HF-L boys win second straight Nordic skiing state championship

The pressure is there, yes. But so is the peace.

The reward for that balance is another state championship for the nordic skiers of Honeoye Falls-Lima.

The team of Braden Bellizzi, Drew Larsen and Calvin Burke pushed the Cougars to a win in Tuesday’s relay portion of the state championships at Bristol Mountain. And combined with the stellar performance in Monday’s individual races, the Cougars are state champs for a second straight season.

“It feels good,” said Larsen, an HF-L sophomore. “There was a bit of pressure because we still had to win the relay.”

So once again, balance became part of the equation both literally and figuratively. The Cougars were in first place in the team standings after placing three skiers in the top 10 of Monday’s classic races. So on Tuesday, the goal was to ski hard and fast, but not too hard or too fast at the risk of falling, breaking a pole or any other mishap that would jeopardize Monday’s effort.

And to that point, second-year coach Mark Armbruster wasn’t too worried.

“We have really good athletes and experience racers,” he said. “So I didn’t have to tell them a lot. I just coached lightly.”

The result was a winning time of 19:03, 27 seconds ahead of the Section V A team consisting of Pittsford Sutherland’s Gordon Fagan, Henry Burke (HF-L) and Andrew Cole (Sutherland).

It was a performance Armbruster knew his team had in it. But having the potential is different than living up to it and at the two-day championship event, HF-L had both.

“I knew we had a very good crack at it,” said Armbruster. “We were the favorites because we won it last year and because we have a young team and a deep team.”

The B team for Section V — Dillon Frank (Mendon) Flip Stepankovich (Brighton) and Paul Pippin (Mendon) — finished fifth (20:38) and the C team of Braeden Paoni (Fairport), Riley Cushman (HF-L) and Sean Taylor (Mendon) was seventh (21:10).

Section V girls: Pittsford Sutherland girls finish second overall

In the girls races, the Pittsford Sutherland team of Gabriella Spyra, Molly Heinzelman and Reid Smith finished third in 24:45. That knocked the Knights from the top spot they held after Monday’s classic portion and they finished second in the overall team scoring.

That’s because Shenendehowa won the relay portion in 24:19 to leapfrog Sutherland for the overall team championship.

The Section V A team of Cayla Lawrence (HF-L), Gabby Cannizzo (Itondequoit) and Emelia Jordan (Brighton) finished fourth (24:56), the B team of Maeve Bernard (Mendon), Kylie Willis (Webster) and Claire Pippin (Mendon) was sixth and the C team of Ollie Kraynick (HF-L), Marianne Spyra (Sutherland) and Lucia Samper (Brighton) finished seventh (26:01).

Boys team scores (final)

Honeoye Falls-Lima 86, Saranac Lake 70, Queensbury 69, Camden 36, New Paltz 21.

Boys Section scores (final)

Section V 469, Section VII 395, Section II 387, Section III 232, Section IX 141.

Girls team scores (final)

Shenendehowa 78, Pittsford Sutherland 75, Lake Placid 60, Old Forge 55, New Paltz 24.

Girls Section scores (final)

Section II 458, Section V 419, Section VII 321, Section III 310, Section IX 126.

Monday: Day 1 of NYSPHSAA nordic state championships

They’re not complaining, mind you. But they are oh, so happy.

Considering what area Nordic skiers have been through this season with the lack of snow, the course for Monday’s state championship races at Bristol Mountain still wasn’t perfect, but they were far superior than the snow they raced on two weeks ago in the Section V championships.

“The snow was much better compared to the rest of the year,” said Pittsford Mendon senior Claire Pippin. “It was fast … a bit icy in the tracks but it’s still good. At least we can still ski.”

Pippin finished 22nd overall in Monday’s 7.5-kilometer classic race in an even 31 minutes. That’s just over 3 minutes behind Brighton senior Emelia Jordan, who was the top Section V finisher in third overall (27:53.5).

And Jordan said all things considered, she’s pleased with Monday’s effort.

“I’m proud of it,” she said of her race. “I stayed focused the whole time … the conditions were amazing compared to sectionals. It was more like winter. The snow was fast and there was coverage. No dirty snow.”

Molly Heinzelman finished fifth overall (28:18) and was the top finisher for Pittsford Sutherland, which had all four skiers in the top 23. That’s enough to have the Knights in first place for the team standings while helping Section V to second place in the sectional scoring.

Tuesday’s relay races will determine the final standings for both.

In the boys classic, Honeoye Falls-Lima sophomore Braden Bellizzi finished second overall in 22:53.9 on a course that he said was a true test.

“I wanted to hammer the top of the course because there isn’t a lot of rest,” he said. “So I think I did a decent job, but the uphill took a lot out of me. It was harder than it looked.”

Second overall isn’t bad, of course. Unless you were hoping for the win and that’s where Bellizzi’s mind was. But with at least two more seasons to compete, he’s hoping a state title comes his way.

“This course isn’t one of my biggest strengths,” he said. “Lots of double-poling and I think I’m better on courses that have more striding.”

Bellizzi is one of three HF-L skiers in the top 10, giving the Cougars the lead in team standings through the first day of skiing.

Back for more on Tuesday

The Nordic skiers return to Bristol on Tuesday for the relay portion of the state championships. The girls race starts at 10 a.m. followed by the boys at 11:15 a.m.

Section V girls: 7.5K classic

3. Emelia Jordan (Brighton) 27:53.5; 5. Molly Heinzelman (Pittsford Sutherland) 28:18.4; 11. Maeve Bernard (Pittsford Mendon) 29:30.7; 14. Gabrielle Spyra (Pittsford Sutherland) 30:03.2; 15. Gabby Cannizzo (Irondequoit) 30:08.2; 16. Kylie Willis (Webster) 30:16.6; 18. Reid Smith (Pittsford Sutherland) 30:32.7; 21. Ollie Kraynik (Honeoye Falls-Lima) 30:58.1; 22. Claire Pippin (Pittsford Sutherland) 31:00.1; 23. Mariane Spyra (Pittsford Sutherland) 31:00.2; 24. Lucia Samper (Brighton) 31:04.6; 28: Cayla Lawrence (Honeoye Falls-Lima) 31:40.2.

Section V boys: 7.5K classice

2. Braden Bellizzi (Honeoye Falls-Lima) 22:53.9; 4. Gordan Fagan (Pittsford Sutherland) 23:44.0; 7. Drew Larsen (Honeoye Falls-Lima) 24:57.4; 8. Andrew Cole (Pittsford Sutherland) 25:49.9; 10. Calvin Burke (Honeoye Falls-Lima) 25:56.8; 11. Dillon Frank (Pittsford Mendon) 22:58.5; 12. Paul Pippin (Pittsford Mendon) 26:00.6; 14. Braeden Paoni (Fairport) 26:37.0; 18. Henry Burke (Honeoye Falls-Lima) 27:02.8; 21. Flip Stefankovic (Brighton) 27:06.1; 24. Sean Taylor (Pittsford Mendon) 27:31.1; 28. Riley Cushman (Honeoye Falls-Lima) 28:10.4.

Girls Nordic team scores (through Day 1)

Pittsford Sutherland 47, Shenendehowa  43, Old Forge 41, Lake Placid 39, New Paltz 17.

Boys Nordic team scores (through Day 1)

Honeoye Falls-Lima 51, Queensbury 48, Saranac Lake 42, Camden 22, New Paltz 14.

This article originally appeared on MPNnow: HF-L boys win second straight Nordic skiing state championship