Springstead Invitational 9/8/07
Boys Frosh team sent a message to young Section 2 runners with their strong performance in this year’s first meet. Led by returning runners Mike Libruk (8) and Brian O’Connor (8), and first year XC runner Kyle Foster (9), the team placed three in the top six finishers, to easily capture the Frosh Championship over second place Shenendehowa. In fact, the fastest nine Shaker finishers in the two boy’s frosh races, completed the course faster then Shen’s fourth finisher. In addition to the top three Shaker runners, ten other frosh boys received medals: Caleb Mellon (7), Casey Gilboy (9), Andrew Olsen (9), Ryan Recchia (8), Forrest Scaringe (7), Brian Hickey (8), Dave Marthy (9), Adam Schwenzfeier (7), Brian Enright (9), and Aiden Snyder (7). The upcoming meet at Bear Mountain in the Suffern Invitational on September 15th should provide another early season test for this promising team.
Boys JV- Almost the entire JV boys team is running JV XC for the first time. Medal winners for the JV boys were Will Schanz (11), and Eric Young (10). This group is expected to steadily improve with more experience during the season.
Boys Varsity- Shaker was the first team to have three runners cross the finish line, with R.J. Sniffen (12), Chris Manico (12), and Craig Weiss (11), all showing why they have been rated among the state’s top 50 runners. Devon Sedgwick (12) also collected a medal for his 17th place finish, but the depth of Queensbury and Shen was too strong for Shaker, as the team finished a respectable, but disappointing 3rd place. It is already clear that keeping everyone healthy and consistent will determine just how far this team will go in 2007.
Girls Frosh- In the first race of the day, 7th grader Morgan Wojtusik (7) was the first Shaker runner to cross the finish line with her 10th place finish. Other Shaker frosh girls to receive medals were Blair Burke (9), Eileen Jin (9), Jennifer Jin (9), Nicole Wiegman (9), along with Marissa McIntyre (9), Erin Byrk (7), Emily Franko (7), Meg Deguire (7), and Katie Sniffen (9).
Girls JV- Despite a 1-2-3 finish by three Shen 12th grade girls in this race, the Shaker JV Girls team made it a close team competition in a solid second place finish. The top Shaker finisher was Christine Hall (11) while the following Shaker runners also received medals in the two JV races: Molly Nephew (10), Kate Martel (11), Leah Nazarian (11), Julia McCane (10), Tirzah Ziegler (10), along with Kari Huneau (11), Angela Rainbolt (11), and Meg Cheney (11).
Girls Varsity- The Shaker team finished 7th out of eleven teams, with Emma Risler (10) as the first Shaker runner (10th place). Alina Heim (12) also received a medal for her 20th place finish. The competition this year will include several of the top ranked teams in New York State, who are members of the Suburban Council. In addition to the teams that raced Saturday, Shaker will also face nationally ranked girls teams, like Burnt Hills and Saratoga during the season.
