The FM boys’ cross-country team had a deceiving record of 2-3. The team is filled with runners of all ages and a lot of young talent. After losing three meets during their regular season, the boys were discouraged. Yet, with a fair shot at sectionals, there was one runner who was able to lead the FM boys’ cross country to victory: Nolan McGinn. Nolan started running cross country for FM in his freshman year. Now, just four years later, he competed for the national title.
Section III championships were on November 11th at Vernon Verona Sherrill High School. The senior swept the competition, becoming the Section III champion. McGinn set the course record for Section III boys cross country championships. He set the bar high for generations of runners to come with a 15:39.80 time. “Coming out of sectionals, I had a pretty big win,” said McGinn. After sectionals, he was considered the best runner in the state on paper, given his consistent stats. Despite his confident persona, McGinn had to mentally prepare for this huge race. “I was confident going in, but I was wary that these were still really skilled guys coming out,” said McGinn.
Regionals were the next major obstacle. “It will be about the same competition as sectionals,” said McGinn. However, there is a significant discrepancy between sectionals and regionals. At regionals, McGinn would be competing against the fastest and most talented runners in all of New York State. Still, he was at the top of that list, and ranked best in the state on paper. “Nothing is for certain. I still have to put in the work… it’s a hilly course,” said McGinn.
Surely enough, McGinn clinched the state title with a time of 15:57.8. The Nike Cross Regionals were held at Bowdoin Park in Poughkeepsie, New York on November 25th. Running in the boys’ individual, McGinn won by over twenty seconds. The runner up had a time of 16:20. This was a huge win for not only McGinn, but for the Fayetteville Manlius school district. Given the boys cross country team’s record of 2-3, it was a big accomplishment for the program.
After he had secured his spot at number one runner in the state, McGinn had just one more race: The Nike Cross Nationals. It took place at the Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon. He and 201 other runners from across the country competed in a 5k race. McGinn completed the course in 16:07.8. After all was said and done, he still managed to place 74th out of 201. He finished in the first half of runners, and he even was in the lead at some points throughout the race.
Nolan McGinn plans to continue his athletic legacy at University of Pittsburgh to run Division 1 track/XC. As for the rest of the FM boys’ cross-country team, it will be a question as to whether or not they will be able to step it up next year without their star runner.
