The Fayetteville-Manlius girls are by now nearly an emblem of the NXN Championships. In winning eight of the past nine NXN team titles, head coach Bill Aris has produced the most dominant girls cross country program of the modern era. Even with just three of five varsity scorers returning from last year's champion squad and more than a few questions about where the rest of their scorers will come from, F-M must always be considered a podium threat.
The Hornets typically focus on cross country over track, so there are not many results from the spring to indicate returning fitness levels. Sophie Ryan, who ran No. 3 last year, did clock impressive times in her freshman campaign that included 4:35 for 1500m and 10:06 for 3000m. Rising senior Jenna Farrell ran in the No. 4 position last year and though she did not touch the track much in 2015, she is a four-time NXN veteran and owns personal best times of 4:47 for 1500m, 10:09.09 for 3000m and 17:56.7 for 5k. Fellow rising senior Samantha Levy could be ready for a breakout cross country season and perhaps even challenge for No. 1 duties after a spring that saw her cruise sub-10 (9:58) for 3000m.
There is always an aura of mystique that surrounds the F-M squad and this year is no different. Expect a few new faces to pop up and big improvement from veteran runners. They may not run fast until they need to (New York state meet/Nike Cross Regionals), but rest assured they will be in the hunt.
| Top Returners from 2014 XC Season: |
1) Sophie Ryan 18:04.1
2) Samantha Levy 18:30.5
3) Jenna Farrell 18:34.7
4) Reilly Madsen 19:38.2
5) Megan Menz 19:50.8
| Average Time: 18:55.66 Total Time: 1:34:38.3 1-5 Split: 1:46.70 | ||||
Top 3k Returners from 2015 Outdoor Season:
1) Samantha Levy 9:58.00
| 2) Sophie Ryan | 10:06.17 | 22 | ||
| 3) Reilly Madsen | 10:49.50 | 155 | ||
| 4) Palmer Madsen | 11:20.90 | 364 | ||
| Average Time: 10:33.64 Total Time: 42:14.57 1-3 Split: 1:22 | ||||