McGill wins league cross country meet; L-P finishes second

by Eric Keppeler and Larry Austin
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, November 4, 2006

Kenmore East’s Sarah Kosloski, center, leads Lockport’s Mary Rachell Robbins, left, and Lewiston-Porter’s Kelsey McGill down the hill at Reservoir State Park during the Niagara Frontier League meet Saturday. McGill went on to win, with Robbins second and Kosloski, fourth. (photo by Larry Austin)

Conditions were hardly conducive to running, but Lewiston-Porter freshman Kelsey McGill won her first league title Saturday at the Niagara Frontier League Championship at Reservoir State Park.

The boys race took place in a chilly drizzle, but the weather took a turn for the worst for the girls race that followed, degenerating into windy and painful hail minutes before the starting gun. It was tough on everyone, but McGill weathered the storm better than any other girl, winning the race in 21:42

“It came out of nowhere,” McGill said of the storm. “It was really surprising, and especially the hail and everything. But I didn’t think I was going to be able to keep up with them because I just started dying.”

McGill trailed the lead pack early in the race, but reeled them in and eventually pulled away from Lockport’s Mary Rachell Robbins and Kenmore East’s Sarah Kosloski.

“The whole team, the girls ran awesome,” said Lew-Port Coach Gary Raby. “Kelsey really wanted it. She works hard and put the effort in.”

The race had “a little bit of everything: hail, the rain, the rainbow, the mud,” Raby added. “It was sloppy conditions, especially the turns and the bottom of the hill.

“Times will probably be a little slower than normal, but they just went running for the team and the placing.”

The Reservoir Park course, with its steep hill, is difficult to begin with, but throw in some cold air and hail and it became a brutal test of stamina. Several runners needed attention from the athletic trainer after the race.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is going to kill me.’” McGill said. “I thought I was going too fast and I was going to die coming along down the hill.”

The girls race played out much the same way the regular season did. Lockport dominated the girls team standings with runners taking second, third, fifth, ninth and 12th places. Lew-Port finished second overall as they did in the regular dual meet season. Lockport finished 16-0, with Lew-Port second at 14-2. Grand Island finished third in the meet and third in the overall standings at 12-4.

“I didn’t realize that Lew-Port had improved so much. They really surprised me,” Grand Island coach Don Sauer said. “So I guess we finished where we were supposed to be. No one posted really good times because the conditions were so bad.”

The L-P boys team had five runners who ran well, Raby said, led by Jason Carminati, who was 16th in 19:38.4. They finished seventh in the meet and seventh in the league standings with a 3-13 record.

Everyone now moves on to Saturday’s Section VI Championship, which was originally to be held at Elma Meadows, but since that facility was damaged during the recent storm, the site has been shifted to Long Point State Park in Bemus Point on Lake Chautauqua.

The top five individuals in each class advance to the New York State Championship on Nov. 11 at Warwick Valley High School. The winning team in each class also moves on to states.

McGill acknowledged that the win in the NFL meet gives her a lot of confidence heading into the sectional meet.

“I really, really want to go to states. I hope I do,” she said.

The boys team won’t have enough runners to complete a score and advance to the state meet, Raby said. The girls team has an outside chance.

“Our Class B has a lot of awesome teams out there. It’s competitive, but Kelsey has a chance to go to the state meet,” Raby said. “She’s in the mix. There’s a lot of talented girls out there, but she can.”