Cross country: Boys win CSC DII title

Craig, Temp make girl all-stars; Hitchcock, Capozza Flannigan make boy all-stars

(The Cooperstown boys celebrate their title Saturday in Westmoreland. Contributed photo.)

CROSS COUNTRY
Hawkeye boys win Center State Conference Division II

(Coach Jessie Ravage turned in this report from Saturday’s conference meet.)

WESTMORELAND — Westmoreland Central School hosted the Center State Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 26. Seventeen teams participated under bright, blustery skies with temperatures in the mid-50s. The junior high course is entirely on grass and is flat as a table. The varsity course adds 1.5 miles of wooded trail to the course, making it a lovely runners’ course but less of a spectators’ course.    

(Owen Capozza Flannigan, left, and Jonah Hitchcock show off their all-star patches Saturday. Contributed photo.)

The boys varsity achieved their goal of winning Division II in the league. Two of them – Jonah Hitchcock and Owen Capozza Flannigan – earned all-star status with finishes in the top 21 runners in the overall boys race. Both of Cooperstown’s varsity girls – sophomores Nora Craig and Olivia Temp – also achieved all-star status.  Collectively, nearly every runner continued improving over previous races. It was a very good way for the junior high teams to finish their seasons; the varsity teams continue two weeks more, when they will race in the Section III Championships and State Qualifier on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Mount Markham.

The junior high runners raced first. Quinn Catterson from Clinton finished first in the girls race, clocking a 10:09. Cooperstown’s Maggie Heavner was seventh (11:10).  Willow Burr was close behind in 12^th (11:20) in a field of 51 runners.

Clinton’s Druss Sonia led the boys race, clocking 9:05. Cooperstown’s Wyatt Flannigan finished third overall; he was edged near the finish by Westmoreland’s Liam Tylutki. Wyatt clocked 9:17. Eighth grader Taylor Kepner continued improving his racing with a 29^th place finish in 11:12. There were 68 boys in the race.

Adirondack’s Johanna Northrup led the varsity girls race and the Division I champion team — who won the overall meet with 29 points — in 19:39.  Cooperstown’s Nora Craig finished 14^th (22:19); Olivia Temp was 20^th (23:23) in a field of 77 runners.

(Nora Craig, left, and Olivia Temp celebrate their success Saturday. Contributed photo.)

The varsity boys competed in a field of 95 runners and tallied a third-place finish over all out of nine complete teams with 77 points. Remsen/Old Forge (DIII) scored 19 points followed by Clinton (DI) with 55. Waterville’s Danny Casatelli finished first overall in 16:42. Senior Jonah Hitchcock (12^th, 18:40) led the Cooperstown squad.  Freshman Owen Capozza Flannigan was Cooperstown’s second runner in 18^th (19:05). Brendan Heavner (24^th, 19:41) and Hu Agostino (27^th, 20:02) were the team’sthird and fourth runners. Elias MacLeish was the team’s fifth scorer in 36^th (21:03). George Reisenfeld and Seton Davis Fralick finished close together in 75^th (24:14) and 77^th (24:36). Ryan Norwood was 81^st (25:36) followed by Owen Nolan in 84^th (26:46).

Cross Country coverage in 2024 is sponsored by Stagecoach Coffee. Cooperstown Sports News is sponsored for the entire 2024-25 school year by NYS&W Railway. To sponsor coverage of a team, season or the school year, contact Greg at JYDBook@gmail.com.