1 week Ago
He’s won league titles, Section 2 titles, and as of Saturday, the Schalmont senior is a state champion. “Of all the state titles I thought I'd get, I didn't think it'd be cross country, but this one, I feel like it's gonna mean the most to me,” said Flowers, who won Section 2 track and field titles his junior year in three different events. “It was just a great race.
I ran how I wanted to run, and I just had a great time.” Finishing first this weekend, Flowers’ new achievement also came with a personal record of 15:32, 10 seconds quicker than the personal best he set the previous Saturday in the Section 2 Class C championship race also at Queensbury High School, where he successfully defended a 2023 individual title. Flowers also earned his second consecutive Colonial Council title this postseason, in which Schalmont won its first Section 2 team championship, putting an exclamation mark on head coach John George’s first season leading the program, who said, “Carter's win today just makes it that much sweeter.
” The coach says Flowers has developed notoriety which lives up to his prowess as an athlete. “You always joke about somebody being the GOAT [greatest of all time], and when somebody says that about Carter, everyone kind of confirms that is indeed the case,” he said. “Carter's worked hard.
He's the kind of kid who gets done with practice and says, ‘Hey coach, I'm going home to run a few more miles.’” With Flowers’ final winter and spring track and field seasons in front of him at Schalmont, he looks to run in college in the next step of his athletic career. “I got so much more left in me,” he said.
“I got at least 10 more years, and I just really want to do the best I can right now and then the best I can in the future.” Flowers was followed in second by the same runner from the Section 2 meet — Stillwater senior Anthony Zazzaro, who finished the state race in 15:45. Having improved his state championship time by more than 40 seconds since 2023, where Zazzaro was the Section 2 Class D champion, he hopes his career progress has been recognized.
“That's what I want to show everyone, that no matter what happens, no matter the stage, that I'm always there to compete, especially at a high level,” he said. In Class A, Saratoga Springs junior Thomas Isenovski, who was also a Section 2 champion in 2023, finished third this Saturday with a time of 15:22, after also finishing second in the prior weekend’s race. Isenovski, whose team placed first in Section 2 last year, was pleased with his pace this weekend.
Saratoga Springs junior Thomas Isenovski crosses the finish line to place third in the NYSPHSAA Class A boys' cross country championship at Queensbury High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. “I had a really good end of the race,” he said.
“I went out patiently, which I don't usually do in races, so that allowed me to have some energy at the end.” Class B’s Section 2 runner-up had similar success in his state meet, with sophomore Ethan Owen from Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake placing fifth and finishing in 15:37. He enjoyed a bit of home field advantage running at Queensbury in back-to-back weekends, following a sectional race where he felt sick and finished in 16:03.
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake sophomore Ethan Owen (235) catches his breath after placing fifth in the NYSPHSAA Class B boys' cross country championship at Queensbury High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake girls' cross country team (dark, BH-BL) stands at the starting line ahead of the NYSPHSAA Class B cross country championship at Queensbury High School on Saturday, Nov.
16, 2024. “I definitely made some mistakes last week going into the race, and this week I was able to improve on almost every part of it,” he said. “I feel like it's a great advantage having it here, especially the next three years.
” On the girls’ side, Class A Section 2 champion Leyla Bhusri, a Shenendehowa junior, placed third in 17:40, nearly two minutes quicker than her 26th place finish in last year’s state championship. “I feel really good,” Bhusri said. “I knew I was capable of running fast today, I'm just happy that I was able to execute it.
” Shenendehowa junior Leyla Bhusri crosses the finish line to place third in the NYSPHSAA Class A girls' cross country championship at Queensbury High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. Bethlehem, Section 2’s team champion in Class A and the top-ranked program in the country according to RunnerSpace.
com ’s DyeStat rankings, won the race with 20 points, well ahead of Section 11 champion Northport (75) who placed second. In Class B, Section 2 champion Rachel Miller, a Mohonasen senior, placed 16th in 18:59.4, not far ahead of Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake freshman Lillian Knott (19:12) in 21st.
Knott’s team, who won its second-straight Section 2 championship the weekend before, finished this Saturday in fourth with 87 points, not far below state champion Tappan Zee (65) from Section 1..
