Back to Main MenuWeather HomeToday Forecast5 Day ForecastSchool Event ClosuresBack to Main MenuCrime Safety HomePolice BlotterReported CrimesCity of SyracuseNorth Suburbs Oswego CountyEast Suburbs Madison CountyWest Suburbs Cayuga CountyCNY TrafficBack to Main MenuPhotos HomePhoto EssaysBuy Photo ReprintsYour PhotosBack to Main MenuVideos HomeNews VideosSports VideosHigh School Sports VideosEntertainment VideosLiving VideosCourtney Chapman of Fayetteville Manlius High School won the girls Class AA race during the 2009 Section 3 cross country championships. The Hornets are looking to repeat as national champions. (John Berry / The Post Standard )Seeking to return to the Nike Team Nationals cross country meet in Portland, Oregon on Dec. 5th, coach Bill Aris’ three time defending NTN champion Fayetteville Manlius girls will compete Saturday in the NTN state qualifying meet at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls. with the girls to follow.So strong is the sport of cross country in New York that the state now gets its own qualifying race.From every qualifying race across the nation, the first two teams to finish automatically advance to the NTN finals at Portland. In New York, the F M and Saratoga Springs girls are favored to earn those two berths. Chief challengers look to be Shenendehowa, Queensbury and Monroe Woodbury.The F M girls two weeks ago became the first team in the history of the State Meet to post a perfect winning score of 15 points, taking places 1 2 3 4 5. Runnerup Saratoga Springs had 59 points. In the past, the closest any team came to perfection at "states" was the aforementioned Saratoga Springs girls, who had winning low scores of 18 points in 1998 and 2004, and 19 points by the Blue Streaks in 1993.In the earlier New York boys race qualifier, State Meet champion F M and runnerup North Rockland are favored to earn the two automatic qualifying spots. Also competing from Central New York will be the Liverpool, Baldwinsville and Tully boys teams.F M will again compete without the services of 2008 State Meet Class AA individual champion Alex Hatz, bopund for the University of Wisconsin to run track and cross country next year. After having August surgery, followed by further illness earlier this month, Hatz has decided to concentrate on regaining full health for the spring track season. He’s also the defending state 1,600 meter champion (4:06.11) outdoors.Even without Hatz, the Hornets won the recent Class AA State Meet behind the efforts of Brendan Farrell, Andrew Roache, Paul Merriman, Mark McGurrin and Joe Hartnett.