O’Mara and Palmesano join Watkins Glen High School on Friday to celebrate cross country state champions!

Watkins Glen, N.Y., May 26—State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats) and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) today joined the Watkins Glen High School community to pay tribute to the 2016 Boys Varsity Cross Country championship team.

The celebration ceremony was held in the Watkins Glen High School auditorium (301 12th Street).  

The 2016 Watkins Glen Boys Varsity Boys Cross Country Senecas captured the school’s first-ever New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Class C championship on Saturday, November 12, 2016 at Chenango Valley State Park.  A week later, on November 19 at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, the team edged out Burnt Hills-Ballston Spa to capture the New York Federation Cross Country Championship.

In a joint statement, O’Mara and Palmesano said, “What an incredible season!  Bringing home their school’s first-ever state championship followed, a week later, by an unforgettable victory at the Federation Championships, equals a truly amazing season.  We’re proud to join Watkins Glen High School and the community at large to celebrate these runners on their state championships and to share in the enormous sense of pride and accomplishment they brought home to our region.”

Watkins Glen CSD Superintendent Tom Phillips said, “I could not be more proud of this group of student athletes for not only winning the New York State Class C Championship, but most impressive was the win at the Federation Championship.”

Watkins Glen CSD Athletic Director Rod Weeden, who also served as the Assistant Cross Country coach, said, “There are no words to describe the sense of pride and accomplishment that every member of the cross team, their families and coaches felt on both of those historic days.  After a second place finish from the year prior, the team had a mission last summer.  Everyone knew the kind of work and mental toughness they would have to endure in order to change that runner-up status.  Coach Fazzary sat them down months before the season, knowing we had a special group of kids with the talent to be champions. The only question was did they want this as much as the adult figures in their lives?  They indicated they did and the team building process began.  We had families driving their student athletes to early morning and late evening runs.  Of course, there were a lot of team breakfasts, lunches and dinners put on by the parents to help with team building. Without the support of everyone involved, these championships would not have happened. I’m so proud of all these tenacious young men and the sense of family pride that was accomplished for the whole community during the season.”

Watkins Glen Cross Country Head Coach John Fazzary led the following team members: Jacob Carocci, Tyler Couch, Clint Craven, Maxwell Evans, Alexander Gibson, Steven Gublo, Sam Hanley, Patrick Hazlitt, Elliott Holland, Sean Holland, Isaac McIlroy, Daniel Paradiso, Aaron Planty, Gabe Planty, Shawn Rutledge, Tanner Ryan, Julian Thornton, Sam Thorsland, Conlin Wysocki and William Yeater. 

The following runners competed at the State and Federation Championships: Jacob Carocci, Sam Hanley, Patrick Hazlitt, Sean Holland, Daniel Paradiso, Aaron Planty, Gabe Planty and Shawn Rutledge.

O’Mara and Palmesano also presented the team with copies of the Legislative Resolution (SR2373) unanimously adopted by the New York Senate and Assembly in the team’s honor.  The Resolution reads, in part, “Coach John Fazzary and all of the outstanding athletes on the Watkins Glen Boys Varsity Cross Country Team have clearly utilized dedication, determination and teamwork in providing a lasting contribution to the spirit of excellence which is a tradition of their school.”