GUILDERLAND — Coached by a man who just overcame a heart attack, Brian Rhodes-Devey broke the course record at Tawasentha Park Saturday — he finished well under his goal of 14 minutes.

With one of the top runners in the section, the Guilderland boys’ team looks to continue its rise in the Suburban Council.

Rhodes-Devey, a junior, was the Section II champion last year. On Saturday, he won the Division II varsity boys’ race at the Guilderland Invitational at Tawasentha with a record time of 13:58.3.

Rhodes-Devey bested Matt Leeder of Thousand Islands of Ontario, Canada. Leeder finished in 14:10.1.

Guilderland, as a team, finished third with 98 points. Thousand Islands won with 29 points.
"It was fairly close between the schools," Oates said. "Thousand Islands won easily but the next four teams were all close. We had 31 out of 38 runners get their best times ever. So I’m very pleased. Some had major jumps up to 45 seconds. It was an incredible leap."

Rhodes-Devey also made a jump in his time. He was hoping to get under 14 minutes and accomplished that feat.
"He was so intent on beating 14 minutes and he ran 14:00.3 the other day," Oates said. "He couldn’t find the four-tenths and, when you run that fast, improving two seconds is like improving 20 seconds for a slower runner. He had a little competition from guys from Thousand Islands and Collegiate. They were pushing him. They were powerful and very strong."

Justin Wager was the second finisher for the Dutch, coming in eighth overall with a time of 14:36.3.

He filled in for senior Seth Dubois who was injured but returned for a meet on Tuesday.
"We need to get healthy," Oates said. "We haven’t run with a full team in the three races we’ve been in. Last Tuesday, our two, three, four, and five runners were out with either leg pain or sickness."

Oates missed some time this season as well after having a heart attack and having a stent put in to clear blockage in one of his arteries. He is unable to run with the team during practices like he has in the past.

The Dutch are ranked 12th in the state, but there is still a lot left to the season.
"I don’t put much credence about that stuff in September," Oates said. "We have the potential. We have to get all the pistons firing on the same day. We’ll come to find out how good we are on Saturday at the Queensbury Invitational. It’s a prelude to the state meet that will also be held there."

Roland Graves finished 28th overall at the Guilderland Invitational and Tony Martini finished 30th.

Greg Masto was 31st and Jared Moriarty was 39th. Eric Dornbush was the seventh finisher for the Dutchmen, coming in 55th overall.

Justin Veldhaus has run for the junior varsity, but has moved up to run with the varsity.
"We’re at the point we need to make some leaps," Oates said. "We’ve not had a hard workout. We’re still looking ahead. It’s hard to get a workout with two meets and two off days. We don’t have a lot of time to get ready."

The Section II meet will be on Nov. 4 at Saratoga State Park and the state meet will be the following week in Queensbury.