GORSLINE LEADS ATHENS TO 7TH-PLACE FINISH IN SMALL SCHOOL RACE AT McQUAID INVITATIONAL

By: Tim Birney | AthensWildcats.com | October 2, 2021 | Photo courtesy Amanda Conklin

 
GORSLINE LEADS ATHENS TO 7TH-PLACE FINISH IN SMALL SCHOOL RACE AT McQUAID INVITATIONAL
 

ROCHESTER — Senior Matt Gorsline finished 16th to lead Athens to a seventh-place finish in its Small Schools race at the prestigious McQuaid Invitational here Saturday at the Genesee Valley Park.

Waverly senior Nate Ackley finished 30th in a race that featured 38 complete teams, and a field of 317 runners.

We always look forward to going to McQuaid, it is a great opportunity for our kids to test themselves against really top-flight competition,” said Athens coach Mike Bronson. “We had a really successful day, the boys placed seventh as a team, which is our best team showing at McQuaid.  

“Matt Gorsline placed higher than any Athens boy has in the years we have been attending,” noted Bronson. “Ethan Denlinger ran a really good race, this is only his second year running, so 37th is a great finish.  

“It is good to have Kyle Anthony back, he just needs another race or two to get back to full strength,” continued Bronson.

“In the junior high boys race, Eli Hicks ran a tremendous race, he's only a 7th-grader, but he finished ninth in his race and ended up running the 9th-fastest time of the day for all junior high boys,” added Bronson.

Southwestern (NY) won the team title with 131 points, while North East (Pa.) was second with 156, and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill (NY) and Alden (NY) tied four third with 170 points. Athens finished with 276 points.

Gorsline clocked in at in 17:00.9, while junior Ethan Denlinger was 37th in 17:48.0, freshman Carter Lewis was 53rd in 18:09.4, and senior Kyle Anthony was 77th in 18:29.6.

Senior Izaak Hobday finished 110th in a time of 19:06.3 for the Wildcats, while sophomore Nate Prickitt was 115th in 19:15.6, and senior Sander Bertsch was 138th in 19:37.9

Ackley clocked in at 17:41.8, while senior Sam VanDyke was 223rd in 21:09.6, and sophomore Brayden Hurd was 239th in 21:33.2

BOYS JV RACE

Athens finished 20th out of 21 complete teams. There were 213 competitors in the field.

Freshman Aiden Oldryod led the junior ‘Cats with a 138th-place finish in 22:12.9, while senior Brendan Jones was 145th in 22:32.4, freshman Pierce Oldroyd was 159th in 23:37.6, freshman Ryan Gorman was 184th in 25:19.3, and freshman Lohith Kinthala was 206th in 28:09.1.

JUNIOR HIGH RACE
There were 18 complete teams and 212 runners in the field in the junior high race. Athens and Waverly both were incomplete.

Seventh-grader Eli Hicks led Athens with a ninth-place finish in a time of 8:28.8, while 8th-grader Charan Venkataswamy was 72nd in 10:02.1, and 8th-grader Arayan Gaur was 192nd in 13:53.3.

Seventh-grader Chase Hine led Waverly with a 47th-place finish in a time of 9:26.0, while 8th-grader Finn Wiliams was 62nd in 9:45.9, and 7th-grader Mark Myers was 191st in 13:51.6.

 

About the Author

Tim Birney Author Bio
Tim Birney

Tim Birney is the founder / owner of River Road Media Group. He was born and raised in the Valley, graduating from Waverly High School in 1984.

Birney earned an Associate's Degree in Journalism from SUNY Morrisville in 1986 and a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism / Public Relations from Utica College of Syracuse University in 1988. He began his newspaper career at The Daily Review in Towanda in 1989, before moving on to The Evening Times in 1995. He spent more than 10 years at the Times, the last four as Managing Editor.

River Road Media Group includes five sites in "The Sports Reports" family that cover 24 school districts in five counties: Valley Sports Report (launched Aug. 10, 2009), Tioga County (NY) Sports Report (Aug. 13, 2018), and Northern Tier Sports Report (Aug. 31, 2020); Northern Tier West Sports Report (March 15, 2021) Southern Tier Sports Report (Aug. 16, 2021).