Records may be made to be broken, but the best anyone’s going to be able to do with this one is tie it.
Courtney Chapman led an unprecedented Fayetteville-Manlius sweep of the first five spots in the girls Class AA race as the Hornets posted a perfect score en route to their fourth straight New York State Public High School Athletic Association cross country championship on Saturday at SUNY-Plattsburgh.
Chapman finished in 17 minutes, 25.4 seconds and was followed across the line by teammates Molly Malone, Jillian Fanning, Mackenzie Carter and Katie Sischo. F-M's sixth and seventh runners placed 15th and 20th, respectively, as the Hornets topped second-place Saratoga by a 15-59 score.
To put the perfect score in perspective, the lowest winning point totals at the NYSPHSAA meet – always one of the most competitive in the country – were 18 by Saratoga in 1998 and 2004, and 19 by the Blue Streaks in 1993.
F-M is the three-time defending champion at Nike Team Nationals at Portland, Ore. The Hornets boys team also triumphed at the 60th annual NYSPHSAA championships.
Section II schools reeled in three team championships as the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake boys (Class A) and Greenwich girls (D) repeated and Queensbury won the Class A girls crown. Otis Ubriaco improved a notch upon his second-place showing a year ago to pave the way for Burnt Hills. The junior crossed the line in 15:43.4. Burnt Hills senior and Section II champ Scott Maughan finished third.
Had F-M not blown the ‘AA’ field away, the girls achievement of the day would have been Aisling Cuffe of Cornwall breaking her own course record. The junior won her first Class A crown in 17:00.1 to leave the rest of the field approximately 300 yards behind at the finish.
"It feels really satisfying that I finally could pull it off," Cuffe told The Times Herald-Record. "I am just really happy. It's a nice title to call myself a champion, and it can only happen at a state meet."
Cuffe was expected to duel with Emily Lipari, but the Roslyn ace withdrew from the meet with an ankle injury. Lipari won the race in 2007 and again last fall by five seconds over Cuffe.
"Ideally, you want to race the best," Cornwall coach Dave Feuer said, "but the way Aisling is running, to be honest, we think the result would have been the same."
Football: Jamestown, Chenango Forks set up key Class C semifinal
Dominating rushing attacks by a pair of former Class B powerhouses over the weekend set up a much-anticipated NYSPHSAA football semifinal. Chenango Forks churned out 381 rushing yards and stymied General Brown 27-0 for its fourth shutout in five weeks and seventh this season. Jordan Barnett ran for two scores, and Jimmy Miller rushed for 155 yards.
"Speed kills, that's what they say, and it's so true," winning coach David Hogan told The Press & Sun-Bulletin. "We've got a lot of team speed, a bunch of kids who can score from anywhere on the field."
Defending state champion Jamestown Southwestern broke to a 21-0 lead and beat Letchworth 28-14 by holding the Indians without a first-half first down. Seniors Levi Bursch (16 carries) and John Mistretta (14) ran for 112 and 111 yards, respectively for Southwestern, which was minus two-way starters Tanner Delahoy and Trevor Schutte.
Chenango Forks is 11-0 in its first season since moving up after a long run of Class B success that included state titles in 2003 and ’04. Southwestern was a regular Section VI contender in ‘B’ until dropping down in 2007 and has rolled up a 32-2 mark since.
File photo by Kevin Yen
Dan Scalo, Monroe-Woodbury
More football: Two No. 1 teams eliminated
No. 1 Monroe-Woodbury's four-year domination of the Class AA eastern bracket ended with a 21-14 loss to New Rochelle, ranked No. 2 by the New York State Sportswriters Association. New Rochelle put up 21 second-quarter points and then held on. M-W's last chance ended with a failed Dan Scalo scramble on 4th-and-20 at the New Ro 30.
The Crusaders' Trevor Officer broke a 49-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage, but New Rochelle subsequently drove 17 plays (including two fourth-down conversions) and 80 yards to a TD.
Monroe-Woodbury is 68-5 since 2004 season, with all the losses coming in the state playoffs.
Westmoreland, also ranked No. 1, exited in the Class D quarterfinals with a 40-11 loss to Groton. Tailback Ethan Tilebein rushed 24 times for 221 yards and three touchdowns, and the defense held the Bulldogs to 195 yards. Tilebein put up a 77-yard TD run in the first quarter and a 10-yarder in the second. Groton broke it open with three touchdowns in the final 4:39 of the first half for a 27-3 lead.
More football heroes and highlights
* Baldwinsville maintained its late-season momentum with a 49-34 victory against Union-Endicott by rolling up 399 rushing yards and 508 overall. All-state tailback Malik Burks ran 36 times for 217 yards and four touchdowns.
The Bees will take on North Tonawanda, which held on for a 26-24 win against Webster Schroeder. The Lumberjacks lost two-way standouts Aaron Davis and Steve Kijowski to injuries along the way, but Tom Sell stepped in to run 10 times for 131 yards and two second-half scores. Junior Joe Montesanti ran 16 times for 148 yards and caught five passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, also handling kicking duties after Davis had to leave.
* In Class A, junior Brandon Beatty set a career high with four touchdowns on just seven carries as Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake blitzed Malone, 54-13. Beatty scored on runs of 74, 14, 2 and 29 yards for Burnt Hills, which put up seven first-half TDs despite running just 15 offensive plays.
* Tyree Smallwood scored on runs of 6, 65 and 82 yards as Cornwall eliminated Yonkers Roosevelt 31-21.
* Defending ‘A’ champ Sweet Home rolled to a 33-7 win over Aquinas as Pat McMahon put on an impressive show. McMahon (18-for-26) threw for 202 yards, ran for 93 on 12 carries and registered 1½ sacks. Sweet Home has won 24 straight games since a loss to Aquinas in the 2007 quarterfinals.
* In Class B, Hornell swamped Cheektowaga 48-12 to give Section V its only win in five weekend games vs. the Buffalo area. Senior Austin Dwyer ran for a 35-yard touchdown on his team's second play and went on to pick up 224 yards and three TDs.
* Nanuet reached the semifinals for the first time since 1994 by ousting Highland Falls O'Neill 35-0 as Tom Hanney threw for one TD and ran for another en route to 95 rushing yards.
* Schalmont earned a berth against Nanuet by posting a 34-20 win over Beekmantown after falling behind 20-7 in the first half. Schalmont quarterback Vincent Gallo foiled the Eagles with touchdowns and 238 yards on the ground. Schalmont stopped Beekmantown on downs with the score 27-20 late in the fourth quarter, and Gallo ran 62 yards on the next snap to trigger a four-play TD drive to clinch the victory.
* Senior Jeff Law threw four touchdown passes to highlight Westhill's 41-14 victory over Johnson City. Law threw 9 yards to Ross to erase a 7-0 deficit and then connected twice with junior Nathan Nigolian for scores.
* In Class C, Hoosick Falls dropped a 27-point second quarter on Ogdensburg en route to a 51-6 romp. Mike Brewster went 15-for-17 for 192 yards in the first half, and Alex Hansen launched the big second quarter with a 71-yard TD on a screen pass.
* Eldred put up two TDs in the fourth quarter to edge Tuckahoe 21-14 and set up a semifinal against 2008 state finalist Moriah. With the score 7-7, Eldred unveiled a wildcat offense moving Ian Halloran (27 carries, 111 yards) to quarterback in a shotgun formation. It resulted in a six-play, 48-yard drive ending with a halfback option toss from Bobby Warden to regular QB Bryan Henry with 8:20 to play.
* Rensselaer's Jashem Hamilton swept 65 yards untouched for a touchdown on his team's first snap, but Moriah rallied to a 28-25 victory behind Ron Schofield's 41 carries for 210 yards and three touchdowns in a rematch of the Vikings' 19-0 victory a year ago.
* Holy Trinity will play for its first CHSFL championship since 1976 after defeating Iona Prep 27-18. Senior Anthony Brunetti, the school's career rushing leader, scored on runs of 25, 45 and 7 yards.
* In the other Class AAA semifinal, St. Anthony's beat Holy Cross 28-7 by posting all its points in the first quarter. QB Thomas Schreiber and running back Colby Fielder rushed for two touchdowns apiece.
* In the Section XI playoffs, Sean Moller kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired to give East Islip a 3-0 win over Riverhead to advance to a date against North Babylon.
* In Nassau County action, T.J. Virgona threw a 6-yard TD to Ray Acevedo with :13 left and Brendan Cohn kicked the extra point as Lynbrook edged Hewlett 28-27. The Owls trailed 27-14 in the fourth quarter.
* Lawrence shocked Plainedge 56-28 to reach the Section VIII Conference III final as Kenny Barnett returned the opening kickoff 98 yards and QB John Kinder ran for 156 yards and three more TDs. Kinder also threw for a score and returned an interception for a TD.
* Freeport's Kevin Allen, playing QB for the first time because Paul Ketchens broke a hand last week, ran for 292 yards and four TDs and threw for a score to beat Baldwin 34-0. Allen tied the Section VIII record for touchdowns in a season (29) by Amos Zereoue of Mepham in 1993.
* Garden City, which had defeated its first nine opponents by a combined 312-3 margin, escaped with a 21-19 victory against Carey after bolting to a 13-0 lead in Nassau Conference II action.
Boys soccer: Two longtime fixtures close out careers
Alex Bramall scored one goal and assisted on another in the second half to help Newburgh Free Academy beat Arlington 3-2 in a Class AA quarterfinal. Arlington, top-ranked in the state and rated No. 3 in the country by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, had been 21-0 against Newburgh since 1979 by a 71-5 scoring margin.
Arlington coach Gary Montalto is retiring with 542 victories and three state championships in a 31-year career.
Two-time defending Class C champ Red Creek dropped a 1-0 decision in overtime to Holland to close out Don Hartley's distinguished career. Hartley, 73, won 23 Section V titles and six state crowns. His final record is 569-129-77.
Hartley had retired in 1991 and returned to the bench eight seasons ago to revive a struggling program.
Girls soccer: U-E streak snapped
Union-Endicott had won all 18 of its games this season and didn't surrender any goals along the way. That streak, and the season, ended Saturday with a 2-1 loss to John Jay East Fishkill, the defending state Class AA champion.
"Coming into the game, knowing that they haven’t been scored on all year was a little intimidating," JJEF's Caroline Kaplan told The Poughkeepsie Journal. "We just needed to come out quickly and score."
Kaplan scored on a 20-yard blast nine minutes into the game, and then Sam McGuire scored what would be the winner 26 minutes into the match to break a 1-1 tie.
John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.