Barker boys, Newfane girls capture N-O cross-country championships

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – The field for the boys race leaves the start line at today’s annual Niagara-Orleans All-League meet at Lakeside Beach State Park.

The Barker boys and Newfane girls both locked up Niagara-Orleans League cross-country champions by scoring victories at the annual All-League meet held today at Lakeside Beach State Park.

The Barker garnered 52 points on the day to take top honors and complete a third straight perfect 14-0 N-O championship season and seventh in the last eight years.

Barker was led by the 4-7-8 place finish of Jack Hopkins, Jacob Arnold and Adam Wagner. The Raiders also had a good pack of four finishers in the 17-18-20-22 spots with Andrew Jenks, Michael Snell, Brent Bachman and Matthew Pestinger.

The leading quintet of runners including Avery Green (Roy-Hart), Samuel Auernhamer (Newfane), Tyler Arnett (Newfane), Jack Hopkins (Barker) and Evan Pappalardo (Albion) head out of the woods and along the lake shore as Medina’s Daniel Heil leads the following group.

The Newfane boys finished in the runner-up spot with 72 points followed by Roy-Hart 80, Albion 87, Akron 92, Wilson 108, CSAT 216 and Medina incomplete.

The second place finish pulled Newfane even with Roy-Hart in the final standings at 11-3 followed by Akron at 7-7, Albion 6-8, Wilson 5-9, CSAT 2-12, Medina 0-14.

Newfane’s Samuel Auernhamer was the individual winner with a time of 17:21.4 as his Panther teammate Tyler Arnett placed third.

Roy-Hart’s Avery Green placed second as the Albion duo of Evan Pappalardo and Brady Meakin, who finished fifth and sixth respectively, rounded out the All-League first team, which is comprised of the top seven finishers.

The field in the girls race heads around the first long curve on the course.

Placing their top seven runners in the top 20, the Newfane girls romped to a victory garnering 24 points on the day, 26 ahead of runner-up defending champion Akron’s 50.

Albion finished third with 77 points followed by Roy-Hart 118, Barker 121 and Wilson 134 as CSAT and Medina both had incomplete teams.

The 1-2-4-5 finish of Kim Goerss (20:11.8), Nina Burkard, Vanessa Burkard and Lydia Chunco led the way for Newfane. The Lady Panthers also had Allie DeBiaee in 12th, Caitlin Clark 17th and Lauren Boudeman 20th.

Newfane, which ended Akron’s three year sign, claimed the championship for the first time since the Lady Panthers won four titles in a row from 2008-2011.

The Lady Panthers finished the season with a perfect 14-0 record while Akron was 12-2, Albion 10-4, Roy-Hart 8-6, Barker 5-9, Medina 3-10, Wilson 3-11 and CSAT 0-13.

Akron was paced by the 3-6 finish of Margo Henley and Emma Chubb.

Albion was sparked by the trio of Emma Mathes in 7th place, Meredith Patterson 9th and Caitlin Malanowski 16th.

With Purple Eagles Coach Mark Hryvniak, right, encouraging his runners, Albion’s Emma Mathes and Meredith Patterson run along the scenic course followed by Medina’s Holly Heil.

N-O All-League Boys Race

Final Team Standings: Barker 52, Newfane 72, Roy-Hart 80, Albion 87, Akron 92, Wilson 108, CSAT 216, Medina incomplete.

All-League First Team – 1. Samuel Auernhamer (Newfane), 2. Avery Green (Roy-Hart), 3. Tyler Arnett (Newfane), 4. Jack Hopkins (Barker), 5. Evan Pappalardo (Albion), 6. Brady Meakin (Albion), 7. Jacob Arnold (Barker).

All-League Second Team – 8. Adam Wagner (Barker), 9. Mike Swinarski (Akron), 10. Casey Zuba (Akron), 11. Daniel Heil (Medina), 12. Evan Steier (Albion), 13. Nathaniel Johnson (Wilson), 14. Jordan Stoelting (Wilson).

All-League Third Team – 15. Ethan Gagne, (Roy-Hart), 16. Ben Bacon (Roy-Hart), 17. Andrew Jenks (Barker), 18. Michael Snell (Barker), 19. Kyle Full (Akron), 20. Brent Bachman (Barker), 21. Arion Lingle (Newfane).

Final League Standings: Barker 14-0, Newfane 11-3, Roy-Hart 11-3, Akron 7-7, Albion 6-8, Wilson 5-9, CSAT 2-12, Medina 0-14.

Albion Coach Mark Hryvniak sported a Halloween hat in keeping with today’s holiday.

N-O All-League Girls Race

Final Team Standings: Newfane 24, Akron 50, Albion 77, Roy-Hart 118, Barker 121, Wilson 134, CSAT incomplete, Medina incomplete

All-League First Team – 1. Kim Goerss (Newfane), 2. Nina Burkard (Newfane), 3. Margo Henley (Akron), 4. Vanessa Burkard (Newfane), 5. Lydia Chunco (Newfane), 6. Emma Chubb (Akron), 7. Emma Mathes (Albion).

All-League Second Team – 8. Gabriella Baker (Barker), 9. Meredith Patterson (Albion), 10. Hope Cummings (Akron), 11. Anna Rickard (Roy-Hart), 12. Allie DeBiase (Newfane), 13. Holly Heil (Medina), 14. Amanda Ciurzynski (Akron).

All-League Third Team – 15. Kelsey Ciemny (Roy-Hart), 16. Caitlin Malanowski (Albion), 17 Caitlin Clack (Newfane), 18. Jessica Haseley (Barker), 19. Alexandria Erb (Akron), 20. Lauren Boudeman (Newfane), 21. Cheyanne Wagner (Wilson).

Final League Standings: Newfane 14-0, Akron 12-2, Albion 10-4, Roy-Hart 8-6, Barker 5-9, Medina 3-10, Wilson 3-11, CSAT 0-13.