BERNE — The Berne-Knox-Westerlo cross-country teams have had a solid beginning to the season as they prepare for the tough competition they will have to face this fall.

The Bulldogs have competed in two invitationals and one dual meet in the early weeks of the season. BKW competed in the Fonda Invitational two weeks ago and the Guilderland Invitational on Saturday.
"At Fonda, they don’t do team scoring," said BKW Coach Bill Tindale. "But I figured that we would have been second by three points behind Fonda. It’s hard to tell early in the season. Not everybody’s had enough practices.
"We went to Guilderland on Saturday and finished fifth out of 14 in both guys and girls," Tindale added. "It’s high-level competition. The teams that beat us were either sectional champions or ranked very high in the state."

The Bulldogs were also not running at full strength at the Guilderland meet.
"We were missing one kid with a sinus infection," Tindale said. "But I’m very happy. We have a big pack that are kind of interchangeable. We have a lot of guys that are ready to fill in. We have 14 guys that are good athletes and work very hard. We’re certainly going in the right direction."

Jared Finke was the top runner at the Guilderland meet. He finished eighth overall with a time of 15:56.64.
"He put in a lot of miles over the summer," Tindale said.

Josh Glick had a good finish at Fonda — fifth — and will be a top runner for BKW this season.

Tyler Mesick is nursing a new injury and is working his way back.
"He is off his game a little bit," Tindale said. "We had a great dual meet; he finished third overall. When he’s back to full strength, he’ll help the team."

Tom Dellarocco, a freshman, was the second BKW finisher at the Guilderland Invitational. Sophmore Dave Haverly, Tyler Merrill, and Aaron Giebitz are also in the seven-runner line-up for the Bulldogs.
"Tyler Merrill has been injured and did not get off to a good start," Tindale said. "And Aaron Giebitz was out of the Guilderland meet with a sinus infection."

Lauterbach leads the girls

The girls’ team is led again by Ada Lauterbach. She finished eighth in the small-school race at the Guilderland Invitational.
"She won at Fonda," Tindale said. "She’s gotten much stronger. She will be going for victories in the smaller invitationals and she can get top-five finishes against large schools."

Katrina Yakel, Christina Bartonichek, and Michelle Raymond fill in the next three slots behind Lauterbach.
"This girls’ team is pretty strong," Tindale said.

Claire Dellarocco is also in the line-up and is one of the team’s captains. Yakel is the other captain of the team.

"Hotly-contested class"

Finke and Mesick are the captains of the boys’ team.
"Both guys are self made," Tindale said. "They lead by example. They are at practice every day. I enjoy coaching this team. This is a great bunch of kids. They work hard and are great runners. I’m looking forward to the season."

The Bulldogs are also a young team.
"We have one senior," Tindale said. "We’re mostly freshman and sophomores."

Class C will be tough again this season in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions. The Bulldogs also have competition in their league, the Western Athletic Conference.
"I believe that Fonda is the team to beat," Tindale said. "If we can get a handful of points early in the season, anything can happen."

Fonda is also a Class C team. BKW will also face competition at sectionals from Voorheesville and Greenwich.
"We want to get near the top in the league meet," Tindale said. "And we want to get one or two guys to the state meet. Hopefully, we’ll be challenging for the section in Class C. The competition is as tough as any in the area. There are seven or eight good teams and 15 to 20 top-notch individuals. It’s is going to be the most hotly contested class. I hope we’ll be one of the teams right there."

Tindale also has high expectations for the girls’ team.
"They can finish in the top half in the league and top five in the section," Tindale said. "We’re very young. We’re mostly underclassmen. We’re coming along on the injury front. I’m happy with what I’ve seen so far."