Amsterdam freshman Trevor Dzikowicz won his first varsity race on Tuesday leading the AHS boys cross country team over Gloversville at Bob’s Trees in Galway. The Rams placed three runners in the top five, and with Gloversville only fielding a team of four runners, the final score was Amsterdam-15, Gloversville-incomplete.
“Trevor is a hard worker,” Amsterdam coach Kevin Wilary said. “He came into the season in great shape and he loves to run. It’s exciting to see how much he’s improved.”
Dzikowicz covered the 2.82 mile course in a time of 16 minutes and 43 seconds, better than the time of 17:25 posted by the second place finisher, Gloversville’s Skyler Reed, to win his first varsity race.
“It felt a lot faster than last Tuesday’s race at Indian Meadows Park,” Dzikowicz said. “The Sun and heat played a factor and I was tiring a bit. But, I really attacked the hills and that helped me the rest of the race.”
Daniel Bublak (18:53) and Marcos Santiago (19:05) took the next two spots giving the Rams three of the top four places and helped them get their first win in a Foothills Council dual meet this season.
“The team has been working really hard, and the effort showed,” Dzikowicz said.
Amsterdam got a boost from the addition of a sixth teammate thus improving their chances of scoring well at future meets. Freshman Chaun J. Ramos saw his first action on Tuesday, and followed Gloversville’s Riley Lake (19:21) across the finish. Ramos’ time of 19:50 was good for sixth place, and sealed the Amsterdam victory.
“He’s been working really hard at practice,” Coach Wilary said. “[Ramos] ran for us last year, and we’re happy to have him back. I’m hoping that he and Marcos (Santiago) will continue to push each other at meets.”
Gloversville’s Devon Pinckney (20:37), and Zack Rocas (20:46) were the next to cross the line.
With only four runners on the team, Gloversville did not meet the minimum number of runners to score and finished as incomplete. Gloversville coach Josh Herod said that despite trying to recruit athletes to the program at the schools freshman orientation, they haven’t been able to add to the roster. He added that there is still time for student athletes to join the team of dedicated runners.
Amsterdam’s Nick Rodecker (26:75) was the final runner to complete the course. The heat effected some more than others. Amsterdam’s Tim Kruger was determined to finish the race, but out of concern for his athlete on a hot day, Coach Wilary stopped Kruger after his first lap.
The Rams picked up their first team win and gained some momentum heading into an invitational on Saturday at Moreau Recreation Park in South Glens Falls. Amsterdam’s next Foothills Council dual meet is on Tuesday against Broadalbin- Perth at Bob’s Trees. Start time for the meet is scheduled for 4:15pm beginning with the modified race. Kai Brennan was the top finisher for the Amsterdam modified boys team on Tuesday.
“We’re hitting our stride going into the Broadalbin- Perth meet next week,” Coach Wilary said.
