Burnt Hills lives up to ranking at Guilderland

Being tabbed as the thirdranked team in the preseason national rankings could serve as a heavy burden heading into the cross country season, but, given the experience within the Burnt Hills boys’ team, the lofty expectations are more of a challenge than a distraction.

The Spartans were well represented on top of the standings at the 48th annual Guilderland Invitational on Saturday as seniors Tyler Berg and Evan Brennan staged a speed duel to the finish and Burnt Hills took the team title on the 2.86-mile course at Tawasentha Park.

Berg and Brennan took control of the race at the one-mile mark and pulled away, with Berg finishing in 14 minutes, 32.29 seconds, narrowly defeating Brennan (14:32.45) as the pair sprinted together toward the finish line.

“We started to pull ahead a little bit through the second mile,” Berg said. “We really wanted to work the last part, just finish strong.”

The Spartans, winners of the past two Class B state championships and the defending Federation champs, returned six of their top seven runners from last year, a fact that has helped increase expectations.

With the season just getting under way, many obstacles await the Spartans before sectionals in November.

“Just being consistent, not tiring ourselves out too much before the end of the year,” Brennan said. “You have that looming thought of injury all year so you have to make sure to be careful. It is one thing to be ranked No. 3 early in the season but it means absolutely nothing if you can’t finish it up.”

Burnt Hills’ Aidan Gillooley was third and teammates Nick Hunziker and David Metacarpa finished in the top eight.

Rory Graham of Burnt Hills won the girls’ race for the second consecutive year.

Graham typically struggles at the outset of races but came to Tawasentha Park with a different mindset.

“This year, my coach and I decided we were going to focus on an aggressive start because sometimes I tend to go out conservatively,” Graham said. “I had no fear and had faith in the plan.”

With a firm lead in hand, Graham proved to be adept on the hilly portions of the course.

“I like to be aggressive on the hills,” Graham said. “The tight turns, especially on the downhills, can be tricky sometimes to handle. I personally like the hills. It gives me something to focus on. Having the hills to focus on for me is big in racing.”

Guilderland won the team title behind top-five finishes from Olivia Fanshawe, Alexandria Vellekoop and Alexis Anagnostopulos.

Schuylerville junior Sunni Labounty won the small-school race and helped Schuyerville to the team championship.

Collegiate won the boys’ small-school team title and was paced by William Goodwin’s victory in the race.

Meet organizers decided to run the large- and small-school varsity races together prior to the race, a move welcomed by Ichabod Crane junior Olivia Oligny-leggett.

“I like having more competition to help push me to go faster,” Oligny-leggett said. “I was running with the Burnt Hills girls. We (her teammates) were planning on packing in the front (of the small-school race) but it changes things up when you know they are faster than us.”