2017 NY Boys XC Preview: Class A



GuilderlandFlying Dutchmen

Section: 2Class: AColors: Red and white

Guilderland's Noah Carey finished 2nd at the Manhattan Invite's Eastern States race, and he went on to win at Suburban Council, Section 2 Class A, and Federations; finish 3rd at States;  and take 50th at NXN Nationals.
XC History
States Teams: 1990 (A-4th)

States Individuals (Top 10 finishers): Dieter Drake (1987, A-2nd), Tom Ryan (1994, A-5th), Brian Rhodes-Devey (2004, AA-4th) (2005, AA-1st) (2006, AA-8th), Seth DuBois (2005, AA-9th), Noah Carey (2014, A-9th) (2015, A-4th) (2016, A-3rd)


Last Year's Summary: 14th in NXN-NY, 9th in Federation, 5th in Sectionals A

Roster




NameGradeSect. Place Top Notes States ResultsSeason TR
Noah Tindale1133rd in Suburban Council
180
Sean O'Brien10--39th in Suburban Council
157
John Parsons104750th in Suburban Council
153
Angus Cropley125349th in Suburban Council
150
Benjamin Drzymalla115814th in Suburban Council-JV
149
Micah Tindale8--3rd in John Killian-JV
147
Nicholas Soldavere117613th in Suburban Council-JV
145
Luke Tanner128312th in Suburban Council-JV
145
This Year's Outlook
Guilderland's Noah-and-Noah show on the trails at least has been split up, as Noah Carey graduates and Noah Tindale takes over at the helm of the Flying Dutchmen's runners. Last year the team slipped back even as Carey and Tindale took 1st and 3rd at Sectionals as there was just not a lot of top-level depth behind the top two. The preseason ratings could be adjusted much higher because only one of the top 6 returning runners is a senior, two are sophomores, and there's also an 8th-grade Tindale coming up in there. A lot could be developing here behind the elder (junior) Tindale who enters the season as one of the top 6 runners in States A.






Williamsville NorthSpartans

Section: 6Class: AColors: Green and gold
Williamsville North's Ken Abrahim (no. 756) qualified for States as a sophomore last year with a 2nd place in the Section 6 Class A race.
XC History
States Teams: 2014 (A-7th)

States Individuals (Top 10 finishers): Ron Markezich (1983, A-3rd) (1984, A-3rd), Mike Dobmeier (2004, A-4th)


Last Year's Summary: 2nd  in Sectionals A

Roster




NameGradeSect. Place Top Notes States ResultsSeason TR
Ken Abrahim1124th in ECIC36173
Taigan Lavrey121273rd in McQuaid-AAA
156
Cody Smith121180th in McQuaid-AAA
156
Matt Lefebvre1221100th in McQuaid-AAA
151
Jonathan Young122711th in McQuaid-JV
150
This Year's Outlook
After going to States for the first time in 2014, the Spartans got beat out again at Sectionals last year, this time by Frontier. Now would be a good year to nail down another title with a fairly thin senior-heavy squad that has the top 5 runners from last year coming back. With Frontier losing a few key runners and Williamsville North junior frontrunner Ken Abrahim maybe set for another speed ratings boost, the Spartans will be the favorites in S6-A.






Monroe-WoodburyCrusaders

Section: 9Class: AColors: Purple and white

Monroe-Woodbury's Michael Hannon charges home 10th in the Section 9 Class A race with senior teammate Bryan Miranda-Gonzalez close behind in 12th.
XC History
States Teams: 1961 (B-6th), 1969 (B-3rd), 1970 (B-3rd), 1974 (A-2nd), 1975 (A-3rd), 1984 (A-2nd), 1985 (A-3rd), 1988 (A-9th), 1992 (A-7th), 1994 (A-2nd)

States Individuals (Top 10 finishers):  Joe Belmonte (1960, B-6th), Bruce Mapes (1970, B-8th), Ralph Semmel (1973, A-4th), Jim O'Shea (1975, A-1st) (1976, A-5th), Mike Grogan (1975, A-7th), Andy Halpin (1976, A-3rd), John Murphy (1980, A-10th), John Trautmann (1983, A-2nd) (1984, A-1st) (1985, A-1st), Jim Trautmann (1989, A-9th), Brian McKnight (1995, A-9th) (1996, A-1st)


Last Year's Summary:  2nd in Sectionals A

Roster




NameGradeSect. Place Top Notes States ResultsSeason TR
Michael Hannon121013th in OCIAA
163
Trevor Ladue122823rd in OCIAA
156
Andrew Yi101936th in OCIAA
155
Skylar Brodsky10201st in OCIAA-JV
155
Kevin Paik121846th in Burnt Hills-3
155
Dominic Longhitano11
47th in Manhattan-G
147
This Year's Outlook
The storied Crusaders program may be ready to make a reentry in a major way  for the first time since they went fishing with the Trautmanns back in the 1980s or when Brian McKnight won a title two decades ago. With five of last year's top 6 back, Monroe-Woodbury's pack could do very well at Sectionals if Warwick Valley is unable to find more depth, though that's a big if. With seniors Hannon and Ladue on the lead and sophomores Yi and Brodsky likely set for big leaps, the Crusaders could be moving up in S9-A.






Ward MelvillePatriots

Section: 11Class: AColors: Green and gold

Ward Melville's top returning runner is Eric Zulkofske, shown running at the Section 1 Coaches meet with senior teammate Glen Pinkava close behind.
XC History
States Teams: 1969 (B-1st), 1973 (A-9th)

States Individuals (Top 10 finishers):  Craig McDonald (1969, B-1st), John Husey (1983, A-9th), Tom Cronin (1989, A-10th), Quinn Raseman (2008, AA-4th) (2009, AA-2nd)


Last Year's Summary: 13th in Federation, 3rd in Sectionals A

Roster




NameGradeSect. Place Top Notes States ResultsSeason TR
Eric Zulkofske121465th in Federation
164
Chris Nienburg1125100th in Federation
158
Connor Riley122424th in Ocean State
157
Caleb Wheeler112310th in Suffolk Officials
157
Jake Gazura11 --40th in Section 11 Div. Merge
152
Leon Zhao12--53rd in Section 11 Div. Merge
148
Danny Ryan128720th in Ocean State
148
This Year's Outlook
Last year Ward Melville moved up one place in the S11-A to 3rd, and this year with four top-25 Sectionals guys back, the Patriots should be challenging for the title. Senior frontrunner Zulkofske will try to lead the team to its first Sectionals win in 44 years.






Cicero-North SyracuseNorthstars

Section: 3Class: AColors: Royal blue, green, and white

Cicero-North Syracuse frontrunner Nathan Poirier (no. 2498) was in the middle of the action on the bridge last year in the Manhattan Invite's Eastern States race.
XC History
States Teams: 1986 (A-4th), 1989 (A-1st), 1993 (A-2nd), 1994 (A-3rd), 1995 (A-1st), 1996 (A-1st

States Individuals (Top 10 finishers):  Jim Laware (1961, A-9th), Bill Kahn (1988, A-6th), 1989, A-3rd), Sean Kelly (1989 (A-7th), Brian Kuryla (1995, A-8th) (1996, A-4th) (1997, A-3rd), Joe Mahler (1995, A-10th), (1997, A-3rd), Bryan Buchanan (2002, A-6th) (2003, A-1st), Chris Buchanan (2009, AA-8th) (2010, AA-1st)


Last Year's Summary: 4th in Sectionals A

Roster




NameGradeSect. Place Top Notes States ResultsSeason TR
Nathan Poirier112510th in Baldwinsville-Lg
165
Sam Barber122217th in Marathon-Sd
156
Brandon Martin11304th in South Jefferson
156
David Ware12326th in South Jefferson
151
Jason Hughes123432nd in Baldwinsville-Lg
149
John Perperian124610th in South Jefferson
148
Lucas Sharron113539th in CNYCL
148
This Year's Outlook
The Northstars are fighting in a slightly less brutal S3-A this year, so that should help their prospects, especially with six of the top 7 guys returning from last season. Junior Nathan Poirier leads a team that will be seeking to move back into the top 3 in Sectionals and send a guy to States.




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