by Phillip Zema
Berlin’s Cross Country teams took advantage of their only home meet of the year. Both the girls and boys teams swept their opponents, and Llewellyn Palmer and Kayleigh Corrado took home first place.
The Berlin boys were matched up against Tamarac and Hoosic Valley. From the start, the Berlin boys dominated, as Llewellyn Palmer, Alex French and Connor Hoyt jumped out in front of the pack.
Although pursued by several Tamarac and Hoosic Valley runners and a host of teammates, Palmer, French and Hoyt never relinquished the top three spots. Eventually, Palmer distanced himself from Hoyt and French and surged to the finish line. Hoyt ultimately finished ahead of French as the Mountaineer Boys completed the sweep. Berlin’s Erik Viner finished 5th. Rocco Farano, 7th, Evan Daws, 9th, and Doug Hoard, 10th, rounded out the top ten. Matt Rokjer, Cole McVeigh and Cole Riddering made strong showings as well.
The Berlin girls triumphed over Emma Willard, Tamarac and Hoosic Valley. Kayleigh Corrado quickly stormed out into the lead and never looked back. Her lead only seemed to grow, and she crossed the finish line one minute ahead of Hoosic Valley’s Maggie Sanderson. Berlin’s Hannah French finished 4th, just a second behind a Hoosic Valley runner. Lydia Shorter finished 7th; Brandy Hoffman took 8th, and Liz Sheehy placed 9th. Emily Olson, Isabel Fussel and Ann Marie Guerdan also made strong showings for the Mountaineers.
While Coach Rick Ingraham was pleased with the results, he still felt his runners have a lot of work to do. Once again, Berlin is predicted to be a strong contender for the sectional title. Both the boys and girls teams have high aspirations for the season – especially sectional victories, but they face tough competition. Ingraham said that Mayfield, Hawthorne Valley and Schenectady Christian will be difficult competition when it comes to Class D Sectionals. Moreover, having recently joined the WASAREN League for cross-country, the teams will now compete against strong programs like Stillwater, Greenwich and Tamarac. The Berlin teams, nonetheless, will be formidable opponents themselves.
