SARANAC LAKE – The Lake Placid boys cross county team finished as the unbeaten Champlain Valley Athletic Conference champion for the second year in a row after notching victories Tuesday over Saranac Lake and Northeastern Clinton on the Red Storm’s course.

With Henry McGrew leading the way, the Blue Bombers claimed their 43rd and 44th straight league wins over a two-year span, topping the Red Storm 23-32 and defeating the Cougars 15-49.

The meet marked the second time this season Lake Placid was able to fend off Saranac Lake. The teams both had 11-0 records when they clashed earlier in the season, and Tuesday’s contest unfolded pretty much the same way.

There were two major differences this time around: the meet was held on a frigid day on a soggy course, and McGrew came out on top instead of Saranac Lake’s Anderson Gray, who won the last time and was runner-up on Tuesday.

McGrew led a group of five Lake Placid runners who cracked the top 10 and turned in the only sub-17 minute result of the race. The senior won in 16:56, Gray took second in 17:12, Scott Schulz of Lake Placid was fourth in 17:16 and Saranac Lake’s Lauchlan Cheney-Seymour finished fourth in 17:23.

Trent White (17:24) and James Flanigan (17:32) grabbed the next two spots for the Blue Bombers. Saranac Lake’s Adam Branch, Logan VanBuren of Elizabethtown-Lewis/Westport, Lake Placid’s Kai Frantz and Tyler Martin of the Red Storm rounded out the top 10.

With the CVAC schedule completed, Lake Placid and Saranac Lake will now turn toward the postseason where both teams are aiming to qualify for the state championships. Not only do the Blue Bombers want to get there, they’re looking to defend the state Class D title and are currently ranked sixth in the New York State Sports Writers Association poll.

“They have natural talent, plus just the drive to stay on top,” Blue Bombers coach Mel Frazer said of her runners. “I have to say this year, they’ve had to work harder than ever before because they are already at such a high level. They are an awesome group and we are hoping for more exciting things to come.”

“It was a cold day, about 33 with snowflakes,” said coach Joe Merrihew, whose Red Storm boys finished with a 20-2 mark in dual meets. “The challenge today was if our boys won, we would have tied for first in the league with Lake Placid, which didn’t end up happening. We did as best as we could on a sloppy, rainy, snowy based course. Our boys fought hard. It’s tough on a day like today to really muscle up and make it happen.”

Merrihew’s runners are currently the top Class C team in Section VII, and they’ll be looking to earn a trip to the state championships when they compete in the qualifying meet on Nov. 4 in Elizabethtown. He said it’s exciting to see how well the Red Storm and Blue Bombers have been stacking up against the competition, and added that the members of both teams are good friends.

“Our boys are the top of C right now, and Lake Placid is the top of D, and as much as they are rivals right now, they’ll be skiing with each other in four weeks,” Merrihew said. “The rivalry is there, and our guys wound up being second place today but they are all friends in the end. It’s really cool to see these small schools with these lower populations beating all the bigger schools in the league.”

Saranac Lake’s boys finished the day with a pair of wins and the loss to Lake Placid. The Red Storm defeated Northeastern Clinton 15-48 and topped the Griffins 17-42.

Lake Placid’s girls also picked up two wins. They squeaked past Saranac Lake 28-29 and defeated the Cougars 15-50 to end their regular season with an 18-4 mark. Saranac Lake grabbed victories over NCCS and Elizabethtown-Lewis/Westport by identical 15-50 scores.

One of the top runners in the CVAC, Red Storm senior Brittany Shumway won the girls meet in 20:26, and Marli Damp of Lake Placid was runner-up with a 21:00 result. Gabby Armstrong took third for the Blue Bombers in 21:04, and Sara Rose-McCandlish was fourth in 21:18.

The Red Storm then landed a slew of runners in the next positions, starting with Madison Grimone and Ellen Gorlaski placing fifth and sixth. Anya Morgan, however, came through for Lake Placid, as she slipped in among the Red Storm contingent to grab seventh place to help seal the win for her girls team. Sierra O’Mahoney, Abbie Wolff and Molly Bell rounded out the top-10 for Saranac Lake.

“In the girls race, it came down to the middle of the pack,” Merrihew said. “We had seven girls in before their fifth girl, but it wasn’t quite enough because of the way things placed. Our girls were a little disappointed because they thought they took it, but the math didn’t work in their favor.”

Lake Placid and Saranac Lake will both be back in action Saturday in the CVAC championship meet in Ticonderoga.