The Inside Track
Sunday November 1, 2009

Sunday November 1, 2009: Saturday’s Suburban Council Championships brought mixed results for the Shaker teams. The Boys Frosh, again running without three of their top seven ninth graders, were led by Max Morgan. His third place finish placed him in the top five all-time performances by a Shaker freshman over the Saratoga Frosh course. The JV Boys team finished second in their race and were led by Dylan Hedderman, Jeff Heim, freshman Adam Schwenzfeier and Alex Layden. The Varsity Boys team finished a disappointing third behind Burnt Hills and Shenendehowa. The first four Shaker Boys, Ryan Egan (4th), Dave Marthy (8th), Mike Libruk (14th) and Jon Vallecorsa (15th) were virtually tied with second place Shen after each team had four runners across the line. However, Shen had their next three runners cross the line before another Shaker runner completed the course. Any of those three runners could make the difference this Friday when Shaker is expected to battle Shen for the opportunity to represent Section 2 Class AA in the New York State Championship Meet the following week. (Note: Burnt Hills will be competing in a different race for Class A schools). Suburban Council Championships Results

In the Girl’s Suburban Council races, the Shaker Frosh team was led by Meg Deguire, Emily Franko and Jessica Dzialo. In the JV race, Jennifer Jin, Eileen Jin and Jackie Heim were the top Shaker finishers. Top finishers for the Varsity Girls team were Blair Burke, Emma Risler, eighth grader Laura Libruk and Zosia Dunn.

This Week: The top ten runners for the Shaker Boys and Girls teams will compete this Friday at the Class AA Sectionals at Saratoga State Park. The Boys will run at 10:30AM and the Girls at 1:00PM. The Shaker Boys are expected to battle with Shen for the team title and the chance to represent Section II Class AA at the State Meet. Directions to Saratoga State Park

Be sure to check out the Suburban Council Championships Photo Gallery which feature many great photos from this past Saturday's race. Thanks to Mr. Fallon, Mrs. Lavender, and Mr. Hines for sending in photos this week. Updated Photo Galleries from every meet this season are available on the Cross Country Photos Page. As always, photos from the meets are welcome for submission to bhickey@shakerrunning.com

Steve’s Last High School Cross Country Race: Many of the spectators along the course approaching the finish line must have been confused. The Boys JV race had ended and the clock was showing they were already about 8:00 minutes into the Varsity Girls race. Some of the fans along the last 100 yards before the finish line started to cheer and clap. Still out on the course was Shaker senior Steve Huneau who was hobbling toward the finish line long after all other competitors had completed the JV race. Steve had struggled with injuries and sickness during his last high school Cross Country season. Yet it seemed that this year through fierce determination, he had managed to earn a personal best on most of the courses he had run over the last four years. While he will never be remembered as one of the fastest runners on the team, he has left his mark on the Shaker team. His heart, positive attitude and perseverance represent all that is good about high school running. Before the race, his ankle had been taped in what had become a pre-race ritual this season. On this day, the tape would not be enough to enable him to run the entire race. Displaying those same characteristics that had made him one of the team’s most well-liked members, he would not be denied the chance to finish his last high school cross country race. As he moved closer to the finish line, the cheers grew as people yelled encouragement to the limping athlete who was wearing his trademark white headband. “Go Huneau” …”Come on Steve” …and from many who didn’t know him by name “you’re almost there” or “good job” with an unspoken understanding that this kid was somebody special while not a winner by virtue of his medals, but certain to be a winner in his life. Many of the Shaker runners heard the noise and rushed to support their teammate as he completed the race. One official kept yelling “don’t touch him” as if a disqualification could have moved him lower in the standings. He crossed the finish line in his final cross country race with many of his teammates providing support and encouragement…just as he had done for so many of them over his high school years. [submitted to the Inside Track by Brian Hickey’s dad, Mike Hickey]

New Shakerrunning Profile: Shakerrunning.com recently conducted an interview with the Shaker Boy's top cross country runner, Senior Ryan Egan. Ryan Egan’s running success has improved dramatically in the last couple years. The distance runner has been a member of the Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track teams every year since he was a freshman at Shaker. While his performances early in high school could be described as ordinary, he began to show signs of his potential during his sophomore year...Full Profile and Interview.

The Indoor Track season is almost here! Be sure to have all your forms turned in to the nurse’s office. The Shaker Boys Indoor Track team will be holding an informational meeting on Thurday, November 5th at 2:30 in Taft Cafeteria, all boys running Indoor Track this year should attend. The Boys will hold their first practice on Monday November 16th. Click here to visit the 2009-2010 Indoor Track Page for health forms, updated preliminary girls and boys indoor track schedules, and other announcements.

Shakerrunning.com on Facebook: Congratulations to Emily Franko, who won the Shakerrunning.com Facebook contest this week. From the list of Shakerrunning.com fans on Facebook, Emily was randomly selected to win a promotional running prize pack that included a running watch, running backback, waterbottle, and headband. Please stay tuned for more announcements about upcoming contests over the next few weeks. To receive Shakerrunning.com updates on Facebook, become a fan today!

Girls Alumni Update (By Christine Hall): Kate Martel finished up her successful season with SUNY Geneseo at the Geneseo Invite 6k with a time of 25:02. She placed 14th for her team and helped her team to a first place finish. Natana Gordon finished the John Reif Memorial Run 5k with a time of 22:52, placing 13th for SUNY Buffalo and 44th overall. Christine Hall closed out her freshman season with Northeastern at the New England Championship meet, finishing the course in 21:26, a minute and 24 second PR over her previous race at Franklin Park. The girls' indoor track season will start sometime in December.

A special thanks to everyone who helped collect gifts for Ben Stowell's wish. The collection was a huge success with nearly 100 gifts collected. The Olsen family and everyone at Albany Medical Center would like to thank you for your support!