Two Members of Girls’ Cross-Country Team Collect All-State Honors

Two runners on the Friends Academy girls’ cross-country team earned All-State honors with top-20 finishes at last weekend’s Class D championship meet in Queensbury, N.Y.

Freshman Ariana Madeira (pictured above, left) placed third with a time of 18:39.7, and senior Charlotte Yanke (above, right) placed No. 14 in 19:50.4.

”Ariana got a big, fancy medal and got pulled up on stage. It was great. Everybody cheered and yelled and screamed,” Friends Academy coach Dave Frazer says. ”And Charlotte was very comfortable running her race. She believed from the start that she was capable of an all-state finish and went out and got it.”

Seeded ninth entering the meet, the girls’ team jumped three spots and finished sixth.

”There were two messages to the team coming out of the meet: look at what the seniors accomplished to get the team to this point, and what are the younger teammates going to do next to keep this momentum moving in the right direction?” coach Frazer says. ”We’re celebrating what we accomplished this year, it was a very big step. But even the kids that did really well are not fully satisfied, they still want more. It’s a great feeling as a coach to know that you’ve lit that fire, and now we have to continue to put the fuel on it to keep it going.” 

The boys’ cross-country team also jumped in the final standings. Ranked No. 10 entering the meet, they finished in eighth.

Seventh-grader Teddy Dugan (pictured above) was the top finisher for the Quakers with a time of 17:15.9, placing him 35th in a field of 124 runners.

”It wasn't his best time of the year, but he still ran a very good race,” coach Frazer says. ”Teddy is only in seventh grade, and this was his first time competing in the state meet. It’s a hard race the first time you do it, but it was an invaluable learning experience for him.”

Two Quaker runners were chosen by coaches from Nassau County as NYS Sportsmanship ambassadors: junior Raphi Loizides (pictured above, left) on the boys’ team, and senior Abby Frazer (above, right) on the girls’ team.

”Both Abby and Raphi are well-known throughout the county and they are so deserving of this award,” coach Frazer says. ”They are really big leaders on their teams. They both work incredibly hard and they both cheer on greatness — even when it comes from other teams that we are competing against. In my mind, they both display the best of what Friends Academy has to offer.”