NORWICH – While the cooler temperatures mocked that of the crisp autumn mornings and afternoons that the Purple Tornado harriers may have been used to. The team opened the 2021 season on Tuesday on their new 5K home course at the grounds of Norwich High School, unlike their classic XC course at Gibson Elementary School.

Despite a strong showing in their season opener the Tornado lost a 25-32 decision to the Oneonta Yellowjackets.

NHS’ Steven Kman placed first overall navigating the 5K course in 18:05 with teammate Makaio Sutton right behind Kman finishing in second place timing 18:24. Andrew Mecarriello placed eighth for the Tornado in a time of 21:29 and teammate Zander Sutton timed 21:46 for a ninth place finish. Kyle Vanderwyde’s 12th place finish in a time of 27:43 rounded out the scoring for the Tornado. Nick Deady was the sole displacement runner for the Tornado as he finished 13th.