VERONA — The Saranac girls cross-country team put in a strong performance at the state championships Saturday, placing fourth in Class C.
“We ran really well and I am very pleased,” Spartan Coach Matt Medieros said.
“We packed well in the mid group where we needed to and Sienna and Laura did their part up front.”
Sophomore Sienna Boulds lead the Spartans with a 15th place finish and Laura Denial, also a sophomore, came in 41st.
Boulds finished the 5K course in 20:08 and Denial ran it in 21:14.
Boulds was pleased with the result.
“I feel really good,” she said after the finish.
“I feel we all put in in the work for it and we deserved where we placed. We put in the work and achieved what we wanted to achieve.”
Temperatures dipped below 40 degrees at race time, but it didn’t bother Boulds.
“It was cold, very cold, she said.
“But I like running in the cold and I’m more of a cold runner so it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would, but it definitely was cold.”
Boulds said running in big meets with large packs like the state championships gets her going.
“Honestly, it really motivates me,” she said.
“When you hear that start you are thinking that you are part of a huge group of girls that put in the work to be here and I get really motivated by it.”
Denial also felt good about the race.
“I felt pretty strong,” she said.
“It’ a tough course, lot of hills, but you just have to push off them.”
Also for the Spartans, Nora Mesec finished 60th in 21:54; Gillian Miner in 87th in 22:48; Molly Denis in 99th in 23:22; Hannah Hammel came in 110th in 23:51 and Molly Thayer came in 118th in 24:22.
Medieros said the conditions turned out to be ideal.
“They were perfect conditions. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the course was immaculate,” he said.
“It is one of the best state meets I’ve been too condition-wise. As coaches, we are going to be happy about this one.”
Full results of how other Section VII schools finished will be in Tuesday’s edition of the Press-Republican.