He ran a textbook race, but would you expect anything less from Cole Townsend?
The
Canisius (Buffalo) senior, an avid reader, saw his opportunity and exploited in Saturday in the 46th annual McQuaid Cross Country Invitational in Rochester, winning the boys large-school race with the day's second-fastest time.
Townsend broke from his tactical approach less than halfway through the race and let his instincts take over en route to a time of 14 minutes, 56 seconds on the three-mile course at Genesee Valley Park.
“I just went in saying I’m going to go with the lead pack," he said. "I didn't know if I could win, but I thought if I was up there I could give it a shot. So, I took off at the mile mark and no one was ready to go with me. That alone helped me. I slowed on the last hill but it didn't affect me. Someone told me I had it in the bag with 150 meters to go. That was gratifying."
He won by 15 seconds and trailed only Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake prodigy Otis Ubriaco for overall fastest-time honors in the meet, which attracted more than 6,000 competitors.
"To me, it almost was like a clinical performance, very precise," coach Brian Lombardo told The Buffalo News.
Said Townsend: "I generally like to lay back and play the hunter rather than the hunted."
After the race, he was off to hunt for a college. Having already checked out Middlebury and Williams this year, Townsend left after the meet to visit Dartmouth. He'll check out several more liberal arts schools this semester.
"I'm keeping my options open," he said. "I want to give them all a chance."
Townsend has a fondness for writing and does quite a bit of reading when time allows – an influence of his mother, who is a librarian.
"I try to ready as much as I can, but a couple hours a week is all I can muster these days," he said. "There's a lot going on. … I did about 70 miles last week, 12 miles yesterday, eight the two days before. I've been doing 70-80 miles since late June or early July."
MORE CROSS COUNTRY: GREAT JOB AT THE GREAT AMERICANSome big New York names made huge impressions Saturday in the 11th annual Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, N.C.
The
Saratoga Springs girls scored 53 points to blast Midlothian, Va., (114) and the rest of the Race of Champions field en route to the Streaks' seventh win there while
Cornwall Central (New Windsor) senior Aisling Cuffe obliterated the course record — high school and college — in 16:41 for five kilometers after going out in an intimidating 5:10 for the opening mile. Saratoga placed juniors Margaret MacDonald and Keelin Hollowood and seniors Sydney King and Amanda Burroughs in the top 11 with times ranging from 17:51 to 18:05.
The No. 2 girls performance came from
Harborfields (Greenlawn) runner Kelsey Margey in 17:26 en route to winning the invitational seeded division. Margey, a relative novice to the sport after picking up track last winter to build her endurance in lacrosse, pulled away midway through the race for her second win in three career XC starts.
BEST WEEKEND FOOTBALL SCHEDULE OF THE SEASONYou know football season is in high gear when great rivalry games like
Caledonia-Mumford vs.
Le Roy and
Walton vs.
Delaware Academy (Delhi) scarcely rate a mention in a review of the weekend schedule.
In Class C alone, the four top teams in the state are all taking on teams that are also ranked by the New York State Sportswriters Association: It’ll be No. 1
Southwestern (Jamestown) vs. No. 7
Fredonia, No. 2
Chenango Forks (Binghamton) vs. No. 9
Sidney, No. 3
Bronxville vs. No. 16
Hastings (Hastings on Hudson) and No. 4
Hoosick Falls vs. No. 17
Fonda-Fultonville.
In Class AA, No. 6
New Rochelle plays No. 9
White Plains in another of the 14 head-to-head battles between ranked New York teams. The game between
Corcoran (Syracuse) and
Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius) also features a pair of Section III unbeatens, and the Class A contest between
Poughkeepsie and
Greeley (Chappaqua) will also knock someone from the rank of the unbeatens.
In other games of note, second-year
Alden coach Dick Diminuco returns to
Albion, where he won more than 200 games before retiring in 2008.
Carmel's Todd Cayea goes for career win No. 100 on Friday at
Arlington (LaGrangeville), and
Amsterdam looks to avenge last fall's 58-0 loss to
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake as both schools seek a 6-0 start to the season.
MORE FOOTBALL: NIAGARA FALLS QB STAYING CLOSE TO HOME*
Niagara Falls quarterback
Dale Stewart says he will play football in 2011 at the University at Buffalo, where he'll get the chance to shatter the rushing records of his brother, Green Bay Packers running back James Starks.
"I'm following some huge footsteps with my brother, but I thought UB was the right team for me," Stewart told The Buffalo News. "They have been contacting me the whole time and seeing how I'm doing with my grades, SATs, and everything else. They really care about me so that's the right school for me."
Stewart is projected as a college tailback despite playing quarterback for the Wolverines.
* An amazing performance somehow got lost in the shuffle over the weekend. Jordan Shay of
Southside (Elmira) caught five touchdown passes as the Green Hornets beat Johnson City 54-37. The senior receiver, a third-team all-state selection in Class A as a junior, caught 10 passes for 264 yards. In addition he intercepted two passes, one of which he returned 26 yards for a touchdown. He tacked on a fumble recovery and completed a pair of two-point conversion passes for good measure. Quarterback Brad Bellinger, a St. John's baseball recruit, finished 16 of 24 for 348 yards and the five touchdowns plus an 11-yard touchdown run. He and Shay combined for eight receptions, four scores and 208 yards in the second half.
* The field at
North Tonawanda will be dedicated Friday to the late George Vetter, who was 194-42-13 while coaching there from 1937 to 1970. The
Riverside (Buffalo) facility will become Charlie Dingboom Field in honor of the man who coached the team to a 41-game winning streak and a 120-94-11 mark from 1959 to 1989.
GIRLS SOCCER: SECTION V STAR TIES RECORD* Stephany Ellison did more than register her seventh hat trick of the season Wednesday vs. Fillmore in a 3-3 girls soccer tie. The
Whitesville Central senior knocked home the 178th goal of her amazing career to tie the Section V record.
She’ll pursue sole possession of the mark Thursday vs. Cuba-Rushford in the opening round of a tournament at Scio. Cassandra Mills of Fillmore set the sectional record in a career that concluded in 2000. Kaitlin Robbins of Watertown Immaculate Heart Central set the state mark of 208 goals in 2007.
Ellison has 28 goals in the Jays' 7-1-2 start to the season.
*
Rye did more than just beat a highly regarded opponent on Saturday. The Garnets put forth a dominating performance in turning back Immaculate Heart Academy, the Washington Township, N.J. team rated No. 1 at the time in one national ranking and 18th by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Lia Bellizzi posted two goals and an assist and Amanda Benicasa added three assists for Rye, which entered the game ranked third in Class A by the New York State Sportswriters Association.
WRESTLING: COACHING LEGEND DIESJoe "Gov" Campo, who coached
Brentwood to seven Section XI wrestling titles in a row and eight in nine years beginning in 1969, died last week of congestive heart failure. He was 85.
Campo was also an accomplished football coach with seven division championships at Brentwood.
Campo, inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1990, was 261-20 in 20 seasons at Brentwood, where the gymnasium is named in his honor. He coached nine New York State Public High School Athletic Association champions there after posting a 191-18 mark upstate at Frankfort.
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.