Tornado Boys XC place sixth at McDaniel-Baxter Invite
Robert Jeffrey
Sun Sports Contributor
sports@evesun.com
BINGHAMTON – The Norwich Purple Tornado boys and girls varsity cross-country team competed at the historic McDaniel-Baxter Invitational at Chenango Valley High School on Saturday September 16.
Out of the 18 teams that competed at the former 1940s New York State Championship XC site, the Norwich Purple Tornado boys placed sixth with 242 points, as they found themselves among the giants of Section IV’s distance-running dominant teams. As for the NHS girls, they placed ninth out of the 10 teams in attendance with 205 points, facing the same difficult opposition that their male counterparts experienced.
For the boys, Noah Bufalini topped the NHS scoring off with a 25th place finish, running a time of 15:45 over the 4000 kilometer course.
Running pace with Bufalini was teammate O’rion Slater. Slater crossed the tape in 36th place, while finishing 19 seconds back of Bufalini for a time of 16:04. Emerging out among the pack of STAC runners, was Stanton Baker of the Purple Tornado boys team, placing 48th with a time of 16:32. John Matlack-Grey was the fourth NHS harrier to finish the race, with a time of 17:08, placing 63rd among the massive field of 130 runners. The final Purple singlet athlete to complete the race and the subsequent scoring was Jacob Russell who completed the scoring for the boys, in 74th place with a time of 17:24 as the fifth NHS runner to finish. Right behind Russell was teammate Zayn Harper in 75th place- acting as the Tornado’s displacement runner, and racking up their opponent’s scoring. Harper subsequently timed 17:28 to conclude his duties for the NHS distance team.
Moving over to the girls’ side of the course, Nicole Jeffrey was the top NHS woman to cross the finish line placing seventh out of the 78 runner field with a time of 18:26.
Notably, the battle for sixth and seventh place in the girls race was an especially exciting finish as Johnson City’s Molly Burdick and NHS’ Jeffrey duked it out, with Burdick just squeaking out the victory between the two cross-country titans. The second Purple Tornado to finish the race for the girls was newcomer Adrienne Vedder coming in at 22:11, earning a 51st place finish. The Tornado running pack of Nicole Mikalunas, Leslie Galeano, and Alison Mikalunas all finished within seconds of each other in times of 27:32 (N.Mikalunas), 27:33 (Galeano), and 27:45 (A. Mikalunas). The trio completed the scoring for the Purple Tornado with place finishes of 74th, 75th, and 76th. Freshman newcomer Katie Messick was the sole displacing runner for the Norwich squad, finishing with a time of 32:34, as she navigated and fought hard against the mud-filled and hilly course.
With perhaps one of the toughest courses in Section IV behind them, the Purple Tornado are set for practice this week, before traveling to Pheasant Hill Golf Course in Owego on Saturday, September 23, for the Owego Invitational. This upcoming meet will serve as a preview of the Southern Tier Athletic Conference meet when the Tornado’s Championship portion of the schedule takes shape. The first race of the Owego Invitational is set to start at 9 a.m.
Sun Sports Contributor
sports@evesun.com
BINGHAMTON – The Norwich Purple Tornado boys and girls varsity cross-country team competed at the historic McDaniel-Baxter Invitational at Chenango Valley High School on Saturday September 16.
Out of the 18 teams that competed at the former 1940s New York State Championship XC site, the Norwich Purple Tornado boys placed sixth with 242 points, as they found themselves among the giants of Section IV’s distance-running dominant teams. As for the NHS girls, they placed ninth out of the 10 teams in attendance with 205 points, facing the same difficult opposition that their male counterparts experienced.
For the boys, Noah Bufalini topped the NHS scoring off with a 25th place finish, running a time of 15:45 over the 4000 kilometer course.
Running pace with Bufalini was teammate O’rion Slater. Slater crossed the tape in 36th place, while finishing 19 seconds back of Bufalini for a time of 16:04. Emerging out among the pack of STAC runners, was Stanton Baker of the Purple Tornado boys team, placing 48th with a time of 16:32. John Matlack-Grey was the fourth NHS harrier to finish the race, with a time of 17:08, placing 63rd among the massive field of 130 runners. The final Purple singlet athlete to complete the race and the subsequent scoring was Jacob Russell who completed the scoring for the boys, in 74th place with a time of 17:24 as the fifth NHS runner to finish. Right behind Russell was teammate Zayn Harper in 75th place- acting as the Tornado’s displacement runner, and racking up their opponent’s scoring. Harper subsequently timed 17:28 to conclude his duties for the NHS distance team.
Moving over to the girls’ side of the course, Nicole Jeffrey was the top NHS woman to cross the finish line placing seventh out of the 78 runner field with a time of 18:26.
Notably, the battle for sixth and seventh place in the girls race was an especially exciting finish as Johnson City’s Molly Burdick and NHS’ Jeffrey duked it out, with Burdick just squeaking out the victory between the two cross-country titans. The second Purple Tornado to finish the race for the girls was newcomer Adrienne Vedder coming in at 22:11, earning a 51st place finish. The Tornado running pack of Nicole Mikalunas, Leslie Galeano, and Alison Mikalunas all finished within seconds of each other in times of 27:32 (N.Mikalunas), 27:33 (Galeano), and 27:45 (A. Mikalunas). The trio completed the scoring for the Purple Tornado with place finishes of 74th, 75th, and 76th. Freshman newcomer Katie Messick was the sole displacing runner for the Norwich squad, finishing with a time of 32:34, as she navigated and fought hard against the mud-filled and hilly course.
With perhaps one of the toughest courses in Section IV behind them, the Purple Tornado are set for practice this week, before traveling to Pheasant Hill Golf Course in Owego on Saturday, September 23, for the Owego Invitational. This upcoming meet will serve as a preview of the Southern Tier Athletic Conference meet when the Tornado’s Championship portion of the schedule takes shape. The first race of the Owego Invitational is set to start at 9 a.m.
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