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PLATTSBURGH — Michael Champagne sees one huge advantage in Saturday's New York State Public High School Cross-Country Championships to be contested at Plattsburgh State.

"I get to sleep in my own bed, I've never done that before for a big race," said the Seton Catholic senior, a reigning state champion and one of many big names ready to strut their stuff over the 5,000-meter college course.

Champagne won't get to sleep in, though.

His race — Boys' Class D — will be first off the mark, at 9 a.m.

"I think it's great. The kids won't be sitting around getting nervous," Seton Catholic Coach Keith Bombard pointed out.

Andy Hastings, whose Beekmantown Eagles are shooting for a top-7 finish in the Boys' Class B team competition, welcomes the chance to compete at home.

"I think it's an advantage to our kids and to the entire section," Hastings went on. "We're usually on the road. Last year, we were on the bus eight hours (to Sunken Meadows, Long Island) and then the kids stay four to a room. They don't get a lot of sleep.

"This way, we can go run the course after school Friday and then be home by 5 p.m."

This is the third time Section VII has hosted the state championships, but the first in Plattsburgh. Many in Saturday's field got a chance to run over the course in the CVAC Invitational in early September. Section VII held its own championships over the same course and most area runners have at least three tours of the layout.

"It's not a particularly hilly course, but I think it's a good course," Champagne related. "It's viewer friendly."

The Knights' standout believes the start presents the biggest challenge.

"The first mile is the hardest; I'm thinking of staying with the leaders," Champagne said. "The last mile is the easiest and, hopefully, I'll be able to kick it in then."

The state meet lost one of its biggest names — two-time defending Class A champion Emily Lipari — to a leg injury this week, but is still expected to showcase several of the top runners in the nation.

The girls' AA race, scheduled to go off at 11:35 a.m., will be a terrific battle featuring defending national champion Fayetteville-Manlius, ranked No. 1 in the nation again this year, and Saratoga, the third-best team in the country.

Lipari's absence should not diminish the quality of the field that much. Cornwall's Aisling Cuffe is one of the hottest runners in the nation and is coming off a fast 17:22 time over the course in the pre-state meet.

Pre-states analysis
Courtesy of

Bill Meylan,

TullyRunners.Com

Boys Class AA
North Rockland and Fayetteville-Manlius are rated a pick 'em with displacement likely to decide the team title. Nick Hughes (North Rockland) has been consistently good in recent races and is the slight favorite for the win. Quinn Raseman (Ward Melville) is undefeated this season and appears to be peaking at the right time.

Boys Class A
Burnt Hills is favored again, but Rochester McQuaid and Merrick-Calhoun are not far behind. Otis Ubriaco (Burnt Hills) and Scott Maughan (Burnt Hills) are the top-ranked Class A runners.

Boys Class B
Honeoye Falls-Lima is the defending state champion and the favorite Saturday with an excellent one-two combo of Alex Deir and Steve Mangan, the top-ranked runners.

Boys Class C
Holland Patent is a solid favorite to win with its good depth and a good one-two combo (twins Dylan and Cody Racha). Holland Patent lost to Newark Valley by one point last year. Max Straneva (Chenango Valley) is the defending champion and favorite to win the individual title.

Boys Class D
Beaver River is the defending Class D champion, but runner-up Barker looms as the team to beat. This year, Seton Catholic and Port Jefferson are legitimate contenders. Barker raced very well at sectionals with a team spread of less than a minute and the top three within eight seconds of each other. Seton Catholic has decent depth and the projected team winner (starting a team score with a "one" is always an advantage ... and running on a home-town course should help). Mike Champagne (Seton Catholic-Plattsburgh) is the defending Class D champion and co-favorite for the win ... Caleb Edmonds (Cooperstown) was home-schooled until his senior year and he is currently the top-ranked Class D runner.

Girls Class AA
Fayetteville-Manlius is the defending state and national champions and the top-ranked team in the US once again. F-M currently has six of the top eight positions on the Girls NY State Class AA leaderboard. Saratoga ran very well at sectionals to beat a very good Shenendehowa team ... For some reason, I think the SUNY Plattsburgh course will be good for Saratoga ... Saratoga is one of the three best teams in the US.

Girls Class A
Queensbury is a very solid favorite in the Class A race. Queensbury needed an excellent performance to beat Burnt Hills at the Section 2 championships (Burnt Hills would be a solid favorite if they were at States instead of Queensbury).

Girls Class B
East Aurora is the four-time defending Class B champion. oneoye Falls-Lima was the perennial Class B champion prior to East Aurora. This year, Honeoye Falls-Lima adds senior transfer Amanda Moreland to the team and that, combined with noticeable improvement team-wise, makes Honeoye Falls-Lima a serious contender.

Girls Class C
Bronxville is the defending Class C champion and is favored once again. However, if Henrietta Miers does not run, the race might get close with four teams vying for the win.



Girls Class D
Greenwich is an overwhelming favorite to win. Greenwich easily won the Class D title last year and is expected to do the same this year.

Section 7, 10 runners

ranked by Tullyrunners.com

Girls

Class B

88 Bailey Weightman, Beekmantown

105 Kaylie Lamica, Franklin Academy

121 Maile Sapp, Beekmantown

134 Abi Lajti, Peru

155 Grace Mayhew, Peru

Class C

4 Aimee Beaudette, Canton

15 Sophie Goobic, Canton

37 Megan Morrow, Gouverneur

58 Jenn Brown, Gouverneur

75 Kendra Leonidas, Saranac Lake

86 Julie Bowler, Saranac Lake

87 Elena Beideck, Saranac Lake

89 Chelsea Huyck, Canton

105 Sophie Deshaies, Plattsburgh

118 Kaitlyn Facteau, Saranac

125 Hillary Pond, Saranac Lake

133 Robin Collyns, Gouverneur

Class D

11 Anna Rabideau, Seton Catholic

13 Emily Cotey, Norwood-Norfolk

17 Hannah Seguin, Norwood-Norfolk

45 Victoria Sequin, Norwood-Norfolk

46 Victoria Hall, Norwood-Norfolk

81 Elizabeth Fisher, Seton Catholic

Boys

Class B

13 Matt Pierce, Canton

18 Brendan Courneene, Beekmantown

26 Adam Shearer, Beekmantown

64 Corey Lamere, Franklin Academy

97 Josh Turner, Beekmantown

110 Andy Tupper, Canton

127 Charles Remillard, Peru

133 Morgan Marlow, Franklin Academy

136 Justin Collier, Beekmantown

159 Ethan Waite, Beekmantown

Class C

80 Josh Wade, Saranac

87 Dylan Dawson, Saranac Lake

89 George Morris, Potsdam

130 Max Romey, Potsdam

Class D

2 Mike Champagne, Seton Catholic

10 Jon Eng, Norwood-Norfolk

20 Zack Ziemer, Seton Catholic

32 Charlie Beaudette, Tupper Lake

38 Jacob DeWitt, Seton Catholic

60 Josh Cook, Ticonderoga

62 Jay Berube, Ticonderoga

71 Barrett Waling, Seton Catholic

79 Mitchell Ryan, Seton Catholic

87 Charlie Bencze, Tupper Lake