Hayes, Saratoga girls Federation champs
Getachew “Gitch” Hayes of La Salle finished first overall at the state Federation meet at Chenango Valley State Park.
“It was soft and pretty dry,” Hayes said. “There were only two or three patches that were torn up. It was a good day and good conditions, pretty ideal.”
Hayes won the eight kilometer race in 15 minutes, 37.1 seconds. In doing so, he also captured his first Class B Federation title.
“The first half of the race is pretty much straight up hill and the second half is downhill and flat,” Hayes said. “I had a few guys with me in the first half, so I decided to surge at the top of the hill. I reached the top of the hill earlier, so I surged right at the top and going down hill. I made some space.”
In 2019, Hayes finished second in the Class C state championships and third overall in the Federation Meet. There were no championships in 2020. Hayes committed to attend the University of North Carolina earlier this month.
Ryan Bush of Saratoga and Julian Franjieh of Niskayuna finished 4-5 overall, respectively, and 2-3 in the Class A competition. Jack Gregorski of Corning won the Class A title.
Burnt Hills won the Class B team title and finished second in the overall standings behind Corning.
Peter Fulgieri, Matthew Rounds, Ryan Allison and Nick Grock finished 8-10, 13 to lead the Spartans to the team title.
In the girls’ competition, Emily Bush, Alycia Hart and Mackenzie Hart finished 2,4, 5 to lead Saratoga to the Class A team title. The Blue Streaks also finished first overall.
“We all just want to do good for each other, push each other to do the best we can. It is amazing, it is a great feeling to get back out here again and prove how much hard work we’ve put in,” Bush said. “I love my team so much and I’m glad I get to get with them every day and get to race with them.”
In Class C, Mariem Sayahi finished fifth in 19:18.2 to propel Voorheesville to a fourth-place finish.
Football: Owen Sherman threw five touchdowns to Ryan Dow to lead Schuylerville to a 52-0 win over Ogdensburg Free Academy Saturday in a state regional playoff game in Massena. The Sherman-Dow connection hooked up on touchdowns of 1, 46 and 34 yards in the first quarter as the Black Horses built a 22-0 lead. Dow caught two more scores of 20 and 15 yards in the second quarter to blow the game open. Led by Sherman and Dow, Schuylerville piled up 434 yards of total offense while holding Ogdensburg to 139 total yards. Sherman finished 8-for-9 with 190 yards through the air. Dow caught seven balls for 187 yards. Schuylerville will play Dobbs Ferry (Section I) at noon Saturday in Middletown in the state semifinals.