This Saturday marked the beginning of competition season for Albany High Cross Country, as AHS runners traveled to Pleasant Hill for the first invitational of the season: Ed Sias.
Though top boys runners Nolan Tonkyn and Albert Buck-Bauer didn’t compete – Tonkyn was ill, and Buck-Bauer was taking the ACT – Stuart Adams, Hannon Ayer, and Matthew Blankinship ran, and managed to place 53rd, 92nd, and 93rd (out of 154) respectively in the small-school varsity boys race.
Sophomores Thalia Tom and Suzanne Becker, who look to be the top runners on the varsity girls team this season, finished within one second of each other at 25th and 26th place respectively. Suzanne and Thalia, along with freshmen. Ya Davis and Dorothea Miller, and senior Siobhan Bauer, comprise the core of another strong girls team this year.
As Becker says, “Our incoming freshmen, Ya and Dorothea, have done well so far at practice, and all our returning runners are in far better shape than we were at this point last season.” She feels that AHS has a very good chance of beating St. Mary’s this year, noting that they only lost to them by a few points last season, and that since one of their top runners has graduated, their team is now weaker.
The varsity boys, who finished second at last year’s Bay Shore Athletic League championships, should also have a good shot at first place this season. As senior Kai Wilmsen points out, “we have lots of returning seniors, and seven of our top runners went to running camp this summer to hone their skills.”
At last year’s BSAL championships, the Albany cross country team finished second to St. Mary’s in most categories: Frosh/Soph, Girls and Boys Junior Varsity, and Girls and Boys Varsity. Expectations are high for this season as they look to build on that success. The first league meet will be held on Thursday September 29 at Tilden Park, as they get set to take on Kennedy and St. Mary’s.
