BERNE - Missing their number-one runner for most of the season, the runners on the Berne-Knox-Westerlo boys' team made big strides.

Without Jared Finke, the Bulldogs showed their teeth at the Western Athletic Conference meet a couple of weeks ago and again on Friday at the Class C Section II race in Saratoga.

BKW finished second, behind defending champion Voorheesville at the meet and watched David Haverly qualify for the state meet in the process. Ada Lauterbach qualified later on Friday in the Class C girls' race.
"I'm happy with it," said BKW Coach Bill Tindale of his team's finish. "It's probably what we should've done. Voorheesville is an excellent team. We've run most of the season without Jared, who's our top guy. He's been out with mono. Dave Haverly qualified for states and our team is still young. The guys who ran on Friday, none of them are seniors. That bodes well for next year."

Finke is a senior and he has missed out helping his team win the league championship and running for a spot on the state meet.
"I felt bad for him," Tindale said. "He's worked so hard."

Haverly, a junior, ran 16:46.6 to finish seventh overall in the race. He was the fifth finisher among runners that were not from Voorheesville. The top team and the next five runners qualify for the state meet. Voorheesville had three runners in the top six.

BKW finished with 77 points to Voorheesville's 36.

Following Haverly for BKW was Connor Devine. Devine, an eighth-grader, finished 11th overall in 17:07.4.

Jeff Moller, a junior, finished 15th overall in a time of 17:20.5; junior Josh Glick came in 17th in 17:32.7; Tom Della Rocco, a sophomore, finished 27th in 18:12.1.

Tim David and Ethan Crevates also ran for BKW and had good times, but their scores did not count as the top five runners score points for the team at sectionals.

Lauterbach finished 10th overall in the Class C girls' race. She ran 19:22.1 to qualify for the state meet for the fourth straight year. The top five runners were from Greenwich, the winning team.

WAC winners

Though the sectional meet was a good day for BKW, Tindale was just as happy to win the Western Athletic Conference boys' and girls' races.
"The WAC meet was a great day," Tindale said. "Dave won the individual race and the other guys really ran well. The next closest team was 43 points away. We had four league all-stars. We're really excited about that."

Tindale was impressed how well his team did after it lost Finke for the rest of the season.
"They really stepped up," Tindale said. "We knew in early October that Jared would not be back. Dave, Jeff Moller, Josh Glick, other guys really stepped up. I'm proud of the way they handled it."

Tindale was also proud of the girls' team after they won the WAC championship.
"We won it with just five runners," the coach said. "It's a great accomplishment for the team. It was a fantastic day, and it was not just Ada winning the race. We had the top four girls in the race."

Christina Bartonicek finished second at the league meet. She was followed by Courtney Tedeschi, a seventh-grader, and senior Katrina Yakel.

That was the same order of finish for the BKW girls' at sectionals as the team finished fourth overall in the Class C race.
"Rachel Raiti was our fifth girl," Tindale said, referring back to the WAC meet. "The number-five girl is a big part of the team and she ran a great race. We beat Duanesburg by 10 points and they will be one of the top two or three teams in the state in Class D.
"It was the best day of the year for us," Tindale added.

Best times

Last Friday was a good end to the season for Tindale's teams.
"I'm happy with sectionals overall," he said. "They ran their best times ever at Saratoga. We had considerable time improvements. Class C is competitive and we hung in there. I'm extremely excited with the way they ran."

The BKW girls' team will lose two seniors including Lauterbach. Lauterbach will be running in college and, Tindale said, is seriously looking at the University at Albany.
"She ran at the Proctor Invitational in Utica earlier this year and finished fourth out of 121 runners," Tindale said. "She is looking at Albany, which will be a good fit for her"
"Katrina Yakel is a senior as well," Tindale added. "She has been a great leader for us. Christina and Courtney will be back and, theoretically, will be the two top runners in the WAC next year. And ninth-grader Haley Matott will be a good runner for us and the modified team did well. A lot of them will move up to varsity and will be improved."