2000 Section 2 Class B Champions!!!
1999 New York State Class B Cross Country Champions
"Whatever it takes to reach the Top"--Coach Button 1999
"After us the Deluge"--Tom Bonner 1996
One of the Top 15 XC Teams of the 90's in NY State
According to the New York State Sportswriters
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The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake cross country website, which is maintained by co-captain Chris Camp, proudly proclaims that "the pack attack is back."
Is it ever.
The Spartans won the Class B state meet last year with a tight group of runners that scored 76 points at Westchester Community College edging out Sayville (88), Warwick (89) and Newark (111).
The five who scored for Burnt Hills placed 22nd to 43rd, which is about as close together as you can get in the mob of runners that competes at the state meet.
The defending champs are using the same formula this season, which will make them a dangerous factor when the state meet is held in Utica on Saturday.
With a deep, experienced team, Burnt Hills won't have to rely on one or two runners to get way out front and carry the load.
"We're pretty interchangeable with our top seven," Burnt Hills coach Chip Button said. "we were a lot like that last year, except we were a little bit stronger up front."
The Spartans are hitting their stride at the right time, beating several strong Class A schools to finish third at the Suburban Council championships two weeks ago, before winning sectionals last week. Burnt Hills moved up to fourth in the state rankings two weeks ago and is again targeting Warwick and Sayville as two teams it needs to beat on Saturday.
"We've actually improved a lot as the season has gone on," Button said. "The bones of the team were there, it just seemed like it took us a little bit longer to get it going this year."
The pack attack worked for Burnt Hills last week. After Camp finished eighth, Dan Crespin, Joe Douchane, Ben Pangie, Andrew McCarthy and Ken Laskowski took five of six places from 10th to 15th over a span of 11 seconds.
All are seniors except for McCarthy, a junior, and the rest of the team includes upperclassmen Denis Moffet(he's actually a junior not a senior), Kyle Folmsbee, Ian Vonie and Chris Bonner.
It is time. Remember Coach Button's words. Let's get out there and race as defending state champions. We can do it.
