November 8, 2003: Today Westhill lived out the dream that has been fueling them through grueling workouts for years - running at the New York State Championship Meet.  This is the first time since 1978 that Westhill has been in attendance, and our team improved their finishing place by 3 places (they finished 11th).  In short, we have the best team in Westhill school history. 

The race was held at Marcus-Whitman High School in Rushville (Section V).  The course is deceitfully challenging.  There are several long, gradual hills, where you're running right into the cold wind.  This explains the slower times that everyone had. 

Individually, Kevin Blaich retook his lead of the team and finished 32nd overall (in a very competitive field).  He was followed by Tim Hartnett, Matt Zych, Greg Pallotta, and Mark Leonard - who continues to step up as our 5th man.  David Riccardi and Kevin Centore also ran well.  For all of us, it was a welcoming to running in competition like this.  None of us have ever qualified for anything besides Sectionals before, so this race was new and exciting for us.

While we were hoping to finished better than 8th, it is imperative to look at the season as a whole.  We had a great season and a respectable run at States.  It is clear by this performance that Westhill will have something to say about the outcome of States next year...this year we only lose Matt Zych (our 3rd or 4th runner), and this is definitely replaceable. Our already strong nucleus of runners will be supplemented by our outstanding freshman squad, and good things will be coming next fall.

CONGRATS TO EVERYONE FOR AN AWESOME SEASON!!
Varsity:
Team Total: 8th place (170 points)


32. (12) Kevin Blaich 17:53.8
50. (21) Tim Hartnett 18:08.3
83. (41) Matt Zych 18:50.6
86. (43) Greg Pallotta 18:51.6
104. (53) Mark Leonard 19:17.2
127. (70) David Riccardi 20:15.0
130. (75) Kevin Centore 20:39.0

() = Team points (there are many individual runners at States who do not contribute to Team points).
New York State Championship Meet - November 8, 2003
Full results are available from Tully Runners, Armory Track, or New York iHigh.
CROSS COUNTRY 2003: STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MEET