After producing perfect scores of 15 in winning the Suburban Council and Class A Division II championships, Saratoga Springs won the Class A state title and the Federation championships – beating countryman each time. Fayetteville-Manlius.

The Blue Streaks closed out their fall campaign sweeping the top five spots and six of the top seven spots, easily winning the tag team title at the New York Nike Cross National Regional. Although the national championship in Portland, Oregon was canceled, Saratoga Springs was still recognized as the No. 1 program in the nation for the third consecutive year.

“I feel like all the hard work we’ve put in over the past two years has paid off,” Times Union Athlete of the Year Emily Bush said during a cross-country . “We were able to show what we were capable of to be the number one team in the country again. It’s a great feeling.

Mackenzie Hart, a senior, won the Class A section title followed by teammates Bush, Ella Kurto, Alycia Hart and Sheridan Wheeler. In the state meet, Bush finished second, Alycia Hart came in fourth, and Mackenzie Hart finished fifth as the Blue Streaks won the program’s 16th state title. Saratoga Springs went on to win its 25th Federation title with 28 points, to Fayetteville-Manlius’ 54.

“FM is an amazing team, so it was really awesome to go out there and show everyone what we’re capable of,” Bush said. “It was great to end like this and send the seniors to a great end. It was very rewarding.

“They were just a good group of kids who worked well together. They’ve never had a problem,” said Saratoga Springs coach Art Kranick, who coaches the team with his wife Linda. “(The team’s success) never went to their heads. They continued the previous year. They believed in everything we did and it was the two of us, honestly. I couldn’t have done it without Linda.