VOORHEESVILLE - Last Friday was a good day to be a Blackbird.

The boys' and girls' cross-country teams put on an impressive display at the Section II championship meet on Friday at Saratoga Spa State Park.

The boys' team won its second consecutive sectional title, this year in Class C, and the girls' team finished second behind powerful Greenwich.

Voorheesville's Mackey Lloyd won the boys' race to lead the Blackbirds to the title.
"It was a very good day," said Voorheesville Coach Kelly McHale. "Second for the girls is awesome. And for the boys, winning is great. They worked hard for that."

Lloyd won the race with a time of 15:52.1. Austin Lane of Greenwich was second with a time of 16 minutes.

The girls' team had two runners qualify for the state meet. Senior Hilary Edmunds finished eighth overall in 19:17.2 but was the third highest finisher not from Greenwich. The top team and the top five runners who are not from the winning team qualify for the state meet.

Eighth-grader Michelyn Little finished right behind Edmunds. She came in ninth with a time of 19:17.4.

The Blackbirds finished with 36 points to claim the top spot and earn a trip to Norwood-Norfolk High School for the state championship meet.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo was second with 77 points.

Strong results

Conor Cashin finished fourth with a time of 16:28.3. Ian Powell was sixth in 16:42.2. Tommy Pasquali was 12th in 17:12.6; and Taylor Treadgold was 13th in 17:15.8. And though their times didn't count for the team score, Nathan Bub and Robert Kaus also ran great races.

Bub finished 16th in a time of 17:32.4 and Kaus finished in 17:47. Only the top five scores per team are counted for the overall team score.
"It capped a good season for me and the team," Lloyd said at practice on Monday. "I still think we have a good chance at states. We are going to try and win.
"It is so much better going with a team," Lloyd added. "It's great to have those guys behind you. This is my fourth year to states and the second with a team."

On to States

McHale said the Blackbirds were focused on getting back to the state race and have worked to be ready for the meet.
"Once Fonda lost its top three runners, it opened things up for us," the coach said of last year's Fonda seniors. "This year, the entire planning changed. We want to be peaking at states. For Mackey and the other seniors, we really want to do well at states. Every other year, we are peaking for the sectional meet and we do a good job of it. We want the confidence to do well at states."

The Blackbirds also have the experience of last year's meet and have grown from that experience.
"We're a more mature team," McHale said. "The entire team at the sectional meet, except for Tucker [Bourque] are 10th-graders or above. They've done harder workouts and gotten better throughout the year.
"I'm very happy with the game plan going into it," McHale added. "They've done everything I asked them to do and they haven't even peaked yet."

McHale is also proud of Lloyd's running at the sectional meet.
"Mackey's winning is exciting," the coach said. "I was hoping someone was pushing him a little bit because he runs better with competition. He was alone a lot of the race. He went out fast and kept it. He ran a good race."
"I went out a little fast," Lloyd said. "I thought two or three kids would stay with me. And they started catching up with me, and, when they did that, I started to kick."

Girls peak

Edmunds and Little were just as impressive to McHale.
"With the girls, we practiced to peak at the sectionals," McHale said. "Hilary and Michelyn worked well together that day. They both ran precision races that day.
"The girls have had an excellent year," McHale said. "We're taking 10 kids to states. That's pretty nice. We're taking the guys and two girls. It's nice we've been to Norwood. We're prepared for that course and we're excited for that."

McHale is looking to do a little better at the state meet this year.
"We would like to do well up there," the coach said. "Last year, we ended with a not-so-great performance. The weather was not good, and we did not know the course. This year, we have knowledge of the course and it looks like it is going to be nice and cool.
"I would really like a top-three finish," McHale added. "And I would like Mackey to get in the top 10. Anything above 10 is awesome."

"Awesome experience"
"I definitely have a plan for the race," said Lloyd, who is looking to run in college with one possibility being the University at Albany. "I want to go out with the leaders. I usually start slow because I'm nervous. I want to run a fast race, and, if I bomb, I bomb,"

McHale has a little different philosophy for the Edmunds and Little.
"Michelyn is an eighth-grader and we talked about how going to states is a privilege," McHale added. "You go to enjoy the run and have fun. You get to be around some elite high school athletes and that in itself is an awesome experience."

This trip to states adds to the impressive track record McHale has since she took over as coach.
"This is my third year as head coach," she said, "and I've had a team at states every year since I took over. I can't believe the progress that's been made. I was given a great group of kids to work with. They work well together and they run well together."

And the success should continue for McHale.
"We have two senior boys and two senior girls," the coach said. "We also have three eighth-graders that will be on the team next year. The seventh- and eighth-graders show promise. We'll be young, but we should continue to be a good team."