Barker, Akron claim N-O cross-country titles
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Competitors in the boys race begin to spread out during the annual Niagara-Orleans All-League championship meet held this morning at Lakeside Beach State Park. The race winner, Barker’s Sergio Cruz, is in front at the left.
LAKESIDE – The Barker boys and Akron girls teams both completed perfect 14-0 championship seasons with victories at the annual Niagara-Orleans All-League cross-country meet held this morning at Lakeside Beach State Park.
The Barker boys literally ran away from the field taking six of the top eight finishing spots. The Raiders garnered 17 points to win the team title as Newfane was a distant second with 81. Akron finished third with 93 points followed by Medina 125, Wilson 133, Albion 140, Roy-Hart 158 and CSAT 186.
Barker’s Sergio Cruz won the race in a time of 17:22.4. He was followed across the finish line by three of his Raider teammates as Bryce Moeller took second, Hayden Hathaway third and Casey Webb fourth.
Medina’s Dalton Cerbone placed fifth, Wilson’s Trey Rees sixth and Barker’s Douglas Bachman seventh to round out the first All-League team.
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Dalton Cerbone, who placed fifth, crosses the finish line.
The second All-League team (8th through 14th places) included in order: 8th – Chris Sweeney (Barker), 9th – Tyler Gratz (Akron), 10th – Dustin Walters (Barker), 11th – Derek Edgar (Akron), 12th – Tanner Gregoire (Barker), 13th – Samuel Auernhamer (Newfane) and 14th – Austin Heil (Medina).
Earning honorable mention (15th through 21st places) were: 15th – Ethan Morgan (Newfane), 16th – Nolan Bouchane (Barker), 17th – Wesley Trank (Wilson), 18th – Codie Liddell (Newfane), 19th – Octavio Smith (CSAT), 20th – Brent Bachman (Barker) and 21st – Eric Papke (Akron).
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – The competitors in the girls race are still in a pack shortly after leaving the starting line.
The Akron girls successfully defended their title by winning the meet with 28 points. Newfane placed second with 63 points followed by Barker 85, Roy-Hart 122, Wilson 124, Albion 129 and CSAT 184.
Akron was led by the 2-3-6 place finishes by the trio of Margo Henley, Eliza Papke and Kylee Schultz.
Newfane’s Kelly Bochnewetch won the race for the second year in a row in a time of 19:41.3.
Newfane’s Kimberly Goerss placed fourth, Medina’s Holly Heil fifth and Albion’s Meredith Patterson seventh to round out the first All-League team.
Photo By Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Holly Heil, who placed fifth, runs along the scenic lake shore portion of the course.
The second All-League team was comprised, in order by: 8th – Alexandria Erb (Akron), 9th – Katie Pryzbyl (Barker), 10th – Victoria Couturier (Wilson), 11th – Chelsea Herriven (Roy-Hart), 12th – Gina Henley (Akron), 13th – Laura Auernhamer (Newfane) and 14th – Emma Chubb (Akron).
Earning honorable mention were: 15th – Melissa Pestinger (Barker), 16th – Emily Faltyn (Roy-Hart), 17th – Hannah Wehling (Albion), 18th – Emma Jenks (Barker), 19th – Gabrielle Baker (Barker), 20th – Jenna Robnett (Akron) and 21st – Yvette Rodriguez (CSAT).
