GUILDERLAND — A great season for the Guilderland girls’ cross-country team had a tough ending at the Class AA Section II meet on Friday in Queensbury.

The Lady Dutch finished eighth at the sectional meet with 179 points; they had finished the season with a 7-4 record in the tough Suburban Council. National powerhouse and league rival Saratoga Springs won the meet with 21 points.
"We didn’t have the best of days," said Guilderland Coach Dave Kosier. "We had a couple of injuries and in a sport like cross-country it takes just one or so and you’re in trouble."

Kosier said the biggest loss was because of an injury to senior Amanda Boccio.
"She’s a senior captain and she was running great," Kosier said. "She was setting personal records every time out. Her leadership was missed."

Boccio did run at the sectional meet but her hip injury prevented her from running her best race and she went from being Guilderland’s second or third finisher to sixth or seventh.

Ninth-graders Emily Cure and Jen Madsen paced the Lady Dutch runners. Cure was the top Guilderland finisher and Madsen was second.

Juniors rounded out the top five. Courtney DeLorenzo was the third Guilderland finisher, Laura Aziz was fourth, and Laura Doak was fifth.

Seniors Deanna Wachtel and Katie Rossitini also ran for the Lady Dutch at sectionals.
"The three seniors will obviously be missed," Kosier said.

But the team exceeded Kosier’s expectations during the season. Kosier was hoping his team would finish at .500 in the Suburban Council.
"I’m excited about the accomplishment," the coach said of the 7-4 finish. "It was one of our best seasons. I thought we would be .500 in the Suburban Council. We had an impressive and big win at the Manhattan Invitational. We won our race. We did some great things this season."

After winning at the Manhattan Invitational, the Lady Dutch were ranked 12th in the state. They showed they deserved the rank with a tri-meet win over league foes Shaker, which was ranked seventh, and Columbia, which was ranked 11th. The race was run on Guilderland’s home course at Tawasentha Park.
"That was really nice," Kosier said. "Three weeks ago, we were on cloud nine. We were running as good as anyone. After Amanda Boccio got hurt, we kind of fell apart."

Kosier is also excited about the fact that all top-five finishers will be returning.
"That’s a bright spot," Kosier said. "We have a lot of the team coming back. We should certainly have a lot of improvement. We should be set to finish a little higher next season."