VOORHEESVILLE — The Voorheesville cross-country teams got a running start on where they want finish at the end of the season.

The Blackbirds girls’ team took first and the boys’ team took second at the Blackbird Invitational on Saturday; the meet was held at the New Scotland town park.

The Lady Blackbirds had a final tally of 66 points to lead the field at the event. Hoosic Valley was second with 78 points.

Hilary Edmunds was the first Blackbird to cross the finish line. She came in third with a time of 20:37. Mairin O’Connor of Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons won the race in 20:08.

Emma D’Ambro of Hoosic Valley was second in 20:24.

Chantal Little followed her teammate in fourth place, clocking 20:46.

The boys’ team finished a close second to perennial power Fonda-Fultonville. The Braves edged the Blackbirds by a score of 61 to 65.

Macky Lloyd was the top Blackbird. He finished in a time of 17:09 to finish third behind Jeremy McAllister and Joe Geniti. The Fonda duo ran 16:35 and 16:47 respectively for the top two spots.

Conor Cashin, a feshman, was the next Voorheesville finisher. He came in 14th with a time of 18:12.

Ryan Allison was 15th in 18:15 and Nathan Bub was 16th in 18:16.
"That was a little surprising," said Voorheesville Coach Kelly McHale. "Ryan Allison and Nathan Bub were right there. The three of them have been passing around the number-two position."

The boys’ team will be battling Fonda all season as both teams try to be the top team in Class C. Fonda won the title last year.
"The boys’ team will be competing against Fonda," McHale said. "In Section II in Class C they are the big one. We’re going to go up against them in sectionals. There, instead of seven runners, you get 10. We also have some junior-varsity kids working their way up."

Strong girls

The girls’ team showed its strength as it tries to defend its Class C title from last fall.

Alison Vogelien finished 17th for the Blackbirds to aid in the team’s victory. Grace Giamapaglia was 20th and Kali Votraw was 22nd for the Blackbirds.
"We acquired Grace Giampaglia and it is really working out for the girls’ team," McHale said. "She looked strong. There was a lot of excitement last year after winning sectionals. Both teams have the potential to do well this year."

The race went smoothly on Saturday as the weather stayed dry.
"I’ve been here three years," McHale said, "and this is the first year it didn’t rain. It was awesome; everything was running smoothly. It was a little wet but it was nothing really major. This was the best the course has been in the last three years."

Growing program

There are about 50 kids running in the program this fall.
"We had 40 after this point last year," McHale said. "We’ve had a lot of success and that has a lot to do with it. A lot of people didn’t know that cross-country existed. People read about it and got excited. It brought out more people."

Out of the major contributors to the varsity team, there is only one senior on the team.
"We should be strong again next year," McHale said.

Younger runners will also be competing this fall.
"This is the first year we’ve had a complete modified team," McHale said. "We had a lot of success last year. We went to states as a team. Siblings in lower grades came out for modified. We had one leave, who was an underclassman. Everyone else stayed, who was a junior and a senior to run. The program is definitely growing."

The teams have set goals that they have the potential to achieve.
"As a coach, one thing I wanted to do was go undefeated in the Colonial Council," McHale said. "The boys this year can win the Colonial Council championship. And I also would like to have a better showing in sectionals. We would like to win, but we want to improve our standing in the section.
"For the girls," McHale added, "We want to improve our standing in the Colonial Council. We want to get second or first, but with Holy Names in our league, it’ll be difficult. And at sectionals we want to win. But Greenwich will be quite the opponent."

The home invitational was the second meet of the season for Voorheesville. The Blackbirds competed in the Fonda Invitational, where there was no team scoring.

This weekend, the Blackbirds will travel to the Queensbury Invitational.