Young Saratoga Springs Squad Could Beat FM Next Year
Sure, you can easily argue that Saratoga finishing well at Nike Cross Nationals is never a "surprise". This season they performed well and were expected to end up with a high finish at NXN. More importantly, this young group showed that they already have the maturity and composure to compete at the highest level. When looking at this group for future years, they return the highest team finisher in breakout freshman star Kelsey Chmiel (fourth, 17:15.4). Four of their top five scorers at NXN were freshmen; the fifth is a sophomore. Only one athlete in their top seven is an upperclassmen.
They had a near identical team average and total time as third place Great Oak and second place Davis. The two Cali teams are losing strong seniors and a heavier junior presence than the Kinetic squad. Even the defending national champions lose three athletes from their NXN team.
The Saratoga Springs girls cross country dynasty is overshadowed lately by the incredible success of nine-time NXN champions Fayetteville-Manlius. The Blue Streaks' Portland performance stood out not only because it proves their early season races were no fluke, but sent a message that this group could take back the New York and the national championship titles from the FM Hornets.
- Travis