VOORHEESVILLE — Voorheesville’s cross-country coach, Kelly McHale, stood and waited in anticipation on a chilly Friday afternoon.

McHale’s focus was on a Budget rental truck. The truck was part of the base of operations for the Section II cross-country meet being held at the Saratoga Spa State Park.

McHale was waiting to see if her boys’ team would be Class C champions. She waited through the Class D race — about half an hour — and the beginning of the Class AA race before she knew.

Though she was given misinformation earlier, the dream had come true and the Blackbirds were Section II champions; they will be heading to the state meet at Warwick High School this weekend.
"They worked so hard," McHale said. "They are the ones that did it. At the middle of the season, we were rolling along and we realized that we could do it. They pushed themselves as much as they could.
"We had two kids that went on field trips this weekend," McHale added. "They forfeited their spots because they knew we would be going to states. I think that is awesome."

Voorheesville finished with 70 points to beat rival Fonda-Fultonville by seven. Berne-Knox-Westerlo finished third with 107 points.

It was a mid-season victory that gave the Blackbirds confidence that they could win the section.
"It was right after we beat Fonda for the first time," McHale said. "It was actually an interesting move by the coaches. We got into a different race and moved to race Fonda. We needed that."

Lloyd leads

At Friday’s sectional meet, the Blackbirds were led by junior Mackey Lloyd. He finished second overall, passing Fonda’s Joel Geniti in the final stretch. Lloyd’s time was 16:14.2.

Fonda’s Jeremy McAllister won the race in a time of 16:10.7.

Conor Cashin, a freshman, was the next Voorheesville finisher, coming in 12th overall in a time of 17:06.2. Ian Powell was 16th overall in 17:23.8, Ryan Allison was 19th with a time of 17:28.4, and Tommy Pasquali was 21st overall in 17:33.2 to count for the Blackbirds’ points.

Nathan Bub and Taylor Teagold also ran for the Birds in the race on Friday.

It will be Lloyd’s third trip to the sectionals. He went as an individual the past two seasons and would have qualified that way again if the Blackbirds had not won.
"This is the best I’ve felt," he said after Friday’s race. "We are a band of brothers. It would only be right if we went together."

Lloyd started off strong and was with the leader throughout the whole race.
"I was in second place and then McAllister passed me," Lloyd said. "I was third going into the woods but then I passed Geniti."

On to the sectionals

The sectional title is the second in a row for McHale. She led the Voorheesville girls’ team to the Class C title last year.

The Blackbirds have not run on the course at Warwick, where the sectional competition will be held, but they could still have a good day this Saturday.
"I was looking on-line and we were ranked fourth, pre-sectional meet," McHale said. "If we finish in the top four, that would be awesome. It’s been a great season. I tell the kids to just make it there is a privilege. It’s not something that everybody else gets to do."

The runners are also excited to go, for different reasons.
"Mackey went as a freshman and he roomed with an upperclassman from another team," McHale said. "Now he has someone from his own team to room with. We haven’t been to Warwick, but we are looking forward to having a trip out of the area."

McHale also commented on the whole team going instead of individual runners.
"It makes the practices go smoother the week before," McHale said. "We run better as a team than individuals. When they’re running together, they rely on each other."

Girls come in third

The Voorheesville girls’ team finished third in the sectionals on Friday. They had 123 points to finish behind powerhouses Greenwich and Fonda-Fultonville.

Grace Giampaglia paced the Blackbirds with an 11th-place finish in 19:54.3. Chantal Little was 23rd overall in 20:52.3. Kali Votraw, Alison Vogelien, and Michelyn Little picked up points for the Blackbirds. Zoe Edmunds and Elizabeth Dawson also ran for the Lady Blackbirds.

Voorheesville was affected by the absence of top runner Hilary Edmunds; she missed the race because of an injury to her hip flexor muscle.
"It happened three weeks ago," McHale said. "It’s disappointing for her."

The best news for the future of the girls’ team — and the boys’ — is that there wasn’t one senior among the top runners at sectionals. All the runners for both teams will be back next year.
"We have a lot of young kids," Lloyd said. "We moved up mostly 10th- and 9th-graders. We get everybody back except one girl.
"I knew we had some individuals," Lloyd said. "We had some guys that surprised me. Conor Cashin; I knew he would do better, but he surprised me a lot."