The boys' cross-country team has a reason to smile with the exceptionally strong showing they have had so far this fall.
Courtesy photo
YORK - As the leaves begin to turn, thoughts drift to the postseason for many York High School athletes and coaches.
Teams gained momentum in the past few weeks that should aid their preparation for upcoming challenges in the playoffs.
Boys' X-C running strong
The boys' cross-country team ran in the Maine "Meet of Champions" on Oct. 4 in Belfast. Junior Alex Moser won the prestigious race with a blistering time of 16:28.
Regarding this outstanding individual performance, Coach Ted Hutch stated, "This was perhaps the best race ever for a York cross country runner."
Moser won by surging past six runners in the last mile of the race. Dan Herbein (18:01), Tristan Palhof (18:16), Brian Farrell (18:32), Mitchell Finitz (18:38), Aaron Waldman (18:46) and Silas Freeman (18:46) displayed excellent pack time, with only a 45-second split between the second and seventh runners.
Hutch proudly stated of his team, "They are the hardest working team I have ever coached and they are on their way to being the best."
Look for Hutch's team to emphatically make their mark in the conference race on Oct. 25 and state meet on Nov. 1. The next meet will be at Fort Foster in Kittery on Oct. 15.
Girls' cross-country overcomes injuries
Candace Jaffe's squad of runners raced in Wells on Sept. 25, and York placed seven runners in the top 10 finishers of the race for the second week in a row.
Michaela Swiatek set a new course record of 18:34 with her first-place finish. Following Swiatek was Monique Boutin in third place (19:57), Molly Carl in fourth (20:03), Liz Ferland in fifth (20:30), Brianna Eaton in seventh (20:51), Maggie Foster in eighth (21:01) and Kirsten Dean in tenth (21:16), leaving York with another near perfect score of 19, and earning the team the win over Poland, Traip and Wells.
Jaffe stated, "Reaha Goyetche, our third runner, experienced ankle pain, and was unable to race comfortably." Nevertheless, Jaffe was encouraged by her team's ability to step up for the injured Goyetche.
Next, the girls fielded a team for the "Meet of Champions." The team was troubled by nagging injuries and illnesses. Despite these setbacks, Jaffe's runners "took on the challenge and ran with the best in the state, and their combined efforts still placed them tenth out of 47 teams."
Swiatek (20:56), Boutin (21:16), Ferland (22:12), Eaton (22:49), Dean (20:30), Foster (23:50) and Allyson Johnson (24:50) comprised the top seven runners for the team.
Jaffe summarized her team's performance by stating, "This was by far the biggest race any of the girls had experienced, and I was extremely proud of the girls' efforts with the additional challenge of difficult course conditions. Though not at full strength, gutsy performances were evident throughout the day."
Field hockey builds on success
York field hockey had its share of success over the past two weeks. First, York defeated Lake Region 1-0 in a double-overtime contest. Kellee Cribby knocked in the only goal in the match.
Next, York topped Cape Elizabeth in a 3-0 shutout, with goal production from Hannah Keating, Lissy Enright and Anna Claire Pierce. Following this win, the girls edged out Falmouth 2-1, with Cribby netting both goals for YHS.
York also competed in a dramatic 2-1 victory against Wells. Wells scored the tying goal with only two minutes left in regulation. In the final 20 seconds, Ali Graziano capitalized on a broken corner play from Wells and buried the go-ahead score for York.
A hard fought 0-2 loss to Greeley snapped the girls' win streak.
Coach Barbara Marois stated that the team "played a solid game, but [was] unable to score on the chances" they created.
At press time, Marois and her team had three games left in the season, Gray-New Gloucester on Oct. 7, Wells on Oct. 10 and Fryeburg on Oct. 15.
