Shumway led the charge for the local girls in the Class C race, finishing the 5,000-meter course in 19 minutes, 50.3 seconds. Hayleigh Palotti from Livonia placed first with a time of 18:29.4. Saranac Lake junior Madison Grimone finished in 22:18.7 for 102 place.

Lake Placid qualified three girls for the Class D race, including eighth-grader Marli Damp, senior Gabby Armstong and sophomore Sara Rose-McCandlish. Damp and Armstrong finished in the top 50, with Damp placing 40th with a time of 20:37.2. Armstrong placed 49th in 21:03, while Rose-McCandlish found herself in the front half of the pack with a time of 21:19.1 for a 52nd-place finish.

Tupper Lake was also represented by a trio of girls for the Class D meet. Senior Tess Klossner was first across the line for Tupper with a time of 24:36 for 96th place out of 116 runners. Freshman Sandra Kwasniak was 113th in 26:27.8, and sophomore Kassandra Sipler finished in 28:54.1 for 115th place. Brooke Rauber from Tully took first place in Class D with a time of 18:30.6.

“It was pretty good,” Shumway said after the race. “I’m still happy with fifteenth. It’s pretty cool, I didn’t ever think I’d have a chance to be up there.”

Tupper Lake senior Tess Klossner climbs a hill on the way to a 24:36 finish in the Class D cross country championship Saturday. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)

Saranac Lake coach Joe Merrihew said he was pleased with Shumway’s performance.

“Fifteenth, that’s pretty respectable for a first-time runner,” he said. “She really learned fast. She learned how to race like a veteran without even having that experience.

“I know she’s kind of new to the program, but to show up and do as well as she did against girls who have been running at this level for four, five, six years, that’s pretty cool.”

Shumway earned her spot in the state meet after taking first place in the Section VII qualifier last week in Elizabethtown. Her time that day was 18:15.

“It’s a tough course mentally, but overall I felt pretty good,” Damp said. “There’s a couple gradual hills, and it felt longer than a 5k, although it wasn’t, but it felt like that today.

Lake Placid’s Marli Damp, left, and Gabby Armstong run side by side during Saturday’s NYSPHAA Class D race. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)

“I didn’t beat my time from last time, but that doesn’t really matter. It was a good race and I’m happy with my season.”     Damp qualified for the state meet by running a 19:28 race at Elizabethtown last week.

Armstrong said she was happy with the course and how she and her teammates performed.

“I liked the course. We’ve been training a lot on the golf courses, so it was kind of nice that we were all prepared,” she said. “I ran a little faster, so I was happy with that.”

This was Armstrong’s sixth year on the cross country team and her last meet for Lake Placid.

“It’s pretty bitter-sweet. I love Mel (Frazer) and Bill (Frazer) and I always want to run well for them and for myself. It’s a great team,” she said. “I’m of course more of a skier, but I have a great connection with cross country running.”

Saranac Lake’s Madison Grimmone makes her way up a small hill about halfway through the 5,000-meter course Saturday at Chenango Valley State Park. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)