GUILDERLAND — Coming into the season, Guilderland girls’ varsity cross-country Coach Dave Kosier didn’t know what to expect.

Kosier had been coaching in the cross-country program for a number of years, but mostly with the boys’ team under Bob Oates.

Kosier replaces Marc Burg, who left the Guilderland district for an administrative position at Averill Park.
"When I was offered the job, I did my homework," Kosier said. "It’s been awhile since we’ve been .500 in the Suburban Council. I think since 2000. They’ve been 5-5 or under since. The girls’ team used to be a cross-country powerhouse and used to battle for the Suburban Council championship."

Kosier also checked and found out that his runners did not have a lot of varsity experience.
"We lost four out of the top seven girls," Kosier said. "That made me a little nervous. We were 5-6 in the Suburban last year."

The Lady Dutch lost top runner Samantha Dow who moved to Virginia.
"She was a solid number one," Kosier said. "She could compete with anybody in the league."

Megan Lynch, who was out for most of last season, graduated.
"When Megan was back at the end of the year," Kosier said, "they made a great one-two punch. We also lost our number-four and seven runners in Corrine Salada and Erin Grosso."

Changes

Kosier decided to make some changes and talked it over with his captains.
"We’ve worked awfully hard this year," Kosier said. "I’m pretty excited about that. They are putting forth a great effort and it’s starting to pay off."

Guilderland finished fifth out of 10 teams at the Shaker Invitational on Sept. 10.
"I’m happy with that," Kosier said. "I wanted to finish in the upper half."

The Lady Dutch finished third at their own invitational on Saturday. The top Guilderland runner was Jen Madsen, who ran a time of 17:33.
"She’s a returner and a freshman," Kosier said. "I’m excited for her future."

Courtney DeLorenzo, a junior, finished 12th at the invitational with a time of 17:58.8.
"She is a newcomer and a pleasant surprise," Kosier said. "She did track but was a soccer player. She did Bob Oates’s running camp. We did not know what to expcect."

Emily Cure was the third Guilderland finisher on Saturday. The ninth-grader had a time of 18:24 to come in 19th overall.
"She was in the top seven last year," Kosier said. "She changed positions a couple of times."

Sophomore Shannon Doherty was 20th at the Guilderland Invitational.
"She set a personal record by 43 seconds on Saturday," Kosier said. "She ran an 18:27. There were great jumps made."

Amanda Boccio was the fifth Guilderland runner to finish and 21st overall.
"She had one of her worst times this year at 18:35," Kosier said. "But she ran 18:24 right on the same course on Tuesday."

Boccio is a senior and one of the captains of the team this season.

Brittany Wachtel is another senior captain for the Lady Dutch this season. She finished 24th at the Guilderland Invitational.
"She’s cut down her times," Kosier said. "She hadn’t run in a couple of years. This season will be a big challenge. She is getting her confidence back. I expect her to be in the top five during the season."

Lauren Aziz, a junior, is the seventh runner for the Dutch and finished 28th on Saturday.
"She had a big PR," Kosier said of her personal record. "She set it by 32 seconds. To have your varsity seven all under 19 minutes is beyond expectations. All seven are in the top 25 of all-time runners at Tawasentha."

Katie Rossitini is another senior captain for the Lady Dutch and sophomore Lilly Rowan is fighting for a varsity position.
"She won the junior-varsity race," Kosier said. "That was pretty impressive. And Katie, all year long, will be working to get a varsity position."

"Huge jumps"

Kosier has seen improvement from all his runners so far this season and that is because of the work they put into the sport.
"On Saturday all of them made huge jumps again," Kosier said. "We had 38 girls have PR’s on Tuesday. Combined, they improved by 21 minutes and that’s impressive."

The Lady Dutch are currently ranked 18th in the state, but will have a tough time in one of the toughest leagues in the state and country. The Dutch want to finish at least .500 in that league.
"The section is the best in the state if not the country," Kosier said. "It’s unbelieveable on the girls’ and boys’ side. Saratoga is nationally ranked and has been number one. Shenendehowa, Bethlehem, and Columbia, and Colonie are right there. It’s a lofty goal, but everybody is working hard to achieve it."