The Inside Track
Sunday October 26, 2008
Sunday October 26, 2008: There were several notable individual performances by Shaker runners at the Suburban Council Championships on Saturday. Sophomore Casey Gilboy’s 16:10 time puts him at 21st on the all-time Shaker list at the Saratoga course. In the Frosh Boy’s race, Caleb Mellon and Adam Schwenzfeier completed their race in the 3rd and 4th fastest times ever by a Shaker runner over the Saratoga Frosh course …and both are only 8th graders with another year of eligibility on the freshman team. Speaking of young runners, two 7th grade girls had top 10 finishes in the Girls Frosh race. Laura Libruk was 3rd overall and Kristen Moras finished 8th in leading the Shaker Frosh team to a second place tie.
The top 10 Shaker runners on the Boys and the Girls team will continue their season at the Section 2 Cross Country meet this Friday (October 31st) at the Saratoga State Park course. The Class AA Girls race is scheduled to start at 11:00AM and the Boys Class AA race at 1:30 PM.
Several Shaker runners will be competing to qualify for the New York State XC Championship Meet by running well in this Friday’s State Section 2 Qualifying Meet. The way it works is simple: The winning team in each class will send their top seven runners to the State meet and the next five individuals not on the winning team will also qualify for the State meet. Among the teams in Class AA with Shaker are Shen, Colonie, Bethlehem, Guilderland, Ballston Spa and Saratoga. Among the teams scheduled to compete in a different race (Class A) are Burnt Hills, Queensbury, Averill Park and Niskayuna. If the heavily favored Shen team captures first place in Class AA, the Shaker runners are likely to be competing for the five individual spots with top Suburban Council finishers such as Saratoga’s Demetri Goutos, Bethlehem’s Yosef Zaid, Ballston Spa’s Max Groves and Colonie’s Joe Emory. Last year, three Shaker runners qualified as individuals for the State Meet.
The Shaker Girls were ranked #17 in last week’s NY State Class AA rankings that were listed on the armorytrack website. The Shaker Boys team moved to #18 on the same website’s list of NYS Class AA teams.
Jeff Corelli (’08), stopped to visit the team at the Suburban Council Championships on Saturday. He had been to the same course earlier that day as a member of the RPI Cross Country team on which he has been competing this year as a freshman.
The Shaker Girls and Boys Cross Country Banquet will be held on Sunday, November 23rd at the Shaker High Taft Dining Hall. Doors will open at 5:00 PM and the Buffet Dinner will be available beginning at 5:30. The cost is $10 per person and checks should be made payable to the “Shaker Booster Club” and returned to Coach Gansle or Coach Springstead.
Indoor Track is soon approaching. Look for more information on keys dates in the next couple weeks. Parents should mark their calendars for the Winter Sports Night informational meeting on Tuesday, November 25th. The first Indoor meets are usually held the first weekend in December. Complete schedules will be posted on shakerrunning as soon as they are final. Athletes should submit the necessary health forms to the school nurse.
Girls Team Update: (By Katy Sniffen) Crossings-Freshman Kayleigh Lavender took first for Shaker and 5th overall in the race, with Kristen Moras in 8th and Meg Deguire right behind in 9th. Freshman placed 2nd overall beating Colonie 15-50, Averill Park 15-50, and taking second to Burnt Hills. Junior Varsity took second with Blaire Burke and Christine Hall placing top two for Shaker. Beating Burnt Hills 20-41, and Averill Park 15-50, taking second to Colonie 29-28. Varsity took third overall with Emma Risler placing 4th overall with Zosia Dunn behind in 7th. Beating Averill Park 15-47, taking third to Burnt Hills and Colonie. Good job Shaker!
