LA SALLE INSTITUTE MAKES TEAMHISTORY

TROY - For the first time in team history, the La Salle Institute Cross Country team competed with the state’s best at the NYSPHSAA Championship on Long Island back on November 9.

The team is thrilled with the success they were able to achieve this season.

“My family has been doing it for about 20-ish years and I was the first one to make it to state for cross country so it was very nice for our family,” said Senior Captain Ronan Coughlin. “I have that up on everybody now.”

Coach John Leonard has coached La Salle Cross Country for more than 30 years, winning six Big 10 League titles, and finishing 2nd another six times.

He sees the accomplishment as a good team, striking at the perfect opportunity.

“We were in Class C for the first time this year. We have always been in Class A where we were running against Shen, Guilderland, or, in Class B, you are running against Burnt Hills who is always one of the top ten teams in the country. This year we knew sectionals wise, we had a better shot than the last few years,” said Leonard.

Leonard continued.

“If you look at our results week by week we got a little bit better and over the course of eight weeks, we got into the mix with other good class C schools,” said Leonard. “About three weeks before sectionals I told them we are one of the six schools I thought could win Class C in sectionals. I hadn’t mentioned it before that.”

Not only did La Salle make it to the state tournament, they locked the Section II Class C meet handily back on November 2 at Saratoga State Park.

La Salle scored a team total 67 points. The next lowest score was Schuylerville’s 113; a 46 point differential between the first and second place teams in Class C.

La Salle’s top runner was freshman Gitch Hayes, who ran a 16.47.88 and an average mile 5.31.6.

“It felt good,” said Hayes on the team’s accomplishment. “We ran as a pretty good team this year so it did feel good be-