OBSERVER?Staff?Reports
Gowanda's Taylor Nielson took first place Tuesday as his Panthers placed second in high school cross country action.
Nielson finished the 3.1-mile Point Gratiot course in 18:27.
Article Photos
OBSERVER?Photo by Craig?Harvey
Gowanda’s Sarah Grubbs crosses the finish line in fifth place Tuesday in girls’ high school cross country action at Point Gratiot.
The second-place finisher, Southwestern's Ryan Hatrick, finished 28 seconds behind.
Southwestern took first place with 22 points, followed by Gowanda 38 and Dunkirk 71.
Gowanda's John Shaw placed sixth, followed by Dunkirk's Kevin Morales. Gowanda's Cole Smith and Lucas Myzel placed ninth and 10th, respectively.
The Marauders' Ray Tarnowski placed 13th and John Fountain took 14th.
In the girls' race, Gowanda's Colleen Skward placed second with a time of 22:39. First place went to Southwestern's Emily Kent with a time of 21:33.
Gowanda's Katie Stang took third and teammate Sarah Grubbs placed fifth. Liz Omicioli, also of Gowanda, placed sixth and Dunkirk's Asia Leonard placed eighth with a time of 25:03. Finishing out the top 10, Gowanda's Cayleigh Pracht finished with a time of 25:16.
See CROSS?COUNTRY,?Page B3
Dunkirk's Katie Promber took 14th and Nicole Bannister placed 16th.
"They are improving race after race which counts," Dunkirk coach Kurt Warmbrodt said.
The Marauders return to action Saturday when they host the Dunkirk Invitational at Point Gratiot.
Szukala, Reyda set course records
JAMESTOWN - Josh Szukala and Lauren Reyda each set course records as the Fredonia Cross Country team had a stellar performance Tuesday.
In the boys' race, Szukala finished the course in 17:22.5 to surpass the previous record of 17:37 in which he set last year.
Fredonia defeated Jamestown, Sherman and Franklinville at the Martin Road Complex.
Fredonia's Alex Crise placed second, followed by teammates Chaz Mancino, Jacob Brown and Mark Dudek.
Alex Glasier took ninth, but received a lot of praise from his coach.
"He was 1:44 faster and Jake Brown was 1:22 faster from last year," Fredonia coach Carol Zirkle said. "All the boys ran good races, but those two had the biggest improvement from last year. Overall, looking at the boys' effort, it was a great team effort."
In the girls' race, Reyda finished an incredible 1:42 faster than her time last year and broke the course record by a full minute.
Michaela Tramuta took fourth and teammate Meredith Zebracki took fifth. Brittany Campaign took eighth and Maitland Langworthy placed ninth for the Lady Hillbillies.
"The girls ran a very good team race," Zirkle said. "Corey Gullo ran her best race of the season and Meredith has been coming on strong since returning from leg injury."
Seiders leads Black Knights
BEMUS POINT - Hannah Seiders took fifth overall, leading the Black Knights to a second-place finish Tuesday in high school cross country.
Seiders finished the race in 21:29. Her teammates were Sarah Adams (11th - 24:40), Heather Serio (15th - 26:08), Beth Kehrer (16th - 26:19) and Trisha Pfleuger (17th - 26:20).
The Black Knights finished with 56 points while Maple Grove (16) ran away with first place. Frewsburg (61) and Olean (incomplete) also competed in the girls' race.
In the boys' race, Jack McAlevey was Silver Creek's lone representative. He finished in 22:12, good for 26th place.
Maple Grove (21) won the boys' race, followed by Frewsburg (52), Olean (58) and Silver Creek was incomplete.
