Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake growing into a contender in NY

By Paul Schmitz of DyeStat

Boys New York Preview

New York had one of the best years in NXN history in 2014 when Fayetteville-Manlius took home the title, Liverpool finished fourth and St. Anthony’s placed eighth. The region has been unable to come close to that success in the past two years, placing 10th (Liverpool) and 21st (F-M) in 2015, followed by ninth (Liverpool) and 19th (F-M) last year. 

That trend will continue in 2017 with the top team in the region, Burnt Hills hoping for a top-10 finish and the second team in the state a potential back-of-the-pack squad at NXN. Many of the top teams in New York were hit heavy by graduation losses and these rankings could change dramatically as underclassmen step up to varsity roles.  

The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Spartans are the top team in the state right now. With a top five comprised of juniors or younger athletes, they could be one of the top teams in the country a year from now. Burnt Hills won the NY Class B Championship last year and returns its top four runners. The team finished seventh at NXR, but if continued growth from spring track carries over the fall, the Spartans could earn their second NXN berth and first since 2009.

The No. 2 team in the state might be a surprise, given that it didn’t crack the watchlist last year. The Northport Tigers (home of Paralympic gold medalist Mikey Brannigan) did not qualify for the state meet last season after finishing fourth in the Section 11 Championship. Northport did not compete at the NXR meet. The Tigers only return two of the top five and four of the top seven.  However, Northport had a breakout year on the track and that bodes well for the fall.  

No New York preview would be complete without mentioning the team from Fayetteville-Manlius. The Hornets lead the nation with nine consecutive NXN appearances (American Fork UT has eight) and they are tied with The Woodlands TX with 11 total trips to Portland. After losing four of the top five on a team that finished 19th in the nation last year, F-M is on the watchlist to open this season, but history shows it is unwise to sleep on a Bill Aris coached team.      

1. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake. The Burnt Hills team is led by three juniors up front in Evan Brennan, Tyler Berg and Aidan Gillooley. There is some dropoff at four and five, but the strength of the top three should carry them in the state.  

2. Northport. This is the darkhorse pick. Isaiah Claiborne, who finished fourth in the state track meet this spring in the 3,200 with a 9:16 after running a 9:11 earlier in the year, leads the team. Northport is looking for its second trip to NXN after qualifying in 2013 and finishing 11th.     

3. Niskayuna. The upheaval in the region continues as the 13th-place team from NXR last year comes up to third to open this season. The second-place team in Section 2 returns the top four runners and six of seven. The Silver Warriors also had a good year on the track with five runners clocking 9:52 or better in the 3,200.         

4. Fairport. The team just missed the state meet last year, losing to Penfield 54-59. The Red Raiders return their top four runners and six of the top seven.    

5. Shenendehowa. Rounding out the top five is one of the historically great teams in the state. Shenendehowa has the second-most NXN appearances in New York behind F-M with three, having qualified from 2006-08. The Plainsmen are another team on the list that did not quality for the state meet last season, finishing third behind Saratoga Springs and Niskayuna in Section 2. Shenendehowa returns six of its top seven runners.       

Watch list:

Corning

St. Anthony’s 

Fayetteville-Manlius

Bethlehem Central

Baldwinsville