The Inside Track
Sunday November 2, 2008

Sunday November 2, 2008: Two Shaker runners qualified for the New York State Cross Country Championships based on their performance in the Section 2 Championships held at the Saratoga State Park on Friday October 31st. Ryan Egan and Craig Weiss were among the top five individual runners not on the winning team in the Class AA race. They are now eligible to compete in the NY State Championships to be held on Saturday, November 8th at Sunken Meadows in Long Island.

It was interesting to see how the top Shaker Boys in each grade level finished at the Sectional Championships. In the merged results (all Section 2 runners regardless of the size of their school), Shaker’s underclassmen demonstrated that a strong group of runners will be returning next year. Ryan Egan was the 4th overall junior class finisher, Casey Gilboy was the 9th fastest overall sophomore finisher and Mike Libruk was the #2 overall freshman to complete the course. In the Girl’s races, top Shaker finisher Zosia Dunn was the 9th fastest finisher of all juniors in the girls races and the next Shaker finisher was Laura Libruk, who was the second fastest 7th grader of all races at Sectionals.

Congratulations to the four Shaker athletes who were named to the 2008 Suburban Council Cross Country All Star team: Craig Weiss, Ryan Egan, Emma Risler and Zosia Dunn.

The Boys team moved up to #16 in last week’s ranking of Class AA teams in New York State. The team’s second place finish at Friday’s Section 2 Class AA Championships may help the team move even higher when this week’s rankings are announced.

For only the second time ever, (2007 was the only other year), the first seven Shaker runners each completed the course at Sectionals under 17 minutes. It was the 4th best average time (top five runners) for a Shaker Boys team ever run at the Sectional Championships.

The individual performances by several Shaker runners in the last couple weeks have assured they will move onto the Top 50 individual times run by a Shaker athlete at the Saratoga State Park. Seniors Will Schanz and Matt Blizinski had course PR’s on Friday that will allow them to join several teammates already on the list.

Reminder: 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: Key Dates - Thursday, 11/6 Boys Indoor Track Meeting 2:30 PM; Wednesday, 11/12 First Day of Boys Indoor Track Practice 2:30 PM; Tuesday, 11/25 Parents Winter Sports Information Night.

Help Wanted for www.shakerrunning.com coverage of Indoor Track: If you are interested in helping with articles, photos, videos, compiling records, interviews or in some other way, please contact bhickey@shakerrunning.com