Amsterdam freshman Trevor Dzikowicz continued to impress with yet another top ten finish in a cross country invitational for the Amsterdam boys varsity team. Dzikowicz placed seventh at the 2017 Harvest Classic at Bob’s Trees in Galway on Saturday, leading the AHS boys.
Twelve teams competed in the Harvest Classic which moved from Schodack Island State Park to the Galway course this year. The majority of the teams were from NYSPHSAA Section 2, but three schools came from Section 3 including Sauquoit Valley High School, Cooperstown High School, and Herkimer High School. There was even one runner from Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School (Albany County) who needed one more race to be eligible for sectionals. Dzikowicz was the top Section 2 finisher in the boys varsity race, the largest race of the day with 65 competitors, and nine complete teams.
“The first lap felt really fast with everyone bunched together,” said Dzikowicz who finished with a time of 16 minutes and 16 seconds. “The second lap seemed slower.”
Sauquoit Valley won the varsity boys race with 18 points. Five of the first six runners were all from the winning squad beginning with Dylan Canarelli (14:53), who broke the fifteen minute mark on the 2.86 mile course. Canarelli’s teammate Taylor Philpotts (15:25) was second followed by Cooperstown’s Ryan Lansing (15:33). Three more Sauquoit Valley runners crossed the line before Dzikowicz. The only other Section 2 runner to make the top ten was Fort Plain-Canajoharie’s Andrew Yacobucci (16:26.91). Scotia- Glenville was next in the team standings with 99 points led by top 15 runs by Ryan Bruce (16:55), and Gabe Winters- Bona (16:58). Cooperstown was third, also with 99 points, and Fort Plain- Canajoharie placed fourth with 102 points.
The next to complete the race for Amsterdam was sophomore Daniel Bublak (17:21- 19th place), the only other Amsterdam runner to post a top twenty time.
“This was our last invitational of the year,” Bublak said. “I’m looking forward to improving and getting my personal best at sectionals.”
Setting a new personal record is something all the athletes are hoping to accomplish on Friday, Novermber 3rd at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) cross country championships at Saratoga Springs State Park.
“I want to try and break the seventeen minute mark,” Dzikowicz said. “I hope everyone gets their personal record and that we perform well as a team.”
Marcos Santiago (18:53), and Nick Rodecker (21:57) completed the field for Amsterdam, which entered only four runners as an incomplete team.
Other top local finishers included Micheal Hoffman (16:59) of Fort Plain-Canajoharie, Gabe Cole (17:12) of Johnstown, both in the top twenty. Mayfield’s Tyler Newkirk (17:32), and Riley Mykel (17:38) turned in top 25 finishes. Oppenheim- Ephratah’s Armand Root (18:15) was in the top 30, as was the lone competitor from Berne- Knox- Westerlo, Travis Jackson (17:43), who needed one more race to qualify for sectionals.
Sauquoit Valley takes junior varsity boys race
Sauquoit Valley placed the first seven runners, coasting to victory in the boys junior varsity race with 15 points. Led by Sean Kellum (16:52), the NYSPHSAA Section 3 team easily bested the competition. The next runner to cross the line was Johnstown’s Dominic DiScoscia (19:09), who led the junior Sir Bills squad to a second place finish with 59 points.
Scotia-Glenville’s Tyler Hanhurst (19:12) placed ninth, and Fort Plain- Canajoharie’s Eric Elliott (19:20.05) completed the top ten runners. Elliott’s teammate Trevor Howard (19:20.55) was only fractions of a second behind him. Scotia- Glenville was the third place team with 64 points.
Fort Plain- Canajoharie ran as an incomplete team with four runners. Louis Calbet (19:42), and Michael Barlow (19:56) completed the field for Fort Plain- Canajoharie. Amsterdam did not enter any runners for the junior varsity race.
Amsterdam trio in top twenty for modified boys race
Joseph Santiago (10:30), Justin Santiago (10:32.08), and Kai Brennan (10:32.95) all finished strong and posted top twenty times for the Amsterdam modified boys team. The trio are the only members of the youngest Amsterdam squad, and represented their school well throughout the season.
Sauquoit Valley won the race with the slimmest of margins scoring 27 points to Scotia-Glenville’s 28 points. Gabe Lape of Scotia- Glenville won the race with a time of 8:25. Sauquoit Valley’s Benjamin Logalbo (8:45), and Zackary Murphy (8:53) placed second and third for the top team.
Other local athletes to place in the top ten were Johnstown’s Alex Cwiakala (9:09), and Fort Plain- Canajoharie’s Michael Harris (9:35).
The day was good overall for the Amsterdam High School cross country program which hosted the event. Parents and volunteers manned the concession stand with a variety of refreshments to satisfy the hungry runners. Everything from bagels to breakfast pizza, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, hamburgers, brownies, cookies, and popcorn was served up. The only glitch was when the Oppenheim- Ephratah bus broke down on route to the event, but some quick thinking by the Amsterdam coaches, and the Fort- Plain- Canajoharie bus that had just arrived was sent to rescue the stranded athletes.
The 2017 NYSPHSAA Section 2 Cross Country Championships will be an all day event at Saratoga Springs State Park on Friday, November 3rd beginning with the first race at 11am. The Amsterdam cross country teams are entered in Class B and are scheduled to race in the afternoon.
