With state rankings on both sides and plenty of ambition, the Cicero-North Syracuse cross country team set out on its 2008 journey. The first stop came at last Saturday’s Central Square Invitational, where the Northstars dominated the modest fields on a soggy morning. It started on the boys side, where CNS had 31 points, exactly double of East Syracuse-Minoa, who finished second with 61 points. Chris Buchanan set the pace, crossing the finish line in 16 minutes, 18 seconds for top individual honors, 14 seconds ahead of Central Square’s Tim Kavney. Alex Bottorff ran his way to fifth place, in 17:08, two seconds ahead of teammate Eric Hart (17:10) in sixth place. Jared Walther was eighth, in 17:24, as Matt Perkins grabbed 11th place (17:28), Wes Kufel was 13th (17:43) and Nick Dunbar was 15th in 17:58. Much the same thing happened in the girls race, where CNS got first place with 35 points despite a strong challenge from Skaneateles, who was second with 59 points. In a clocking of 19:03, Taylor Wendler won for the Northstars, finishing 14 seconds ahead of the Lakers’ Rachel Hosie, as Lindsay Raulli grabbed third place in 19:54. Nicole Campagna, in eighth place (20:59), and Schuyler Cary (21:14), in ninth place, also cracked the top 10. Cate Jones led the next pack, in 14th place in 21:45, six seconds clear of Shannon Bausinger in 15th (21:51) as Katie Laris finished 16th, in 21:52.