CNY cross country coaches laud "awesome'' Hornets

Neil Kerr / The Post-Standard, December 05, 2010 9:42 a.m.

After viewing results of the seventh annual Nike Nationals cross country meet Saturday in Portland, Ore., most CNY running enthusiasts came away totally impressed with the 1-2 showing by the Fayetteville-Manlius girls and boys.

Coached by Bill Aris, the F-M girls posted a record low score of 27 points to win their fifth straight title. The former record low score was 51, set by Saratoga Springs in the inaugural 2004 Nike meet. The F-M boys finished a strong second (134 points) behind Arcadia, Calif. (92 points).

“What the F-M teams did at Portland is awesome,” West Genesee coach Jim Vermeulen said Saturday night. “I wasn’t surprised by the F-M girls winning, although their (record) score of 27 points is pretty amazing. I was surprised, however, by how well the F-M boys did to get second. Their guys really came on strong over the course of the last few weeks.”