SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams won section titles in class A and class B on Saturday.
Blue Streaks runners Emily Bush and Alycia Hart both broke the course record, with Hart finishing a mere second later than Bush. Anya Belisle also placed within the top five. The three seniors had an emotional post-victory celebration that capped off a successful season.
Four days later, Bush and Belisle participated in a National Letter of Intent signing ceremony at Saratoga Springs High School, where they reflected on their time with the Blue Streaks.
“I’ve been competitively running since I was seven years old,” Bush said at the event. “I would like to thank my family for being my biggest fans, my teammates for giving me a reason bigger than myself to do what I do, and lastly, my coaches Art and Linda Kranick for helping shape me into the athlete I am today and helping me achieve my wildest dreams.”
Belisle also thanked her coaches.“I didn’t know that all these opportunities would be presented to me. They told me but I didn’t really believe them. So, I’m very thankful.”
Bush is headed to Providence College, while Belisle will attend the University of New Mexico.
Not to be outdone, the boys’ cross-country team had five runners in the top eleven spots on Saturday. Sophomore Thomas Isenovski bested all competitors with a time of 15:40.
“[Thomas] has really begun to come into his own this season,” said boys varsity coach Shane Zanetti. “He’s always been very talented,” Zanetti said, “but he’s definitely come into his own as one of the top runners in the state.”
Zanetti also praised his team as a whole. “There was only 39 seconds between Thomas and our fifth runner,” he said. “So we take a lot of pride in trying to keep that number nice and tight between one and five and really approach it like a team sport.”
The Blue Streaks will now head to the state meet on Saturday, November 11 at VVS High School in Verona, NY.
