CUBA, N.Y. — Manny Diaz, Leo Paterniti and Brayden Frair placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively, leading the Bradford boys cross country team at the Cuba-Rushford Invitational.
Diaz finished the race in 17:59 after just being edged out for second place, while Paterniti finished in 18:15 and Frair crossed the line in 19:04. Joe Caruso finished 14 for the Owls in 20:35.
“If we would have had one more runner in the top 30 we would have won this race,” Bradford coach Tom Tessena said. “The course was very wet and the boys had to run through water which was sometimes six inches deep. Then, there was heavy rain and wind so the times may appear to be slower than what we normally run but I would say the conditions added 1.5 minutes to their times.”
The Owls will continue to prepare for the district meet on Oct. 30.
“I think we are right on schedule and we are getting stronger each week,” Tessena said. “They came to run today and it showed in the results. That first mile was the toughest because of the deep water. Even the two Allegany-Limestone runners who have run in the 16:00’s this year were over six minutes.”
Jacob Brink of Allegany-Limestone finished first overall in 17:49.9, the top finisher on A-L’s team championship squad.
Smethport finished third as a team at C-R, with Sawyer Prince leading the way in 13th place. Gavin McCabe finished in 19th for the Hubbers while Daniel Finn was 22nd, Carson Dunn 24th and Alden Furgeson 31st.
Fretz won the middle school race, the team’s third invitational victory.
Marcus Terwilliger finished first, in 10:05, while Daniel Marasco was fourth in 10:24.4 and Kadyn Tessena was fifth in 10:34. Evan Soto finished eighth for Fretz while Ashton Windsor was 11th.
“This was Ashton’s best race ever and Kadyn and Evan are getting better each week,” Tom Tessena said. “Marcus and Daniel really provide the leadership for these guys who are still undefeated.”
Smethport was fourth as a team in the middle school race. Gavin Howard finished 12th while Matt Benson was 18th, Isaac Bailey finished 19th and Deacon Hendrickson crossed the line 24th.
