Niagara Gazette — Three Spartans qualified for state's Friday as Starpoint's boys and girls cross country teams took the Section VI championships by storm at Elma Meadows Golf Course.

Led by Matt Prohaska's top finish, the boys claimed the B1 division title while the girls team finished second overall.

Prohaska qualified for the NYSPHSAA Championships, which will also be held at Elma Meadows on Nov. 10, for the second straight year with a time of 17:06. Paul Swartz also chipped in a fifth-place finish with a time of 17:28, Carl Daigler placed right behind him in sixth at 17:29. Ian Emerick rounded out the top boys finishers with a time of 17:34, good for ninth place.

On the girls side, ninth grader Sophia Tasselmyer and Olivia Chase also qualified for the state meet. Tasselmyer placed first with a time of 19:11 while Chase finished right behind her in fifth at 19:35. Anna Faras also added a ninth-place finish at 20:16 to round out a successful day for the Spartans.

Led by Shannon Nye and Emily Magoon, the Wilson girls squad placed seventh overall in Class C. Nye finished 17th with a time of 21:28 and Magoon placed 25th at 22:10. For the boys, the Lakemen finished 14th, with top finishers Justin Stephenson (18.39) and Wes Prank (20:06) crossing in 16th and 56th place, respectively.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

2-Grand Island 3, 3-Will. East 0

Al Brown had 12 kills and 5 aces, Alex London had nine kills and Melissa Gibson added 15 assists to help the Vikings sweep the Flames, 25-5, 26-24, 25-19, and advance to the Class A finals, where they will meet 8-seed Hamburg at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Sweet Home High School. Lindsay Proctor also chipped in three aces and 13 digs for Grand Island. The Vikings will look to avenge their loss to Hamburg in last year's semifinal game, while the Bulldogs find themselves in the Class A finals for the fourth straight season.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

8-Will. East 3, 1-Grand Island 2

The Flames caught the Vikings by surprise, pulling off a 25-19, 18-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-21 upset to put an end to Grand Island's season. The Vikings, who won the Niagara Frontier League at 11-1 this season, had plans for a much lengthier postseason run. "They really wanted it," coach Bill Schultz said. "As a 1-seed we thought we were ready to make a run at it this year and just came out flat." The Flames advance to the Division II Semifinals where they will take on Kenmore East on Sunday.

4-Ken East 3, 12-North Tonawanda 1

Michael Crawford had seven aces and Kyle Patterson chipped in 15 kills to help the Bulldogs defeat the Lumberjacks, 25-17, 25-15, 20-25, 25-17, in the Division II quarterfinals matchup. Ken East will take on 8-seed Williamsville East in the semifinals at 2 p.m. Sunday at Orchard Park High School.