All of Section X met in Potsdam on Tuesday, Sep. 19 for the first league meet of the season, on the course that will be used for Interdivisionals. The muddy conditions were the worst that the Bears had seen so far this year, but they battled through, with the boy’s team coming out on top of the section and the girl’s team falling just short of Norwood-Norfolk. The course had only a few hills, and would typically have been very quick, but the muddy section the runners went through twice added to everyone’s times.
Norwood-Norfolk’s Maddy Carista led her team to a first-place finish, placing first in the Section in 20:52.40, eight seconds ahead of second place. The next three places all finished within seconds of each other, with second place going to Canton sophomore Bennett Schmitt in 21:00.00, followed by her teammate freshman Ori Casserly, who finished in 21:01.80, with a personal record. Fourth place went to Allie Snell from Norwood-Norfolk, who finished just behind Schmitt and Casserly in 21:03.00. Canton’s third-place runner was junior Johanna Tupper, who placed eighth in 23:13.10. Freshman Lena Frank from Canton placed 12th in 23:39.60, and junior CJ McKinley placed 15th in 24:18.80. The depth of Norwood’s team was able to overcome Canton, who placed second overall. The final scores were Norwood-Norfolk in first, with 25 points, Canton with 37 points, Franklin Academy with 75 points, and Brushton-Moira in fourth with 101 points. No other girl’s team had a complete lineup.
On the boy’s side, the first three places went to the same schools, with Norwood-Norfolk’s Dominic Fiacco placing first in 16:46.90, massively gapping the rest of the field. He was followed by Canton junior Aiden Rodriguez-Doyle, who placed second in 18:17.40, and his teammate, junior Lucas Watts, who placed third in 18:20.20. Canton’s next three finishers were sophomore Adam Sabatini, who placed eighth in 19:22.20, junior Kaden Worthley, who placed ninth in 19:51.80, and sophomore Ciaran O’Brien, who placed 21st in 21:19.90. Although Canton was missing Rylan Lee-Powell, one of their top three runners, they were still able to keep their winning streak, beating every team in the section with a score of 42. The rest of the final scores were Norwood-Norfolk with 59 points, Franklin Academy with 65 points, Potsdam with 69 points, Brushton-Moira with 127 points, Massena with 159, and Ogdensburg in seventh with 205.