Amherst boys, girls win ECIC II races
Cross country

The Amherst Central boys and girls cross country teams didn't post the top team scores in Division II at last Saturday's ECIC Championships at East Aurora High School but they did field the winners of both races.

David Szymkowiak won the Division II boys race in a personal-best time of 15:41 and Brenna Symoniak took top honors in the Division II race in 18:00.7. Szymkowiak's time was second-best among all runners at the event. He had a 5:14 mile split.

Symoniak placed fourth out of all ECIC schools.

"It's not often to have the same winner for the boys and girls races," said Amherst coach Bob O'Donnell. "It's a great accomplishment for the kids."

The Amherst boys took second at ECICs with 78 points. Nine out of ten runners had personal-best times. Jamie Schwartz (17:20), Kory Roche (17:59), Elliot Bible (18:24), Tyler Brown (18:28) and Nate Danziger (19:18 in JV race) were among some of the top personal-best times.

The boys finished second in ECIC II at 11-3.

The girls place third in ECIC II with 83 points.

Tori Sosnowski finished in a personal-best 19:45 to earn all-star status, along with Symoniak. Olivia May (20:57), Diane Herzog (21:07), Violet Penna (21:56), and Caitlin Burke (23:11) all posted personal-best times.

Amherst finished 8-6 I ECIC II.

Williamsville North

The Spartans boys team ran its collective best team race of the year, averaging 17:03 among their top five runners. Their team time average was the third best in a powerful ECIC Division I and fourth best among all the ECIC teams competing Saturday at East Aurora High School.

The Spartans placed fourth in Division I with 112 points, just two points behind Frontier, who is ranked ninth in Western New York.

Geoff Hurley finished seventh in Division I in 16:11, thereby completing the Division I first team all-stars. Mike Thielman finished 15th in a personal-best time of 16:34.

Joe Seitz completed his best time in 17:12 to place third for the Spartans. Ryan Perry also ran his best time of the year in 17:26 as North's fourth man.

Coach Greg Stang's often used cross country mantra of "you're only good as your fifth man" held true to form as Tom Calandra moved up into the fifth man spot with his best time of the year, 17:44.

Other outstanding performances were turned in by Steve Willert (18:08), Robert Golightly (18:14), Pat Steadman (18:35), Carl Crawford (19:56), John Boser (20:02), Nate Chertack (20:26), Don Seitz (20:39), Rich Rockwell (20:44), Matt Helm (20:55) and Brad Weinstein (23:44).

North's divisional record is 7-7 and are focused to run very strong at Section VI championships Friday at Elma Meadows Golf Course. The boys compete in the Class AA race at noon. The winning team and the first five individuals not on the winning team advance to the New York State Championships held Nov. 10 at Section X's Norwood-Norfolk Central High School.

The Spartan girls team also competed exceptionally well at ECICs, placing seventh in Division I, scoring 164 points and ending with a 4-10 record. Leading the Lady Spartans was Rachel Dorogi, who finished 15th in Division I with an outstanding time of 20:24.

Kim Berus was 29th in 21:14 and Natalie Worley placed 38th in 21:45. Michele Bauman was 39th in 21:52 and Amy Loud placed 43rd and fifth on the team in a time of 22:44.

Other outstanding performances were turned in by Kaila Raybuck (23:04), Dawn Hu (23:58), Shelby Gray (23:58), Jessica Leising (24:02), Stephanie Kranz (25:46), and Eden Fried (27:03).

North competes in sectionals at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.

Williamsville South

The boys and girls teams finished sixth in the ECIC Division II races, with the girls taking 15th place overall and the boys taking 19th. Both teams finished with 4-10 records.

The girls were led by the 23rd place finish of sophomore Amanda Breymeier in 19:31, followed by sophomore Jenny Mooney (59th) and captain Colleen Hurtubise (86th). Laura Johnston, Rachel Zucker, Santana Coon, and Lauren Mosier completed the scoring for South with finishes of 101, 124, 125, and 137. Breymeier was just edged out at the finish and made the second team All-Division team.

The boys were led by junior John Stark in 62nd place with a time of 17:36. Bruce Hibler (109th), Mike Herr (120th), Alex Podvezko (127th), Chris Bowers (131st), Jake Vogan (140th), and Will Freeman (155th) completed the scoring for the boys team.

Sweet Home girls

The Lady Panthers took home fifth place in ECIC Division I.

Katie Niblock placed 17th overall in ECIC I in a time of 20:26.5. Colleen Kozlowski placed 21st at 20:37.6. Laura DelSignore came in 27th at 21:02. Katie Gambles was 28th at 21:05. Elyse Cramer finished 35th at 21:27.6.