F-M and Liverpool Runners Earn All-American Honors; Finish Among Top-5 Teams in the U.S.

By Danielle Kennedy 

PORTLAND, ORE.- Fayetteville-Manlius took home the titles, but Saturday’s cross country race results told the Liverpool boys top-seven something they found hard to believe. Liverpool finished fourth out of 22 teams at Nike Cross Nationals held at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Ore.

Photo Courtesy of James Petrella 

“I’m very surprised that we came in fourth,”  junior Ben Petrella said.  “Thinking about it and looking at all of the teams going into it, I was like, ‘Wow, how did we do that?’”

  Coming off of a 20^th place finish last year, the boys had something bigger to prove this time around. They'd come in third last weekend in the Nike regional behind F-M and St. Anthony's of Long Island, missing an automatic bid and having to sweat out an at-large invitation..

This time St. Anthony's, running as South Huntington was eighth, four spots behind the Warriors.

“Coming in, we were thinking, ‘Okay, let’s show them we’re better than St. Anthony’s and we deserve that at-large bid,” Petrella said.  “We ended up doing something so much larger than that and something so much larger for Liverpool.”

A taste of home

Perhaps it was the terrain of the course that made the race seem familiar for the Central New York runners.  With lots of mud and a few steep inclines, there was a little taste of home nearly 3,000 miles away. 

“This year, we felt comfortable,” Liverpool head coach Tracy Vannatta said.  “We felt like it was a true cross country course.  In our last three races, we had to run in worse conditions for us, so we were comfortable [on Saturday].”

Running as Manlius because it was an out of state race, F-M earned its first national title on this brand new course, winning the Boys Championship Race with 111 points.  Junior Peter Ryan was the first scorer for the Hornets, earning Second-Team All-American honors with his 15^th place finish in a time of 15:40.  This award is given to individuals who finish between 8^th and 21^st place overall.  F-M's usual leader, senior Bryce Millar finished in 38^th in a time of 16:00 as the Hornets’s second scorer. 

Last year, a second place finish broke the F-M girls cross-country seven-year winning streak at nationals. This year, they reclaimed their title; scoring 70 points to win their eighth national championship.  The Hornets are now the first team to sweep national titles in the girls and boys races since the meet was created in 2004.

“I waited eleven-years for that boys victory with a lot of good teams preceding them and a lot of great efforts,” F-M head coach Bill Aris told Milesplit in a post-race interview.  “This one was special, and it made it even more special with both teams winning, so I couldn’t ask for more.”  

Living the Dream

Ben Petrella of Liverpool also accomplished something special in Portland.  For the first time in his career, Petrella was named Third-Team All-American; an award given to individuals who finish between 15^th and 21^st place overall.  He was the first scorer for Liverpool, finishing 19^th in a time of 15:44. 

Before the race, Vannatta told her runners to visualize their best race this season and mimic that performance at Glendoveer.  For Petrella, that meant focusing on three things: Run as fast as possible, maintain unhindered toughness and shock all who were watching.

“I wanted to finish the race and have people say, ‘Wow, I didn’t expect that from this kid,'" he said.

With one-mile to go, Petrella said, he started to hurt.  His legs were tired and his feet were muddy and weighing him down.  He had a decision to make.

“I wanted so badly to slow down a little bit, but in my head I said, ‘No, I can’t do that.  I want to be an All-American.’”

Looking back, the decision was worth the pain.

“Every time someone mentions it [All-American], I feel so proud and happy.”

Petrella is also smiling for another reason.  For the first time in his career, he beat F-M rival Millar, and by 16-seconds.  This feat, he said, is not so much about the rivalry - it’s about his reputation. “

When I saw him slowly drifting back, I was thinking, ‘I could beat him, and I just want to beat as many New York runners as I can to prove that I should’ve been higher up for our state [meet last week].’”

It’s All About the Team

Senior Dan Muldoon was the second scorer for the Warriors, finishing 56^th overall with a time of 16:12.  His classmate, Dylan McCarthy, finished 64^th overall in 16:15. Ty Brownlow, a sophomore who made his debut at Cross Nationals, finished 79^th overall in 16:21.

“When the team needs me to step up, that’s what I feel like I do,” Brownlow said.  “Honestly, I just feel like I did my job.”

Since the ManhattanInvitational in October, Brownlow has consistently been the team’s fourth or fifth scorer.  Vannatta said she saw a glimpse of his determination in August.  “Ty is pretty mature for a sophomore,” she said.  “He ran well at the time trial over the summer and he made a statement there and never looked back.”

When professional athletes and free apparel are everywhere, it can be easy for high school athletes to feel spoiled at nationals. “If you go your first time, it’s easy to get sidetracked,” Brownlow said.  But with teammates who already knew the routine, “I was able to follow their lead and not look like a rookie,” he said.

Senior Connor Buck was one of those teammates.  He said it was too easy to get caught up in the excitement last year.  He wanted this trip to be different, so they avoided the athlete lounge, where ping-pong tables and Nike banners captured all of the attention.  The runners made sure to stay off  their feet and rest.  “We just tried to stay relaxed,” Buck said.  

“We really wanted to think about the race, not about all of the cool stuff we get to do and see.”

Buck finished 123^rd overall with a time of 16:43, followed by junior Ryan Comstock in 132^nd and senior Nick LeClair in 159^th.  For a team that finished third in the state less than a week before finishing fourth in the country, “we have to be happy with our performance,” Vannatta said.  “It’s just a true sign of our perseverance with F-M in our section.  Those [Liverpool] guys have the ability to keep believing and it’s key to their perseverance.”

The Warriors went into the meet ranked as the sixth-best team in the country and proved to be the fourth-best. 
 

“It just feels good knowing and having reassurance that hard work does payoff,” Buck said.

Full Results Courtesy of Runnerspace.com