This past Saturday morning the Madison High School Cross Country team competed in Group 2 Sectionals at Greystone Park. Sectionals is the race that dictates which individuals and teams go on to compete at the State Group Championship race next weekend. To qualify for the Group Championship race, a team has to come in the top five spots or an individual can qualify by coming in the top ten positions in their race. The races are  a 5k and are highly competitive.

The Girls’ Cross Country team had a great race coming in fourth and qualifying to move on to the Groups Championship. Leading the girl’s team was Cara Smith and Caroline Kranefuss. Cara Smith placed seventh overall with a time of 20:38 qualifying individually for the Groups Championship. Caroline Kranefuss came in next for Madison placing ninth with a time of 20:48 and also qualifying individually for the Group championship. The third girl in for Madison was Rose Ciriello with an impressive time of 21:42 and placing twenty-second overall. Olivia Kranefuss with a time of 23:23, Elyse Harris with a time of 23:27, and Dorothy Lee with a time of 23:50 had incredibly strong finishes as well. Overall the girl’s team had their best performance since 2009 and placed fourth out of fifteen teams.

The Boys Cross Country team had a fantastic race as well, placing fifth and qualifying to move on to the Groups Championship. Leading the boy’s team was Connor Riley who placed fifth overall with a time of 16:53. Next for Madison was Noah Buzinkai with an impressive time of 18:23 placing twenty fourth overall.  Rob Bazaral with a time of 19:10 and Connor O’Keeffe with a time of 19:18 had incredibly strong finishes as well. The boys team placed fifth overall qualifying for the Groups Championship as a team. This is the fourth year in a row that the Madison Boy’s Cross Country team has qualified for the Groups championship.