Coop Cross Country off to a Strong Start

COOPERSTOWN—Cooperstown cross country began the season at the Blackbird Invitational in Voorheesville on Saturday, September 7. Sophomores Nora Craig and Olivia Temp finished 11th (24:01) and 25th (26:02) in the varsity girls race on the rolling 5K course. The boys fielded six runners. Junior Jacob Johnson led the pack at 12th place (19:38), followed by sophomore Owen Capozza Flannigan (15th, 19:53) and senior Jonah Hitchcock (16th, 19:59). Each returning member of the team improved his time since last season.

The Hawkeyes hosted week 1 of the Center State Conference season at their challenging, scenic home course at Irish Tower. Craig and Temp finished third (25:01) and fourth (27:35) in a field that included Dolgeville, Little Falls and Mount Markham. The boys won all three meets in dual scoring, with Hitchcock taking second place to Dolgeville’s Brandon Kniseley in 20:05. He was followed by Johnson (3rd, 20:25), freshman Hu Agostino (5th, 21:33), and Capozza Flannigan (6th, 21:40).

Cooperstown visited Waterville to face their hosts, Adirondack and Mount Markham, on Wednesday, September 25. Craig finished fourth (24:13) in the girls race after a strong Adirondack trio. Temp finished her third official 5K race in 11th place (26:54). The boys defeated all three schools in dual scoring; Hitchcock finished third (19:58), followed by Capozza Flannigan (6th, 20:39), junior Brendan Heavner (7th, 20:54), Agostino (8th, 21:05) and Elias MacLeish (12th, 23:43).

The teams raced in the 81st E.J. Herrmann Invitational, the region’s oldest cross country invite, in Utica on Saturday, September 28. They faced a field of about 25 teams, mostly from C- and D-Class schools, on a perfect day for racing. The boys finished eighth in a field of 17 complete teams, with Jonah Hitchcock clocking in at 19:21 for 29th place. Capozza Flannigan finished 36th in 19:41, followed by Agostino (54th, 21:24), Heavner, (58th, 21:35) and MacLeish (74th, 22:48). On the girls’ side, Nora Craig finished 15th overall in 23:33. Temp ran 39th in 26:58.