41st Annual Manhattan Invitational Boys Letter Race Preview
| Saturday, October 12, 2013 --- Van Cortlandt Park --- 12:51 PM to 2:03 for 7 Races |
Much of the days action at Van Cortlandt Park will be devote to the Letter races, and there are great matches on hand for all. Time was a bit limited for pulling in info from all of the different states, and I have no clue about Canada (apologies to the Thousand Islands folks). Also apologies to non-NY teams if the rating scores don't quite capture your full strength, as some of the estimations are really tough. The following summaries should give at least some idea of what's in store for the boy's 7 Letter duels.
Overview
Race A
Time: 12:51
Teams at the Top: Clarence (169.0), Warwick Valley (167.0), Pearl River (166.2), Xavier (165.6), Shoreham-Wading River (164.4), Amherst-Pelham (158.4), St. John the Baptist (156.6), Holy Ghost (156.2), Chatham (155.0), Kingston (153.0), Jamesville-Dewitt (145.4)
Runners with Hops: Brian Cook - Pearl River (191), Daniel Huben - Clarence (185), Ryan Udvadia - Shoreham-Wading River (179), John Rice - Xavier (178), Dan Peterson - Warwick Valley (176), Jordan Burton - Warwick Valley (175), Thorr Trowbridge - Kingston (173), Anthony Casullo - Clarence (171), Ryan Stender - Amherst-Pelham (170), Christian Kardish - Holy Ghost (170), Eliot Kaufmann - Xavier (169), Ben McDermott - Pearl River (168), Anthony Kuloszewski - Clarence (168), Craig Nelson - West Islip (168), Keith Steinbrecher - Shoreham-Wading River (166), Patrick Dye - Jamesville-Dewitt (166), Scott Nelson - West Islip (166), Daniel Connell - Holy Ghost (165)
Overview: The A race appears to be one of the two strongest lineups, with NY Class A powers Clarence, Warwick Valley, and Xavier battling with NY Class B stars Pearl River and Shoreham-Wading River. NY top guy Brian Cook should get a challenge from Clarence frontrunner Daniel Huben.
Race B
Time: 1:03
Teams at the Top: Tappan Zee (165.6), Collegiate (165.4), Sachem North (161.2), Niskayuna (156.8), Chelmsford (156.6), Lincoln-Sudbury (155.8), Bronxville (143.8)
Runners with Hops: Luke Gavigan - Tappan Zee (183), Marco Pompilj - Collegiate (183), John Flannery - Bronxville (179), Cooney Quinn - Chelmsford (175), Liam Burke - Tappan Zee (171), Anthony Coccia - Sachem North (171), Joshua Kerber - Lincoln-Sudbury (171), Jonah Allard - Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons, Conor McDonough - Niskayuna (168), John Onken - Sachem North (167), Ben MacDonald - Lincoln-Sudbury (167), Liam Buckley - Collegiate (166), Patrick Kearns - La Guardia (166)
Overview: The B race has a bit of a breather with NY-B standout Tappan Zee facing off against the top ranked Class C team Collegiate. The two team's frontrunners could likely be battling for the individual crown.
Race C
Time: 1:15
Teams at the Top: St. John's Prep (MA) (161.4), Fordham Prep (160.0), Cornwall (156.2), Monsignor Farrell (154.2)
Runners with Hops: Conor Lundy - Fordham Prep (176), Joseph Prunty - Fordham Prep (172), Tim Loehner - St. John's Prep (171), Mark Corrigan - St. Mark's (170), Liam Dow - St. John's Prep (169), Mike Miano - Fordham Prep (169), Michael Vecchio - Cornwall (166)
Overview: Race C is one for the prepsters, as St. John's Prep of Danvers, MA going head-to head with Fordham Prep, and maybe Cornwall's Dragons flying in for some action. The individual battle is fairly open, but Conor Lundy of Fordham appears to have the edge.
Race D
Time: 1:27
Teams at the Top: Highland Regional (167.2), Colonie (160.0), Hunterdon Central (154.2), North Hunterdon (150.8), McKee Tech - SI (148.0), Trinity (148.0), Bishop Guertin (147.2), Jordan-Elbridge (144.6), Wayne Hills (142.2)
Runners with Hops: Steve Maine - Highland Regional (187), Benito Muniz - Carmel (180), David Mugavero - North Hunterdon (179),Mohammed Aziz - McKee Tech - SI (178), Ryan Carroll Highland Regional (173), Joshua Clark Highland Regional (173), Michael Grady - East Meadow (171), Damon Kilgore - Londonderry (170), Jordan Johnson - Colonie (169), Jake Johnson - Colonie (169), Lorenzo Mazzuca - New Paltz (166), Giacomo Taylor - Trinity (166), Fredis Baires - Francis Lewis (165), Anthony Laurtia - Morgantown (165)
Overview: Highland Regional had an impressive TR score at Wild Safari, and it appears to be the strongest team in this grouping. The D race features what could be the best individual duel of the day with Steve Maine of HR, Benito Muniz of Carmel, David Mugavero of North Hunterdon, and Mohammed Aziz of MSIT all flying very high right now.
Race E
Time: 1:39
Teams at the Top: Bishop Hendricken (168.2), Haddonfield (168.2), Walter Johnson (164.6), North Rockland (163.8), Lowell (163.4), Christian Brothers Academy-Albany (159.4), Tewksbury (155.8), Cumberland (149.2) Sachem East (155.6), Mepham (153.6)
Runners with Hops: Colin Tierney - Bishop Hendricken (182), Justin Van Epps - CBA-Albany (180), Itai Bazarahno - Walter Johnson (180), Johnny Abraham - Lowell (179), Daniel Kosgof - Walter Johnson (178), David Price - New Providence (177), Michael Potter - Bishop Hendricken (175), Liam Purdy - North Rockland (173), Randy Nong - Lowell (173), Austin Stoner - Haddonfield (172), Trevor Guerrera - Sachem East (170), Josh Kotran - Packer Collegiate (169), Greg Pelosi - Haddonfield (169), John Greenburg - Haddonfield (169), Matt Stewart - Haddonfield (168), Vinny Vasquez - North Rockland (168), Avery Ingegneri - Bishop Hendricken (168) Tom Rascona - Sachem East (168), Joseph Darrigo - Tewksbury (167), Michael Spak - Walter Johnson (167), Anthony Darrigo - Tewksbury (165), Alex Southiere - Cumberland (165)
Overview: The second of the day's two major slugfests will be occur in Race E, with Bishop Hendricken and Haddonfield clashing and Walter Johnson, North Rockland, and Lowell all hot on their heels. Three guys have speed ratings over 180 TR, so Colin Tierney of BH, Justin Van Epps of CBA-Albany, and Itai Bazarahno of Walter Johnson could be the winner, but there a half dozen other guys who will be up there too.
Race F
Time: 1:51
Teams at the Top: Cicero-North Syracuse (160.4), Shaker (160.2), Pope John XXIII (157.2),Nyack (156.8), Nanuet (153.2), St. Peter's Prep (153.0), Bayport-Blue Point (149.2)
Runners with Hops: Scott Meehan - Pope John XXIII (178), Ben DeVenezia - Mountain Lake (176), Joshua Hadity - Commack (171), Ahmed Ahmed - Nyack (170), Michael Campbell - Pope John XXIII (169). Jake Acito - North Salem (169), Kyle Chesterman - Nanuet (168), Kevin Witt - Shaker (167), Colin Greenseich - Cicero-North Syracuse (166), Jhonath Matamoros - Memorial (166), Andrew Bearkland -Cicero-North Syracuse (165)
Overview: This a lower-level but well-balanced battle between CNS, Shaker, and Pope John XXIII. Scott Meehan of the PJ XXIII appears to be the leader for the individual title.
Race G
Time: 2:03
Teams at the Top: West Genesee (162.8), Ithaca (161.8), West Morris-Mendham (156.2), Mamaroneck (153.8), Suffern (153.8), Guilderland (152.2), Memorial (152.0), Conestoga (151.2),Mountain Lake (150.6), Curtis (149.2), Ward Melville (149.2)
Runners with Hops: Alexander Burks - Mamaroneck (177), Dan Dracup - Ithaca (177), Justin Nasselli - West Morris-Mendham (175), Paul Ehmann - West Morris-Mendham (175), David Leff - West Genesee (171), Jacob Marlin - Curtis (170), Noah Carey - Guilderland (167), Andrew Marston Conestoga (165)
Overview: West Genesee and Ithaca should end off the day with a good battle between NY-A powers, but NJ's West Morris-Mendham has also had some good results. Alexander Burks of Mamaroneck and Dan Dracup of Ithaca appear to have an edge for the individual title.