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Cross Country

ND, Pembroke represent area well at Cross Country States

By Eric Geitner

The fantastic season of the Notre Dame Boys Cross Country Team wrapped up with a third place finish at the New York State Cross Country Championships at Sunken Meadow State Park in Long Island.  Beaver River was the winning team with 57 points and Barker squeaked ahead of ND by one point.  Junior Kevin Pawlak was the top Irish harrier, finishing in 18th place in 18:05.  Freshman Quin O'Connor, ND's #1 man, was injured on the first downhill of the race after the mile mark, but fought through the final two miles to finish in 24th place in 18:15 (it was discovered yesterday that he fractured his heel in the race.  He will be back on his feet in late December).  Senior Eric Shormann had another great race and finished 40th, with Seniors Matt Jackson 44th, and Taylor Alexander 55th.  Junior Nate Flumerfeldt came in 71st and Freshman Marshall Argenta was 109th. 

The Pembroke team ran to a seventh place finish with 156 points.  Newark Valley won a one point decision with 62.  Colin Bartholomew taking 24th place.  Matt Seward was 48th, Adam Mahaney 69th, Kyle Mauer 70th, Mark Riegel 91st, Ben Farley 103rd, and Ethan Burns 108th. 

Other area racers included:  Class C Girls: Kristina Martin of Holley placed 21st, Katie Piechowiak of Attica placed 60th.  Class D Girls:  Kim Mills of Oakfield placed 7th, Liz Valento of Pavilion placed 10th.  Class B Girls:  Angela Jarvela of Batavia finished in 23rd place.  Class C Boys:  Frank Johnson of Letchworth placed 14th, Jaked Krautweist of Leroy placed 34th and Jack Bennett of LeRoy placed 51st.  Class D Boys:  Kevin Grazioplene placed 8th, Justin Richardson of Pavilion placed 17th, and Craig Cicero of Perry finished 25th.

Congrats to all the Cross Country runners from the area on a great season!

 

Notre Dame, Pembroke moving on to State Championships

By Eric Geitner

The Cross Country Programs at Notre Dame and Pembroke are celebrating as both will be representing Section V in the Boys New York State Cross Country Championships at Sunken Meadow State Park in Long Island. 

The Pembroke Team won a close one over Greece-Odyssey and Leroy, who tied for second in the Class C race.  Pembroke and Odyssey have been back and forth all year, but Pembroke got it done on Saturday.  Colin Bartholomew of Pembroke took second in the race with Matt Seward behind in 5th place.  Odyssey made a surge taking 7th, 9th 10th and 11th place, but Pembroke got their next three runners in, Kyle Maurer 13th, Adam Mahaney, 15th and Ethan Burns 16th to seal the win for Pembroke. 

In the Class D race, Notre Dame won its third consecutive sectional title, and outdistanced Oakfield by 15 points in the merged D/DD resutls to earn the school's first ever Boys Cross Country Team representation at the State Meet.  Freshman Quin O'Connor battled Kevin Grazioplene of Oakfield the whole way, finally breaking away with 1/2 mile to go in the race to break the tape in first.  Notre Dame put their top five in the top ten of the Class D race to easily win the Class D title.  Kevin Pawlak placed 5th, Eric Shormann 7th, Matt Jackson 8th, and Taylor Alexander 10th.

The Genesee-Livingston Cross Country League won ever class that it represented and has many representative moving on to the State Meet.  Here is a rundown:

Boys Team Championships:  Class B -- HFL,  Class C -- Pembroke,  Class CC -- Bath-Haverling,  Class D -- Notre Dame,  Class DD -- Oakfield

Girls Team Championships:  Class B -- HFL,  Class C -- Byron Bergen,  Class CC -- Attica,  Class D -- Geneseo,  Class DD -- Oakfield

Along with the Pembroke and Notre Dame Boys Teams qualifing for the state meet, HFL Boys and Girls Team also qualified.  Many league individuals also qulaified for the State Meet.  The boys that will be representing Section V and the GR/LC League are:  Frank Johnson of Letchworth Jake Krautwuist and Jack Bennett of Leroy, Cohen Miles Rath of Wayland-Cohocton, Kevin Grazioplene of Oakfield, Ben Strickland of Geneseo, Craig Cicero of Perry, Justin Richardson of Pavilion,

The girls that will be representing Section V and the GR/LC League are:  Kristina Martin of Holley,  McKenzie Bennett of Dansville, Katie Piechowiak of Attica, Abby Decker of Wayland-Cohocton, Kim Mills of Oakfield, and Liz Valento of Pavilion.

 

Cross Country's Best Racing Today

By Eric Geitner

The Genesee/Livingston Cross Country League boasts some of the best runners in Section V.  Those runners will all face-off today at the GR/LC Cross Country Championships today at Genesee Community College.  This is the final tune-up before the Section V Championships held on November 1 at Marcus Whitman High School.  For some of the runners, this will be their last race, as only the top ten of each team can race at Sectionals (top seven in the varsity race, and 8-10 in a sub-race).   With many of the teams in this league ranked not only in Section V, but also the state, it will be an exciting race to watch.

Boys Race 4:30

Girls Race 5:05

 

Lady Irish Fifth at Clarence

By Eric Geitner

The Notre Dame Girls Cross Country Team placed fifth in the small school race at the Clarence Invitational held at Akron Falls Park.  Ashley Calarco, still bothered by a tender foot,  placed second in the race in 21:31.  Teammate Jill Marshall placed 20th with 23:34.  Meghan Zickl (24:25), Rachel Berggren (25:12), and Haley Alexander (29:53) rounded out the scoring for the Irish.  Other finishers included Teresa Jackson (30:52), Kate Spadaccia (32:55), Tia Arnold (34:47), and LeeAnn Tindell (34:47).

While the Irish Varisty Team took the race off, the JV's raced to place 13th among all schools.  Andrew Fischer led the charge placing 53rd in 20:37.  Vince Stadler (22:10) and Matt Sausner (22:15) placed 95th and 98th respectively.  Conlan Edwards (30:55) and James Barcomb (41:43) rounded out the scoring for the Irish.

All Genesee/Livingston County Cross Country Teams will be in action on Thursday at Genesee Community College for the GR/LC County Championships.  The Boys race begins at 4:30, with the Girls to follow at 5:05.

ND Cross Country Wins Division III Title

By Eric Geitner

It has been about 8 years since the Notre Dame Boys Cross Country Team won the Division III League title.  The Irish captured the title yesterday after beating Pembroke, Alexander, Attica, and Pavilion at Pembroke High School to finish the regular season at 19 – 2. 

 

The 6th, 7th, 8th , and 9th place finishes of Matt Jackson, Kevin Pawlak, Eric Shormann, and Nate Flumerfeldt ensured the victory for the Irish.  Quin O’Connor placed 2nd in the race.  Taylor Alexander, Marshall Argenta, Conlan Edwards and Matt Sausner all had very solid performances.  Colin Bartholomew of Pembroke won the race, just 1/2 second ahead of O'Connor.  The team scores were as follows:

 

Notre Dame 23, Pembroke 31

Notre Dame 19, Pavilion 39

Notre Dame 15, Alexander 47

Notre Dame 15, Attica 50

Pembroke 22, Pavilion 37

Pembroke 15, Alexander 48

Pembroke 15, Attica 50

Pavilion 19, Alexander 40

Pavilion 17, Attica 44

Alexander 20, Attica 37

 

The girls finished the regular season on a strong note, beating Pembroke, Alexander, and Pavilion, while dropping to Attica.  The girls stand in third place in Division III and complete the season at 14 – 7.

 

Ashley Calarco easily won the race and Jill Marshall took fourth the lead the Irish.  Rachel Berggren had a great performance for the Irish finishing 14th in the race.  The team scores were as follows:

 

Attica 23,  Notre Dame 32

Attica 19, Alexander 36

Attica 15, Pavilion 50

Attica 15, Pembroke 50

Notre Dame 26, Alexander 29

Notre Dame 15, Pavilion 50

Notre Dame 15, Pembroke 50

Alexander 15, Pavilion 50

Alexander 15, Pembroke 50

Pavilion and Pembroke were incomplete.

 

Various teams may be in action this weekend with the Alexander Invitational, at the Field of Dreams, and the Houghton Invitational this Friday night, and the Clarence Invitational at Akron Falls Park this Saturday.  All Genesee and Livingston County Cross Country Teams will be racing in the County Championship Meet at Genesee Community College next week Thursday, October 23.

 

ND Harriers Take Crown

By Eric Geitner

The Notre Dame Boys Cross Country Team came away with the crown on Saturday at the Pembroke Invitational.  ND knocked off Pembroke, the number one ranked Section V small school, by eleven points for the victory.  ND has been ranked third in the polls behind the Dragons and Oakfield. 

Freshman Quin O'Connor (17:17) placed third in the race, just a couple of seconds behind second place finisher Colin Bartholomew of Pembroke.  The Irish placed their top 5 runners in the top 15 of the race to secure the victory over the Dragons.  Kevin Pawlak finished 6th for the Irish in 17:51, with Matt Jackson 9th in 18:12, Nate Flumerfeldt 12th (18:26) and Eric Shormann 14th in 18:38.

The Genesee/Livingston Cross Country League finishes up their regular season this Tuesday.  The Irish are in a position to win the Division III title with wins over Pavilion and Alexander at Pembroke.  HFL looks to have Division I all wrapped up and Oakfield in full control of the Divison II title.

HFL tops ND Harriers

By Eric Geitner
The HFL Cross Country squads remain perfect after victories over Notre Dame, Wheatland-Chili, and Bath-Haverling at Oatka Park  The Notre Dame Boys raise their record to 15-2 and the Irish Girls to 11 - 6.  The boys posted victories over Bath and Wheatland and the girls claimed victory over Bath.
 
Notre Dame's Quin O'Connor broke into the HFL top runners and placed third in an impressive 17:07.  Steve Magnan and Alex Deir led the race with winning times of 17:03 and 17:04 respectively.  Other Irish finishers included:
8th    Matt Jackson          18:00
14th  Kevin Pawlak         18:25
15th  Eric Shormann      18:33
16th  Nate Flumerfeldt   19:03
27th  Taylor Alexander   20:17
30th  Andy Fischer        20:40
34th  Vince Stadler        21:17
35th  Matt Sausner        21:18
49th  Conlan Edwards    31:15
50th  James Barcomb    41:31
 
In the girls action, HFL's Jessie Brunett was the race winner in 20:03.  Jill Marshall of Notre Dame took over the reigns for the Irish for the slightly injuried Ashley Calarco (don't worry, nothing major).  Jill finished in 8th place to lead the Irish in 22:20.  Other Irish finishers included:
Meghan Zickl (23:57)  16th
Rachel Berggren (25:10)  23rd
Teresa Jackson (29:17)   32nd 
Tia Arnold (31:39)   35th
LeeAnn Tindell (33:24)  37th
 Kate Spadaccia (33:52) 38th.
 
The Irish Harriers are in action this Saturday at the Pembroke Invitational.

Notre Dame Boys Roll to Victory

By Eric Geitner
The Notre Dame Boys Cross Country Team improved to 13 - 1 on the season after easy victories over Geneseo, Holley, and Keshequa yesterday at Genesee County Park.  Team scores were:
ND 20, Geneseo 35
ND 15, Holley 49
ND 15, Keshequa 50. 
 
Quin O'Connor finished the course in 17:22 to place second, 20 seconds behind last years' Class D State Champion, Frank Johnson of Letchworth.  The fourth, fifith, and sixth place finishes of Kevin Pawlak (17:50), Matt Jackson (18:01), and Eric Shormann (18.20) sealed the deal for the Irish.  Nate Flumerfeldt (18:32) took the eighth spot to round out the scoring. Conlan Edwards and James Barcomb each had great races chopping off 3 minutes from their best times.  Other finishers for the Irish were:
Taylor Alexander   19:32  (12)
Marshall Argenta   20:11  (14)
Andrew Fischer    20:20   (15)
Vince Stadler       20:59   (18)
Matt Sausner        21:37  (22)
 
The Lady Irish dropped one to a very tough Geneseo squad while getting the victories over Holley and Keshequa.  Team scores were:
ND 40, Geneseo 20
ND 26, Holley 29
ND 15, Keshequa 50
 
Ashley Calarco was third in the race in 20:41 and Jill Marshall was eighth with 22:44.  Meghan Zickl (25:09), Rachel Berggren (25:11), and Teresa Jackson (28:53) rounded out the scoring for the Irish taking 14th, 15th, and 20th respectively.  Other Irish finishers were:
Tia Arnold     31:08   (23)
LeeAnn Tindell 31:16   (24)
kate Spadaccia  35:43   (25)
 
The lady Irish are now 10 - 4 on the season.

Notre Dame Harriers Impressive at McQuaid

By Eric Geitner

The Notre Dame Boys Cross Country Team turned in impressive performances at this past weekends’ 44th annual McQuaid Invitational at Genesee Valley Park in Rochester .  The team raced in the prestigious seeded race going against the State Champions from Pennsylvania and state ranked teams from New York , Ohio and Canada and placed 11th out of the 20 teams.  Quin O’Connor (16:17) clocked the fastest time for any freshman in all races posting a 21st place finish with Kevin Pawlak (16:49) following in 43rd.  Matt Jackson (17:16) finished 66th, Eric Shormann (17:33) 81st, Taylor Alexander(18:23) 105th, Marshall Argenta (18:57) 118th, and Andrew Fischer (19:00) 120th for the Irish.  In the Varisty B race, Matt Sausner (20:25) placed 112th and Vince Stadler (20:26) 114th.  Conlan Edwards made the two mark in 17:45.  

 

The Girls Cross Country Team also turned in some fast performances this past weekend at the McQuaid Inviational.  Ashley Calarco (19:48) came across the line in 7th place to lead the Irish to a 16th place finish.  Jill Marshall (21:58) was 59th, Meghan Zickl (23:16) 102nd, Rachel Berggren (24:18) 138th, and Teresa Jackson (26:19) 187th.  Tia Arnold (19:33) raced to the two mile mark along with Kate Spadaccia (22:25). 

The Fighting Irish drop a close one to the Hornets

By Eric Geitner

The Notre Dame Boys Cross Country Team suffered their first loss of 2008, dropping a one point decision to Oakfield (27-28).  The Irish cruised past Avon (18-42), Livonia (17-43), and Dansville (19-40).  Quin O'Connor (17:23) again led the Fighting Irish finishing second behind an experienced Kevin Grazioplene (17:14) of Oakfield.  Kevin Pawlak (17:52) placed fifth with Matt Jackson (17:57) just behind in sixth.  Eric Shormann rounded out the top 10 in 18:32.  Nate Flumerfeldt was the Irish fifth man placing 14th in 18:58, a lifetime best time on the flat and fast Avon course.  Marshall Argenta (20:39) had the best finish for the Irish, holding off an Avon and Dansville runner for the 26th spot, while Andrew Fischer also had a lifetime best time for the Irish finishing in 21:03.  The team is now 10-1.

 Other Irish finishers include:

Taylor Alexander  19:23  (16th)

Vince Stadler       21:14 (33rd)

Matt Sausner       21:42 (34th)

Conlan Edwards   33:50 (45th)

James Barcomb   43:52 (46th)

 

The Fighting Irish Girls were victorious over Avon (24-32) and Livonia (25-30) and lost to Oakfield (22-34) and Dansville (23-35).  Ashley Calarco (20:58) finished in second behind fellow state rep Kim Mills of Oakfield.  Jill Marshall was again strong for the Irish running a lifetime best of 22:44 to take the ninth spot.  Haley Alexander (23:56) made a strong last mile effort to place 17th with Meghan Zickl (23:58) taking 19th.  Rachel Berggren ran tough to place 26th in 25:45.  LeeAnn Tindell (33:59) looked very strong and showed great improvement in her 33rd place finish.  The Irish are now 8-3. 

Other Lady Irish Harriers:

Teresa Jackson  27:55 (27th)

Tia Arnold          31:51 (32nd)

Kate Spadaccia  36:00 (34th)

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