than anything else is,” Weaver said. “While we still run individually, it’s a team collective to get to that finish line together and having that goal of winning the meet.”
She also had to train her body to push past the 3,000-meter mark to the 5,000-meter distance.
“It was really hard. You are on the turf for field hockey and now I’m going through the woods,” Weaver said. “I’m tripping in practice, trying to just get my feet in place and it was hard.”
Her coach, Rob Cloutier, saw potential in his senior runner last spring.
“We thought there was a lot of potential after the spring seeing her run the 3,000,” Rob Cloutier said. “I was thinking, ‘I think maybe we can get you a scholarship for college, but I think you are college material.’”
She proved to be more than a runner, but a special athlete.
“Not only is cross country for someone who ran around the oval, it’s flat, even surface on the track,” Cloutier said. “You have to learn to run on the terrain, her condition of having this cyst and the pain, not one word, ever complaining.”
Weaver, her coach and her family were baffled by the pain in her side.
“For a while we didn’t know what it was, maybe a strain in the abdomen, we find out and it’s a choice that she made,” Cloutier said. “She has an incredible pain threshold. In cross country, you think grit, toughness, Abby Weaver.”
Weaver has the skills necessary to excel in the sport, both her senior year and beyond.
“The mentality of a successful distance runner is to be patient, but also to be tough and knowing how to spread that over the course of the 5,000-meter race or 10,000 in colleges and she’s got that ability upstairs,” Cloutier said. “The body can be trained and with her condition, she can already with her story being told, can get to that level. I think whatever she wants to do she is capable of, she just needs time.”
While being treated for her illness, Weaver is keeping her focus on the future.
“After outdoor track I really liked running competitively and that opened up my opportunities for college,” Weaver said. “I want to continue to run in college and give up field hockey for good. I hope to run throughout college.”
Nick’s Fight to be healed brings a community together
CLIFTON PARK — The youth movement continued at the third-annual Nick’s Fight to be Healed 5K at the Clifton Common Sunday afternoon as two local teenagers took the top spots.
Clifton Park resident Justin Van Epps captured the overall title with a time of 17 minutes, 11 seconds, besting Rexford’s Chris Herbs at 17:23 and Frank Horn at 17:55.
“I just went out, I got a little worried when a kid just jumped into the race and paced me for the first mile of the race at about five minutes for the first mile,” the Christian Brothers Academy junior said. “He fell off after the first mile and I just kept going.”
Van Epps was joined by his running teammates Sunday afternoon.
“I used to play for the soccer team as a freshman and sophomore year, my parents signed me up this year,” Van Epps said. “I told the rest of my cross country team and they decided to come out and support me and the event and the community.”
His running Brothers weren’t on their own as more than 20 CBA soccer players also came out to compete in the local race to support the Nick’s Fight to be Healed Foundation and its mission of supporting pediatric blood cancer patients as well as serve the young adult blood cancer community.
“I’ve been running in this race for the past eight or nine years,” CBA varsity soccer coach Garrett Cobb said. “We have a group of kids that want to give back to our communities and they know that I ran in this so all signed-up for this today.
“Our (athletic director) brought it up to all of the coaches that he wanted to see our athletes out in the community more,” Cobb said. “I told him we were already there.”
Van Epps led 338 runners across the finish line with more than 100 walkers leaving earlier on a separate course and a Nick’s Dash offered for the smallest of runners.
“The weather as not that bad,” Van Epps said about the early rain. “It doesn’t bother me and the course wasn’t that hilly which was good for me and it was an easy run.”
The CBA junior enjoyed running in his own backyard with his classmates.
“It is real fun when you know a lot of people and you can have some friendly competition during the race with them and it’s just overall fun,” Van Epps said.
Shenendehowa soccer standout Jaclyn Romano captured the women’s overall title in 21:03, holding off Wilton’s Jody Hayes at 21:26 and Clifton Park’s Heather Martin at 22:03.
“I ran track in sixth and seventh grade and in eighth-grade I started to play soccer for Shen,” Jaclyn Romano said. “I like soccer more because it’s a team sport, but I like to run too.”
Romano planned on running for fun, until her competitive nature took over.
“I was following a lady for most of the end of the race and at the end I just wanted to be there because there weren’t any other girls in front of us,” Romano said. “When we entered the Shen campus, that’s when I knew I wanted to win. I won for my age group a few years back when I ran, but I like the overall win.”
Once again the race was dedicated to a local child battling cancer, this year the event was dedicated to Ben Mayo who was on hand with his family to participate in the walk.
Last year, the event was dedicated to Luke Romano who died after a seven-year fight against cancer. Jaclyn Romano is his sister.
This year’s event raised more than $31,000 with 466 participants in the 5K and walk with more than 500 spectators and vendors coming to support the charity.
On Sunday, Jaclyn Romano ran like the wind with an angel at her side.
“It’s always a fun day because you get to give back to the community and see everyone who supports you,” she said.
Donegan runs from relay to Run for the ROC
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Springs runner Shaun Donegan proved that he was tops again at the annual Run for the ROC (Mollie Wilmot Radiation Oncology Center) to benefit Saratoga Hospital.
The local harrier covered the 5K course throughout contested throughout the Saratoga Race Course grounds in 16 minutes, 25 seconds. Teri Artese of Scotia was the top female finisher at 19:35.
“Today was a great race, I felt pretty tight this morning, but I love this race, it’s a great event,” Donegan said. “I wouldn’t want to miss for the world. I wanted to run it even though I did Ragnar yesterday Ragnar Relay Series) and it actually turned out very good, so I’m pleased.”
Donegan joined with a relay team to run 192.7 miles from Saratoga Springs to Lake Placid beginning Friday and finishing Saturday.
“The best way to describe Ragnar is like moving into college,” Donegan said. “You are moving into a small space with several people and it smells bad.
If you don’t like the people it’s a very awful experience, if you like the people, it’s a real treat,” Donegan joked. “But seriously, it’s a relay race where you are passing off your baton, running distances between 15 and 17 miles and it’s a whole lot of fun.”
Donegan wasn’t alone in his trek over the weekend or on Sunday, with running teammate Kim Zimbal joining him on both journeys. Zimbal finished in 21:35, winning her age group Sunday morning.
“I ran 15 miles, (Ragnar Relay) there are three legs,” Zimbal said. “There was a five-point something, a four-point something and then a five-point something.
“They were about 10 hours apart and in between you are out there cheering for somebody else, and catch some ZZZ’s and eating a lot of food,” she explained.
Zimbal had committed to bringing herself to the Saratoga Race Course Sunday for the annual 5K to benefit Saratoga Hospital’s Mollie Wilmot Radiation Oncology Center.
“I’ve wanted to run this race for the past four years and each year there is something that stops me from doing it,” Zimbal said. “This year I said I was doing it and it was going to be my worst race ever or my best race ever because my legs are either going to feel horrible or awesome. It turned out to be my best race ever.”
Her determination paid off with a top-age group medal, an engraved, polished rock and best time.
“It was a great course because you get to run inside of Saratoga Race track, which you don’t normally see, inside the paddocks, a great course,” Zimbal said. “There was great music, teams, everyone has team T-shirts on, it was a great time.”
Before the adults took to the Saratoga Race Course, Caroline Street School fifth-grader Zach Garhardt won the annual Lil’ Derby Dash, a half-mile jaunt for children through and around the grandstands.
“In the beginning I was in third or fourth until I got in front of the kid in second,” Garhardt said. “Then the kid that was in first, I was right behind him and he stopped to walk for a little and I went right ahead of him.
“That was at the end of the race,” Garhardt said. “When we turned around the last corner is started sprinting and came in first.”
Hosting the event on the historic grounds is a challenge, but continues to grow through local support and the unique course.
“This is our eighth year and we’ve pretty much gotten it down,” Rachel Wheatley, Special Events Manager for the Saratoga Hospital Foundation said. “Each year this is something that pops up, but it’s a fun day to set everything up.
“We like that we get the chance to show people at the track areas they don’t normally get to see during the track season,” Wheatley said. “I think we had 700 participants this year and we raise at least $25,000 dollars. The rain held up mostly and we had a great turnout.”
2012 Run for the ROC results
Sept. 16 – Saratoga Palio half marathon results
Again, not possible without the hard working staff at Albany Running Exchange!
Saratoga Palio half marathon results 2012
Sept. 16 – Saratoga Palio 5K results
As always, a big thanks to Albany Running Exchange for making the race results possible!
Saratoga Palio 5k results 2012
Sept. 16 – Saratoga Palio – A run for the ages
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Palio 5K and half marathon gave a look to the past, the present and the future Sunday morning as more than 1,450 runners took to the streets of Saratoga Springs.
The short-distance speedsters took to Broadway to start Sunday’s event with Saratoga Springs alum and Notre Dame grad Greg Kiley out-stepped Blue Streak harrier Evan Quinones to capture the men’s top spot in the 5K with a time of 15 minutes, 52 seconds. Saratoga Springs runner Mesha Brewer was the top female finisher at 17:36.
“I was just hanging onto Evan the whole time, he’s been training hard, that’s what I heard from the high school coaches, so that was the goal for me… to hang on,” Kiley, the 2005 Nike Cross Country national champion said.
“Saratoga kids are known for taking it out real fast, but it wasn’t really that fast,” Quinones said. “The first mile was 5:06 and I just carried the pace until the end. I just didn’t go out that fast at the beginning.”
The duo paired up just minutes before the race, allowing both to set out for a quick pace.
“I was happy to have someone to run with,” Quinones said.
“We both would have run slower alone,” Kiley said.
2010 Saratoga Palio women’s half marathon champion Julie Gold decided to run the 5K for a special reason on Sunday, finishing second at 19:54 with Kaitlin O’Sullivan racing to a third-place finish at 20:26.
“My son wanted this to be his inaugural 5K and I thought it was so important to experience that with him,” Julie Gold said. “For him to have this be his first 5K and for me to see him finish and this race means so much to me and the community is just a beautiful day and it was fantastic.”
Luke Gold made his mother proud, finishing his first 3.2 mile jaunt in 22:57, 40th overall.
“My mom, she would always do the half marathon and it looked really cool,” Luke Gold said. “There were a lot of people here and I just thought it would be fun.
“It was cool, we got to go through Congress Park and went around Saratoga, and it was pretty cool,” Luke Gold said. “I did pretty well, 22 minutes, so I got my goal.”
He wasn’t about to let his mom hold him back during his first 5K race, wanting to run with the pack.
“She wanted to stay back with me, but I was like ‘No way, go ahead; pretend I’m not even doing it,’”
Once the 5K runners started South on Broadway, the half marathon runners got their start heading North up into the Skidmore College campus before returning for a run down Broadway and into Saratoga Spa State Park, finishing on High Rock Avenue.
A familiar face, Saratoga’s Dana Bush earned her third women’s half marathon title, covering the course in 1 hour, 23.25 minutes and looked spent at the finish line.
“The last two miles were tough, my legs were starting to cramp, but for the majority of the race I ran a pretty fast time,” Bush said. “When you are running this distance at the end it’s tough.”
Bush had some help from her past, racing in high school at Shenendehowa as Dana Ostrander and facing second-place finisher and Saratoga Springs alum Erin Davis.
“We raced each other in high school every race so it was a little déjà vu,” Bush said. “I felt that (Erin Davis and Melanie Staley) pushed a good pace and it was nice to have some competition.”
Bush will be inducted into the Shenendehowa Athletics Hall of Fame next month for her success during her high school years on the oval. Now she has kept her running to longer distances on the road.
“It suits my lifestyle with kids and working I don’t have a lot of time to go to the track and workout,” Bush said. “With the half marathon I can do a long run on the weekend. I probably won’t ever beat my track times or fast times. I do like the distance, the half marathons.”
Albany runner Michael Roda captured the men’s half marathon title with room to spare, covering the 13.1 mile course in 1:12.23 well in front of Troy’s Collin Hodges at 1:17.49 and Rotterdam’s Kevin Dixon at 1:19.34.
“I wanted to get a good lead for the first three miles and distance myself between second and third place and at four miles I had a fairly comfortable lead,” Roda said. “At that point it was just maintaining an even pace and for me, I came fairly close to that.
“What I really wanted to do was be aggressive the first part of the race and use this as a tune-up for the Mohawk Hudson marathon that is coming up in three weeks,” Roda said.
The seventh Saratoga Palio, created to support the Melanie Merola O’Donnell Foundation and this year’s proceeds went to Window World Cares.
“Some of the people on our race committee were effected and do work for this charitable organization along with being good friends with us,” Maria (Mimi) Palmer Maurer said. “It was a nice fit, maybe a chance to broaden from the community; it’s a more national reach. This year (2013 race) we’re bringing it back to Saratoga and give to Jake’s Help from Heaven.”
The race saw a minor, but well received change, moving the finish line and celebration venue to the High Rock Avenue pavilions.
“I really loved it and I think people really enjoyed having us in one place,” Mauer said. “It gave it a better spirit to be able to celebrate here and cheer on the runners, listen to the music and we’re really, really happy that we made this change.”
Aug. 14 – Anne Benson wins Southern Saratoga YMCA with help from a friend
CLIFTON PARK — There may be no better way to successfully win a 5K race than with a friend at your side.
Tuesday night, Clifton Park’s top female runner, Anne Benson, took a run with a friend and captured another title at the Southern Saratoga YMCA 5k race event, part of the Capital District YMCA race series.
Benson captured the women’s title in 18 minutes, 59 seconds with Shelly Binsfeld right behind her at 19:01.
“Shelly and I started off the race and Shelly was going to pace me at a six minute pace and we tried to stick with the plan, I slowed her down a little bit,” Benson said. “We were good for the first mile, I slowed down a little bit, but Shelly and I had a nice workout together and we got towards the end and Shelly backed off and let me win the race.”
While the 47-year-old Benson has been a mainstay at the front of local road races, Binsfeld is making her return to the racing circuit.
“I ran in high school and college and then had four kids. I started running here at the YCMA with the Pacers and slowly but surely I got a little bit faster and Anne took me under her wing and taught me a lot about racing competitively as an adult and as a mom,” Binsfeld said. “She introduced me to all the Willow Street runners and they have been a great group to run with and have encouraged me and inspired me.”
While Binsfeld committed herself back to her sport, she was hesitant about Tuesday’s race.
“We didn’t plan it until 10 p.m. last night,” Brinsfeld said. “I texted her and said ‘Will you run with me, we can go side-by-side? We can get it done and to it together.’ If she hadn’t said yes, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Clifton Park’s Eric Macknight tore up the 3.2 mile course with a blistering time of 15 minutes, 50 seconds, a full minute ahead of second-place finisher Jeff Goupil at 16:56 and Mat Nark third at 18:22.
The event was the fourth of a seven-race series organized by the Capital District YMCA.
“We have a Couch to 5K series that feeds right into it with people who have never run a 5K before, maybe never even walked a 3K and they want to finish their first one,” Tys Bailey-Yavonditte, CDYMCA race series director. “It’s a great opportunity for them to finish something that they have never done.
“We get a lot of people that are crossing the finish line for the first time,” Bailey-Yavonditte said. “At our first race of the season in Albany we had a person that competed crying as they crossed the finish line because they had never done a 5K before. She crosses the finish line and her kids are there with flowers for her, it’s one of the best things you could ever see.”
The series continues at three more locations in the Capital District: Guilderland on Sept. 8, Troy on Oct. 27 and Bethlehem on Dec. 8.
“You also have those people who are looking for a challenge and looking for their best 5k time can be, it good for them and those that are looking to race their first 5K. If they miss one 5K there is another one the following month,” Bailey-Yavonditte said. “People have the opportunity to see how they are doing, continuing to practice and see how their hard work is paying off during the year.”
2012 Southern Saratoga YMCA 5k results

July 4 – Firecracker 4 4-mile race explodes to more than 3,000-runners

SARATOGA SPRINGS — If the Firecracker 4 4-mile race and celebration gets any bigger, it may become its own voting district.
The annual Independence Day athletic kick-off has mushroomed to more than 3,000 runners taking to the streets of Saratoga Springs on Wednesday morning, more than 600 than celebrated the Fourth of July last year.
The number of competitors wasn’t the only thing that exploded at this year’s Firecracker 4, but Saratoga Springs alumni Hannah Davidson broke her own personal best with a time of 22 minutes, 22 seconds, capturing her fourth Firecracker 4 title and fourth watch as the top female finisher.
“I gave some to my mom, but this one is nice, so I’m going to keep this one,” Davidson said after her fourth title. “This year was the hardest. I thought last year was hard, I didn’t work out for it and it was pretty hard as well.
“I usually go out with the Saratoga girls, but this year I was like ‘I went out way to fast with them last year,’ they were like at 5:20 (mile pace),” Davidson said. “I couldn’t do that again. I ran with Kiki (Hollowood) for the first mile and (third-place finisher Mesha Brewer) was ahead of us and I followed her for a while and then I was kind of on my own.”
She captured her first Firecracker 4 title in the race’s inaugural year, 2007 with a time of 22:27 returning to take the title in 2009 with a time of 23:16. She captured her third title in 2011 with a time of 22:38 before Wednesday’s back-to-back title win at 22:22.
Davidson finished 39th overall, in front of Shenendehowa alumni Nicole Irving, 55th overall at 22:47. Like Davidson she had to find her way to the front of the 3,000-person pack for her top female finish.
“The start is kind of fast I thought I was going to get trampled a little,” Irving said. “But I worked my way through that I just I ran solid miles throughout.”
The Firecracker 4 saw a pair of friends cross the finish line together as Syracuse runner Patrick Georghan won by less than a leg over Tito Medrano with a time of 19:44.
The July 4th event was new to Medrano and a challenge for the Indiana native.
“I was looking for a competitive race this summer because I don’t have eligibility for cross country this fall,” the Syracuse University runner said. “Coach wanted me to run, have some fun this summer.
“I ran a road race three days ago and I heard that this would be competitive and I knew Patrick was driving up here too, so I thought I would get a competitive race in,” Medrano said. “There was some good racing last year and I wanted to come out here and test myself.”
He admitted that he may have given up a step to Georghan at the finish.
“I can’t accept any (prize) money because I still have a year of eligibility left in the spring, so I figured if we were both in it in the end, he can accept money, so we finished that way,” Medrano said.
Georghan took the course by storm, finishing almost a minute in front of the third male finisher, UAlbany runner Ethan Clary at 20:33.
“Once Tito and I had first and second we kind of cruised it in,” Georghan said. “Like he said, we took the second half as a workout and did another five miles after, a good training day.”
Georghan has been in big races, but not against a crowd as large as the Firecracker 4 start.
“It’s hard to know who to watch, so many people go out,” Georghan said. “You may eyeing someone who you think is the competition is.
“On the track it’s different tactics,” Georghan said. “On the road it’s so wide and open, rolling hills and wind. I’m still getting used to road racing, but I’m starting to like it.”
May 27 – Three-peat at 2012 Saratoga Lions Duathlon
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Sunday mornings during the warm weather are usually reserved for a nice run with friends, often with a little competition at a 5k. Yesterday, more than 275 over-achievers decided to add a little more to their workout, adding on a 30k bike ride and another 5k after that during the eighth-annual Saratoga Lions Duathlon.
The event, for the first-time hosted on the Saratoga Gaming and Raceway, saw Altamont tri-athlete Todd Shatynski earn a three-peat and world qualifier Heidi Glovack capture the overall womens title.

“It was a beautiful day and it got a little hot as we went on, but not much wind, very fast course, faster than it has been in past years,” Shatynski said. “It was a flatter run out and back with a bit of shade there, it was a real competitive run, some really fast runners out there.”
Photos from the Saratoga Lions Duathlon 2012
Shatynski covered the first 5k portion in 17 minutes, 12 seconds before entering the transition area and covered the 30k bike course in 46.16 minutes. He still had enough left in the tank, running his second 5k of the morning in 17:33.
I wanted to take control of it early in the bike so I rode pretty hard the first two or three miles and tried to get out there, then it got hard to focus because I was just pushing against myself,” Shatynski said. “I felt good on the bike. It’s a fast bike (course), not a lot of climbing and then the run was just to stay within myself and not blow up. I felt pretty good and a good way to kick off my season.”
East Syracuse competitor Heidi Glovack also stayed within herself on her way to the overall female title.
“Everyone took off like a bat in the first part and I looked at my watch and I said to myself ‘Don’t do it, don’t go with them’ and I held and it was my fasted 5k for a duos (duathlon) on my first run,” Glovack said. “On the bike there was a girl ahead of me, I knew she was a good runner so I had to catch her on the bike if I needed to get any time.
“She passed me on some of the hills and I was able to catch her on the flat, so I had a little bit of a lead on the second run, but I had to haul because I knew she would catch me,” Glovack said.
She covered the open 5k course in 20:05 and rode the 30k course in 51:23. She held her pace in the second 5k, returning in 20:08 and holding off Ossining’s Sarah Rodriguez by 36 seconds for the win.
“I’ve been doing some 5ks for a couple years, but I just started seriously biking last year and I feel that I have a lot of room to grow on the bike,” Glovack said. “I love biking, so its fun, I almost like to bike better than I do run right now. I feel like I’m average in both and I just try to put a good package together.”
While Glovack admits that she’s not a strong swimmer, committing herself to duathlons, Shatynski is a complete three-sport athlete.
“I’d like to say that rather than have strength, I don’t have a weakness,” Shatynski said. “I’m a very good runner, a very good cyclist and almost as good a swimmer.
On a day like today I pretty much look to have a pretty consistent day,” Shatynski said. “There are some guys that are faster than me on the run and faster than me on the bike, but when I put it all together I’m able to come out on top.”
2012 Saratoga Duathlon overall results

2012 Saratoga Duathlon Team results

April 24 – Shen boys 4×400 brings home dual meet win versus Colonie, Columbia
CLIFTON PARK —The Shenendehowa boys varsity track and field team defended its own turf, capturing wins over Colonie and Columbia at Steuerwald Stadium Tuesday afternoon in the final home meet of the year for the Plainsmen.
“We sat the guys down before the meet and said ‘This is our house and for some of our seniors it’s the last time they’ll run here’” Shenendehowa varsity coach Jason Burlingame said. “They put out a lot of blood, sweat and tears out on this track on some of the hottest and coldest days of the year. I know what it means to come out here in their final home meet of their final season and for the seniors to put a good race together and a good win together is great.”
The Plainsmen snuck past the Garnet Raiders, 94-84 and Columbia, 104-74.
Shenendehowa saw a decade-long winning streak end with a loss to Saratoga Springs earlier in the year on the road and the Plainsmen knew when they were vulnerable on the track.
“We lost the 4×100 when one of our guys pulled up lame and lost the 4×400 in the end,” Burlingame said. “Those two seconds of those two races. That was it.”
He wasn’t about to leave anything to chance with the win hanging in the balance.
“We were tallying scores as we went and we were glad we had a great crew,” Burlingame said. “That’s a freshman and three seniors in that crew and we knew we had the components and told them ahead of time ‘Hey, this is a close one and we have to give it our all out here and take it to them on the track in that final event.’

“It was great to see all of our guys up on their feet, just screaming them in and tried to emphasize being good teammates and being here to the end,” Burlingame said. “It was a great example of that today.”
Freshman Colin Rowe started the winning run in the first leg of the 4×400-relay, a lot of pressure on an underclassman.
“There was a lot of pressure, but I knew I had a good team behind me and I was confident that we would get the win,” Rowe said.
Senior Will Marois was challenged throughout his second leg.
“Luckily, the Colonie went ahead of me and took the wind at least the first 150 meters,” Marois said. “I just shortened my stride and put my head down and ran right behind him to not take the wind. When I passed him I felt great and I just kicked it home.”
Senior Jon Zeosky picked up from there and put some space between the two teams.
“I saw Will coming in and the guy was still close behind him,” Zeosky said. “I just wanted to put as much distance behind him as possible.
“The backstretch was terrible with the wind,” Zeosky said. “I just gave it my all. I kept thinking the guy was right behind me, but I put some distance on him.”
It was then up to senior Evan Hayner to bring Shenendehowa home for the event and the team victory.
“I went out fast, just looking to put up as much distance as I could,” Hayner said. “Over there (backstretch) it was just like running into a wall. I’m really proud of my teammates and it means a lot, to win our last home meet here.”
Burlingame, the former coach at Guilderland, is looking to build the Plainsmen program into another Clifton Park powerhouse.
“Every week we’ve seen more and more potential out of them and we’re getting over some key injuries,” Burlingame said. “It’s a confidence builder for them. “Colonie can be a super tough team and we were just happy to be able to come out and take a win against them and a win against Columbia.”
Shenendehowa will have some valuable time off prior to its final dual meet against Burnt Hills and Ballston Spa before focusing on its championship meet run.
“It should be good competition, we’re always trying to look ahead, plan ahead,” Burlingame said. Then we’ll really start to put our section plan together with the components we have, the strengths we have and we’re going to try and put a good program together around that.”

COLLEGE BOUND: Shen star harrier Lizzie Predmore to run at Boston College

CLIFTON PARK — Over the past six years Shenendehowa senior runner Lizzie Predmore has made a name for herself on the Plainsmen campus, in Section II and across the nation every season, fall, winter and spring. Now she’s planning on making a name for herself at Boston College, committing to run for the Eagles for the next four years.
“Last year I went to a junior day at Harvard and I met with the coach there and went to a track meet at Harvard and I ran into the BC (Boston College) coach who my dad has known for a while,” Lizzie Predmore said. “While I was at the Harvard trip I was thinking, ‘I just want to go to BC.’
“Ever since last winter I’ve just known and on July 1st when I received the call from the coach Randy Thomas,” Predmore said. “I was so excited and I just always knew in my heart that’s where I wanted to go.”
Predmore pared down here choice of colleges to Boston College, Duke, Cornell and Dartmouth last fall.
“I had been to Dartmouth a lot and loved the campus,” Predmore said. “My dad went to Cornell, so that was always an option for me and Duke.
“I hadn’t really thought about, but I really ended up loving it there so it actually was a hard decision between Duke and Boston, but I had to go with Boston,” Predmore said.
For the 12-time All-American besides her running prowess that she brings to every meet, it is always combined with a friendly demeanor and a smile. Her gentle personality also gave way to her own doubts that she would be recruited.
“She was actually afraid that she wasn’t going to get any the first week and said. ‘What if no one wants me mom?’” Ellen Predmore said. “When she got the calls, it validated her.”
And the calls came again and again and then there was the frustration of being unable to say yes to each coach that showed an interest in her.
“Saying no is very hard,” Lizzie Predmore said. “When I received coaches phone calls I just tried to keep it open in the beginning and once I started having to narrow it down it became very hard telling certain coaches no.
“When I received a letter (from colleges) I would put it in a box, I’d look at it from time to time and weigh my options,” Predmore said. “I narrowed it down towards the end of the summer.”
She continued to impress her parents as she learned to graciously decline offers during the summer recruiting period.
“I’m very proud of her, how she handled herself very well in the recruiting process,” her dad, Dan Predmore said. “Sometimes it was difficult for her to make the call because she was afraid of saying no to a coach or tired and didn’t want to talk.
“I was proud of her and the way she talked to these coaches, she conducted herself very well, with a lot of maturity,” he said. “When she had to say no, she said it and I was proud of her.”
In the end, Boston College became an obvious choice.
“I was looking for a good balance. I wanted to have a team that I loved options for majors that I loved and everything had to fit together perfectly,” Lizzie Predmore said. “The location of Boston, the team, the coach at Boston was perfect and everything there just fit well together.”
There was also a familiarity for the Predmore’s with Boston College, including their head coach, Randy Thomas.
“He (Thomas) has quite a few athletes from Section II already, the King Sisters and the Winslow sisters, he really likes this area, that was a plus for me,” Lizzie Predmore said. “My dad also used to race against him, so my dad has known him for a while.”
When she begins running at Boston College next fall, she’ll not only see her competitors over her shoulder chasing her, but also she’ll have graduated from the program that she has left such an indomitable mark on.
“You don’t replace a kid like that,” Shenendehowa track coach Rob Cloutier said. “The character, her work ethic, I can’t think of a single time that she’s come to practice where she hasn’t led things, leading by example.
“She re-wrote the school record book here indoors and outdoors track,” Cloutier said. “Just purely based on stats, she’s the greatest track and field athlete to ever come through this school, boys or girls. She is certainly the marquee athlete to come through this school in all three sports for five or five years in Section II and has done it with a smile and would never want to be in the limelight.”
Now, she’ll have a chance to make a name for herself at Boston College.
“I’m honestly really looking forward to it because for the past five years I’ve worked my way up to be a senior, it’s taken a lot of hard work,” Predmore said. “I’m just excited to be at the bottom and trying to work my way up, having people to chase after. That’s something that I really miss. The competition in Section II is great, but I’m looking forward to a new experience.”
College Bound: Shen big man Mark Thomas to throw at UAlbany
Shenendehowa’s football big man won’t be far away, but he won’t be on the gridiron any time soon as Mark Thomas committed to the University of Albany track and field program to continue his career as a top thrower.
“I just like the campus a lot,” Thomas said. “We went there a lot for football camps and I experienced the college campus life.
“It was a great atmosphere to be around. I thought why I would go anywhere else,” Thomas said. “I love UAlbany, I love the coaches there and I really like it there.”
It wasn’t an easy decision for the Shenendehowa lineman, choosing between football and track.
“There was a lot of interest in both sports, it took me a long while to decide whether it would be football or track and then which college,” Thomas said. “I really love track and I really love football, but track was the one thing that I do every single day.
“Even when football practice was around I went home and I practiced throwing, I practiced my footwork.” Thomas said. “It was something that was natural for me and I think track was the way to go.”

There may have been some divine intervention that guided his decision, suffering a head injury during the football season that sidelined him gave Thomas and his family some pause about a future in the full contact sport and his position as a lineman at the next level.
“With the stuff that was happening with my head, this is probably the safest way to keep my healthy and keep doing sports, doing what I love,” Thomas said. “I think the one thing that really pushed me was (Shen throwing coach) Coach Dochet. He has been a huge mentor for me, just like Coach (Mark) McQuade, a huge mentor for me. He just made me 10 times better.”
His decision wasn’t just based on his throwing, but also revolved around family.
“I looked at Plattsburgh, Army, UMass, a bunch of colleges around here,” Thomas said. “I didn’t want to go too far out.
“I wanted to stick around for my brother, who is deaf, so I wanted to stick around and help when I can,” Thomas said. “He’s getting cochlear implants soon and I wanted to be around when he first starts hearing. When I first started to hear about that I was really happy that I decided to stick around.”
To be close to home and participate in a safer sport was the best news for his mother, Stephanie.
“I was ecstatic, knowing that he was going to be close. There were other schools that he was looking at that were farther away and I was very happy,” Stephanie Thomas said. “He’d always been a two-sport kid since he was a freshman and with the last two years of football, I was hoping, I was praying that he would stay with track and he made his mother proud.”
His decision to stay close to be there for his brother showed the bond the Thomas’ have.
“”He’s an incredible kid,” Stephanie Thomas said. “Everything he has gone through, the choices that he has had to make.
“I’m sure that deep down, he wanted to play football, but he chose to do track,” she said. “We have a strong family. His brother is going to get cochlear implants and it’s going to be a lot of work for his brother, but that is who Mark is. Mark is his strength to me.”
The Shenendehowa big man surprisingly will have to look up to older, upperclassmen again at the UAlbany campus.
“I don’t expect to be the top thrower there at all until my senior year,” Thomas said. “I just hope to gain some experience, gain a lot of knowledge from my coaches and my teammates there and hopefully have a lot of fun.”
Thomas won’t need a guide his first days at college, familiar with the UAlbany campus and the inflatable dome that houses the throwing facility.
“It’s going to be pretty cool,” Thomas said. “Every time I go there I have that homey feel. It feels really great to be committed there and to be going there from now on.
“I don’t think that’ll be that much of a change,” Thomas said. “I’m big, so the heavier weights won’t affect me that much. I think that’s I’m going to do really well there.”
There will also be a pleasant change, being able to throw both the hammer and the weight at the college level, two implements not allowed at the New York State Public High School event meets.
“It feels great, those are two of my favorite events, the hammer and weight,” Thomas said. “Those two go hand in hand and I’m pretty good at them. I’m like, ‘Wow’, I can finally throw them regularly at meets so I’m pumped for that.”
The future business major and psychology minor is also confident in his ability to etch his name into some of the Great Dane record books.
“I expect it to have a great career,” Thomas said. “I’ve never been one to give up or sit out. I think that’ I’ll get along with everyone there and I’ll succeed.”
Saratoga boys take spring dual meet, first time in a decade
SARATOGA SPRINGS — There was no April Fools at Saratoga Springs High School Tuesday afternoon as the varsity boys track and field team swept its first dual-meet of the season, running past Mohonasen and rival Shenendehowa in solid fashion.
The Blue Streaks captured first-place in nine events Tuesday afternoon, including a sweep of all three relays, defeating the Plainsmen, 101-77 and the Warriors, 128-48.
“For the first meet out we were rubbing off some rust, but the kids ran pretty well,” Saratoga Springs varsity coach Chris Conley said. “We had some PRs (personal records) and it feels good to start off the season with a couple of wins, especially against our rival, Shen who we really haven’t beaten in a dual meet in 10 years.”
The Blue Streaks were led by Steve Kuznia who captured two individual hurdle events, the long jump and ran a winning leg on the Saratoga 4×400-meter relay squad.
He won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.6 seconds, the 400-meter hurdles in 57.8 seconds before leaping 10-feet, 4.50 inches at the long jump pit.
“Overall I’m real happy with my performance so far,” Kuznia said. “It is our first meet and I think I set myself up for some really great times this year. I’m honestly looking forward to the rest of the season because there is no place but up to go but up from here.”

Saratoga’s Jay Navin was another multi-event winner, capturing the 400-meter run with a time of 51.7 seconds and running two winning legs, one on the 4×400 relay with Kuznia and the 4×800-meter relay.
“We have a really strong team this year, it’s great to come and do it at home,” Navin said. “I haven’t had that much experience running the 400, so I was really happy with my performance and looking to improve on it the rest of the season.”
Shenendehowa wasn’t shut out of the first-place awards as Mark Thomas swept the throwing events, winning the shot put with a hurl of 48-feet, 9.50 inches and the discus with an eye-popping 134 feet, 5-inch distance. He left the competition yards behind him, four-feet on the shot and 28-feet in the discus.
Plainsmen pole vaulter Phil Charbonneau was pushed by Saratoga’s Tim Hartwell, capturing first-place with a 12-foot, 6-inch height.
“It was a pretty good day, but it was my first meet since indoor so I was just getting back into the swing of things, but overall it felt pretty good,” Charbonneau said. “I only finished at 12-6, but I was hoping for over 13.
“(Tim Hartwell) definitely pushes me,” Charbonneau said. “We are probably going to be one or two (in Section II) and we push each other. We are all friends, so it’s all good.”
Hartwell was adjusting to some new equipment and a new relay on the day, pushing him all over the Saratoga Springs track and field complex Tuesday, competing in the vault and two other relays as well.
“Normally would jump 13-feet, 13-6, but today I didn’t do very good, I did go 11-6,” Hartwell said. “I got a new pole out today, so there is something good out of everything.
“With the new pole, if I’m able to get up on top of it, where I should be, the new pole is going to put me up over 14, 15-feet and put me up towards the top of the state and into nationals,” Hartwell said.
Shenendehowa’s Will Marios edged out Saratoga’s Jonah Williams in the 800-meter run, winning with a time of 2 minutes, 1.7 seconds.
“I went out pretty slow, like 61 seconds that would be a 2:02, but I blasted out the last quarter-mile so it came out to 2:01,” Marios said. “It felt pretty great today. Earlier last week I ran a time trial in the 800, it was pretty hot, so to run a 2:01 today was pretty good for this kind of weather.”
Shenendehowa coach Jason Burlingame, formerly of Guilderland High School’s track and field program, sees room for improvement for his young Plainsmen squad.
“Saratoga is a tough team and they are a great running bed in Section II and they always have some great distance runners and today they had some great sprinters and some great field events too,” Burlingame said. “We’re building a team and we hoped to put two wins in the books. We put in one win against Mohonasen, unfortunately we lost to Saratoga.”
Both coaches were pleased with the friendly spring weather that allowed almost all sports to go off as scheduled this spring season.
“This is by far the best start I have had to a track season, beautiful weather,” Burlingame said. “The guys were a little spoiled on it early on, some nice warm days on the track to do some quality workouts.
“I think weather any time we can get the guys out on the track and the experience of racing is good for them,” Burlingame said. “I’m a long-term guy and we’re going to use the weather the best we can and work through the spring and work towards the summer and end of spring for our end game.”
For Saratoga Springs boys varsity coach Chris Conley, two early wins will put a spring in his step early on.
“The winners that we had we expected,” Conley said. “The surprise was the 4×100 relay team. Shen has a lot of talented sprinters and for us to come out here and beat them in the 4×100 was a pleasant surprise. We didn’t originally expect it, but in the middle of the race we started to root for them to win and it was great.”
The chance to run a full meet, including both large Class A schools giving their junior varsity teams a full meet will strengthen both programs.
“Hopefully for the younger guys it keeps them interested, it keeps them on the team,” Conley said. “They are going to be our next varsity stars.
“There were a couple of young guys today who really came out and had a great meet,” Conley said. “I’m hoping that it will strengthen and build the program for the future.”

Saratoga 101, Shenendehowa 77
Saratoga 128, Mohonasen 48
Shenendehowa 118, Mohonasen 55
3200-meter relay
1. Saratoga 8:25.3. 2. Shenendehowa 8:38.0. 3. Mohonasen 9:34.2.
110-meter hurdles
1. Kuznia (SARA) :15.6. 2. Millar (SARA) :17.1. 3. Sherman (SHEN) :20.0. 4. Hauptlia (MOHON) :21.8. 5. Ives (SHEN) :21.8. 6. Keegan (MOHON) :25.6.
100-meter run
1. Christie (SHEN) :11.1. 2. Hrebenach (SARA) :11.2. 3.Daggs (SHEN) :11.5. 4. Tucker (MOHON) :12.0. 5. Miller (SARA) :12.1. Bateman (MOHON) :12.8.
1,600-meter run
1. Patterson (SARA) 4:29.1. 2. Williams (SARA) 4:30.0. 3. Janeczko (SHEN) 4:32.2. 4. Borini (SHEN) 4:36.0. 5. Schmidt (MOHON) 5:01.3. 6. Cifarelli (MOHON) 6:10.
400-meter relay
1. Saratoga :44.6. 2. Shenendehowa :45.0. 3. Mohonasen :48.0.
400-meter hurdles
1. Kuznia (SARA) :51.7. 2. Choiniece (SARA) 1:03.5. 3. Haupli (MOHON) 1:15.6. 4. Caruso (MOHON) 1:28.7.
800-meter run
1. Marios (SHEN) 2:01.7. 2. Williams (SARA) 2:03.5. 3. Briggs (SARA) 2:04.3. 4. Zeosky (SHEN) 2:11.5. 5. Schmidt (MOHON) 2:19.4. 6. Cifarelli (MOHON) 2:33.3.
200-meter run
1. Hrebenach (SARA) :23.3. 2. Allen (SHEN) :24.3. 3. Bliechart (SHEN) :25.1. 4. Winters (SARA) :25.3. 5. Bateman (MOHON) :27.0.
3,200-meter run
1. Moore (SARA) 9:54.5 2. Patterson (SARA) 10:02. 3. Dixon (MOHON) 10:37. 4. Machina (SHEN) 10:54.2. 5. Evans (SHEN) 11:06.2. 6. Sheehan (MOHON) 11:46.3.
1,600-meter relay
1. Saratoga, 3:34.3. 2. Shenendehowa, 3:36.8. 3. Mohonasen, 4:02.8.
Long jump
1. Kuznia (SARA) 19-4.50 2. Hitchcock (SHEN) 16-11. 3. King (SARA) 16-9. 4. Bolard (SHEN) 16-6.75. 5. Tucker (MOHON) 16-2.
Triple jump
1. Charbonneau (SHEN) 39-7. 2. Hitchcock (SHEN) 36-1. 3. Miller (SARA) 36-0. 4. Penman (SARA) 34-0. 5. Richardson (MOHON) 33-11. 6. Haupton (MOHON) 32-11.
High jump
1. Richardson (MOHON) 5-8. 2. Rowley (SHEN) 5-6. 3. Green (SARA) 5-6 (J). 4. Charbonneau (SHEN) 5-6 (J). 5. Hauptli (MOHON) 5-4. 6. Millar (SARA) 4-10.
Pole vault
1. Charbonneau (SHEN) 12-6. 2. Hartwell (SARA) 12-0. 3. Choinjere (SARA) 10-0. 4. Maher (SHEN) 8-6.
Shot put
1. Thomas (SHEN) 48-9.5. 2. Buttimer (SHEN) 44-2. 3. Kasson (SARA) 42-9. 4. Ostrander (SARA) 34-11. 5. Corbitt (MOHON) 32-8. 6. Caruso (MOHON) 29-4.25.
Discus
1. Thomas (SHEN) 134-5. 2. Kromer (SHEN) 106-4. 3. Kasson (SARA) 103-4. 4. Ostrander (SARA) 102.5. Corbitt (MOHON) 91-1. 6. Blay (MOHON) 80-6.

March 30 – Shen senior Kerry Caher elects to run for St. Bonaventure
CLIFTON PARK — Shenendehowa senior runner Kerry Caher isn’t running away from anything, she’s running towards her next goal at the college level.
Caher committed to run at St. Bonaventure beginning next fall, choosing to attend a smaller Division I college, liking the campus and the opportunities there.
“Coming from Shen I always wanted to go somewhere smaller and going into education, their education program there, I have heard a lot of good things about it,” Caher said. “Athletically, I wanted to go somewhere similar to Shen where I could run and improve and it looks like I will be able to do that there.”
She trimmed her short list of college selections to St. Joseph’s, St. John’s, Hartwick and St. Bonaventure. “In the end it came down to Hartwick and St. Bonaventure,” Caher said. “The decision was so close, so I decided on St. Bonaventure because of their running program was better.”
Her parents, John and Kathleen helped guide her through the process.
“It was Kerry’s decision and it was driven by Kerry, but we were all involved to the extent that we were doing some visits of colleges and looking around,” John Caher said. “She had an idea of what she wanted and we had an idea of what would be a good fit for her, so it was a matter of narrowing it down from there. She looked at several, considered several, got into several, but St. Bonaventure seemed to have the best fit in every way.”
Her mother was pleased with her decision to remain in New York State.
“It’s about a five-hour drive out there, but we do have family very close by,” Kathleen Caher said. “She’ll have that connection and we’ll be able to make most of her meets. She’ll be doing some races back here, there’s a race in Albany she’ll be doing so we’re very happy that we’ll be able to see her frequently.”

Kerry Caher will be a new face on campus and for the coaching staff, one of the few faces from Section II on the Bonnies.
“I think that they like that I’m coming from such a different place,” Caher said. “The majority of the people on the team are from right around that area, but coming from a school like Shen where the program is so strong and the coaching is so good, I think that’s what they liked.”

She’ll be starting over again, as a freshman, getting used to a new beginning at St. Bonaventure.
“I’m a little bit nervous about it, but I think most people are,” Caher said. “I learned that when I visited there that everyone is very friendly and welcoming and since it is such a small school you get to know people really fast and especially being on a sports team it will really help.”
Her high school coach, Rob Cloutier, expects her to blossom again at the next level.
“Kerry put in a lot of work in over the years, she was I think 12th freshman on our team her ninth-grade year and she worked her way up to be in our top five her senior year,” Cloutier said. “She actually had a stretch of races in the middle of the season going into championships where she actually PR’d (personal record) five or six straight races.”
That growth and determination should serve her well at St. Bonaventure.
“Our program is almost like a college program in a lot of ways, about how competitive it is. She’s going to a smaller school and I’m interested to how she adjusts to that,” Cloutier said. “I think it may be almost a little odd at first, a small team, one-tenth of what we have.”
“She was just a strong, consistent runner over the last two years and the hard work really shows up when it comes to the fact that she has the opportunity to run at the Division I level at St. Bonaventure,” Cloutier said. “I wish I had three more girls like Kerry. She’s quiet, very humble, unassuming, but a tremendous worker.
The Shenendehowa harrier is ready for new goals and challenges.
“I’m hoping that I can break 19 minutes in the 5k by the end of college which I think will be possible because the team is very supportive and I know that the coach will help me reach my goals,” she said.

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