Medina’s Heil wins All-League meet; Barker boys and Newfane girls retain N-O titles

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Daniel Heil, left, who took first place honors at today’s Niagara-Orleans All-League meet, meets here with his Mustangs teammate Jack Hill who placed fifth.

Medina High junior Daniel Heil captured top individual honors at the annual Niagara-Orleans boys cross-country All-League meet held today at Lakeside Beach State Park.

Heil posted a winning time of 17:47.7. His Mustang teammate junior Jack Hill also earned first team All-League honors with a fifth place finish.

The Barker boys team captured the league championship for the fourth straight year and the 8th time in the last 9 years by winning the meet to complete a12-0 season.

The Raiders garnered 41 points to win the meet as Newfane finished in second place with 63 followed by Wilson 71, Medina 115, Akron 118, Albion 139 and Roy-hart 159.

Barker was led by the 4-6-9-10-12 finish of Jacob Arnold, Jack Hopkins, Adam Wagner, Andrew Jenks and Matt Pestinger.

Medina’s Daniel Heil and Barker’s Barker’s Jacob Arnold battle for position. At right is Newfane’s Kim Goerss who won the girls race for the second year in a row.

Akron’s Mike Swinarski finished second and Wilson’s William Schwarzmueller third as the Newfane duo of Alan Lingle and Samuel Auernhamer placed 7 and 8 respectively to round out the top 10.

Evan Steier was Albion’s top finisher in 11th place while the Wilson duo of Trey Rees and Michale Seeley placed 13th and 14th.

The top 7 finishers earn first team All-League honors while the next 7 comprise the second All-League team.

The Newfane girls completed a second straight 12-0 N-O championship season by romping to a 37 point victory.

The Lady Panthers finished with 23 points followed by Albion 60, Akron 85, Roy-Hart 120, Wilson 143, Barker 144 and Medina 144.

Kim Goerss repeated as the individual champion with a winning time of 20:29.5 to lead the way for Newfane which took 5 of the 10 10 finishing spots. The Lady Panthers also had Nina Burkard second, Vanessa Burkhard third, Lydia Chunco seventh and Caitlin Clack 10th.

Albion had a pair of top 10 finishers as Emma Mathes finished sixth and Hannah Grammar eighth. The Purple Eagles also had Alanna Holman finish 11th and Mallory Adams 13th.

Akron’s Margo Henley placed fourth, Roy-Hart’s Anna Rickard fifth and Medina’s Hannah Heil ninth to round out the top 10.

Barker’s Gabrielle Baker placed 12th and Newfane’s Marina Ersing 14th to round out the second All-League team.

The field in the girls race breaks away from the starting line.

Medina’s Hannah Heil, left, and Barker’s Gabrielle Baker make the turn on the scenic Lake Ontario shoreline portion of the course.

The field in the boys race comes out of the first turn.