RSS Feed
|
|
Links: |
 |
Bee Home Page |
|
WNY Events |
|
Classifieds |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Larger North girls team off to great start
There are 12 runners for the Lady Spartans this season, three more than last year's team. Two years ago, he had four girls; the year before that, only three. "It's the largest girls team I've had in a long time," said Stang. "For a while, I was hard-pressed to get five girls." North is off to a good start, taking fifth at the Byron-Bergen Invitational and ninth at the Franklinville Invite. (For results, view other North story). The Lady Spartans are ranked tenth among Western New York large schools, its first top-ten ranking in 21 years. Leading North are co-captains Kim Berus and Kaila Raybuck. Berus, a junior, has been running cross country since seventh grade; Raybuck has been at North for all four years. Both attended Aim High Running Camp at Camp Aldersgate in Brantingham, N.Y. this past summer. "Both are natural leaders and mentally tough kids," said Stang. Stang said Berus is the team's top runner, although Raybuck raced well with Berus last year. Stang said Berus has a real passion for running. "You can see in her work ethic how much she wants it," said Stang. Senior first-year runner Michelle Bauman and sophomore Natalie Worley are neck and neck for the No. 3 spot in the lineup. Stang said Worley has shown the most growth as a runner on the team. "During the summer, Natalie ran with the boys team when she couldn't find any of the girls to run with," said Stang. "Like Berus, she has a real passion for running." Other North runners who should crack the starting lineup at some point this season are eighth-graders Sarah Loud and Rachel Dorogi. "I like that both will push the juniors and seniors in practice," said Stang. "It will make the others work a little bit harder." Senior Dawn Hu, junior Amy Loud, sophomores Jessica Leising and Stephanie Kranz, and freshman Eden Fried round out the team. Stang said the team is a work in progress. "If Kim (Berus), Kaila (Raybuck) and Michelle (Bauman) keep getting better and our eighth- graders develop, we could be a good team by the end of the season," said Stang. "I have to see how they develop because some of them don't have much racing experience."
North will find out how good they are when they host top-ranked West Seneca West at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26 at Bassett Park. They competed in the Don Hall Memorial Invitational on Tuesday but results were unavailable before The Bee went to press. Williamsville South The Williamsville South girls cross country team is faster and has more runners than in recent years thanks to an offseason program from its new coach. Sam Hasan, who coaches the school's indoor and outdoor track teams, started Speed Elite Sport Performance Club over the summer. The purpose of the club is to train athletes for speed and explosiveness. Runners that joined cross country for the first time partly because of the club are sophomores Amanda Breymeier, Rebecca Emo, Lauren Mosier, Santana Coon and Rachel Zucker, and freshman Maggie Kreuz. Senior Colleen Hurtubise; sophomores Maxine Meyerhofer (last year's team MVP), MC Aungst and Jenny Mooney; and junior Gretchen Szal, all returning runners, also ran in the club, as did several members of the South boys cross country team. Hurtubise, who Hasan calls the heart and soul of the team, returns as the team captain. Hasan said Breymeier has improved her time by at least two minutes. Other runners are freshman Maggie Kreuz and sophomores Laura Johnston, Rachelle Moyer and Allison Shubert. "I'm been very encouraged with everyone's training," said Hasan. "They've all worked their butts off." Dan Syracuse will serve as a volunteer coach. South opened its season competing in the West Seneca Invitational. The Billies finished seventh out of nine teams in the boys large school division.
South participated in the Don Hall Memorial Invitational on Tuesday but results were unavailable before The Bee went to press. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
News
)