I ran high school in New York state in the early 2000s and remember many of their great teams vividly. If my memory serves correctly, at the 2002 NYSPHSAA meet at Sunken Meadow State Park their lead runner (in the women's race) took a wrong turn (she would have won), and they still won the team race handily without their low stick. Saratoga's 2004 Women's Team may be the greatest high school girls' team ever assembled (and was probably the greatest high school cross country team ever assembled in terms of dominance until Newbury Park a few years ago). Additionally, the Saratoga Men winning NXN in 2005 was another epic moment. I didn't know the Kranick's personally, but they left a lasting impact on the sport and in New York State running.
RIP!
The only time the Saratoga boys team made NXN without the Kranicks was 2012.
They probably would have made it in 2020 also if Covid didn’t take it away from them.
Do not post stuff like this when you know it is untrue.
The basics of the situation were this:
A guy pulled up in a van behind a CC runner for Saratoga in the school parking lot and tried to pull her into his van. She was able to fight him off and jump into her own car. There was no knife or club. Kranick and another man immediately confronted the man and when he drove off, Kranick followed him in his own car to make sure he did not get away. A few blocks later, the police caught him and arrested him on the street. There were not dead bodies in his house. At the time, he was out on bail for rape and I believe kidnapping.
Make no mistake, Kranick's actions were admirable and by making sure the man was caught, almost certainly prevented other women from being attacked in the future. He put himself at risk by doing what he did - what if the guy had a gun and decided to shoot to prevent being followed? He displayed the highest qualities of a true man and coach protecting a young girl.
There was a Dateline episode that covered the case along with his other attacks.
Wow. I did not expect that. Even moreso, the number of sexual predators in coaching is astounding. I could have never imagined it was that bad. What the hell is wrong with people?
