New York State XC Season Guide | |||||
--- Boys 2013 --- | |||||
![]() |
|||||
Season Intro | |||||
Another cross country season of gigantically exciting proportions fast approaches with all the glory up for grabs at the old the familiar settings.. Along with the glory and ecstasy is naturally a lot of unimaginable pain, sweat and suffering, but for those who want to mix in some fun there is always the Six Flags Wild Safari down in New Jersey which is great for those who can outrun the lions or who at least have a few slower teammates. Working as always off the speed ratings compiled on the Tully Runners site and individual and team profiles, the New York State XC Season Guide provides a lot of team performance and historical data and many questions about that most unknowable of all subjects: who's going to be lighting it up on the XC trails this fall. Fortunately, many of last year's runners decided to stick around for another go at NY XC, and among them are a lot with puffy resumes. The Season Guide includes an overview of the NYSPHSAA class action for A, B, C, and D, and this year also adds coverage of the Federation leagues for New York City and Buffalo teams consisting of public school PSAL, Catholic school CHSAA, and independent school AIS. With about 85 team profiles included, the guide is a bit chunky and is thus divided into five hopefully more digestible portions on the NY Milesplit site. The top teams are sorted on the average Tully Runners speed ratings (TR) of the top 5 returning runners, which is a convenient but certainly not optimal way to compare teams that are unbalanced or have a lot of new blood. The regression factored listings on Tully Runners are far more nuanced, but everything in preseason is fuzzy, so none of the numbers tossed into the articles have much gravity to them. And as with last year, all information here that does unfortunately manage to seep its way into your cranial cavities should be removed once the season begins. Cheers to yet another XC season like no other. |
|||||
|
|||||
Nick Ryan of Fayetteville-Manlius hits the tape at the NXN-NY regional. Credit: NY Milesplit |
|||||
2012 Season Summary | |||||
The 2012 season featured a great wave of change crashing over the NY XC world everywhere except in the NY City area, which got smashed by a natural cataclysm instead. Although many of the usual cast of characters headed to States from the various sections, the four team title winners included three first-time champs along with a team that had not won a crown in seven years. Saratoga nipped the favored reigning champ Fayetteville-Manlius by a point for the Class A title in the Blue Streaks' first visit to States since 2005. Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons made its first trip to States and hauled away the B trophy, Pawling finally broke through for an elusive C crown after finishing 2nd or 3rd five times in recent years, and a fledgling Mount Academy captured the D title. NYC had the only holdovers for titles as St. Anthony's won the CHSAA crown and dominated among the non-NYSPHSAA leagues, while Collegiate was again far above the other teams in the AIS. The weather had momentous effects on the XC action as Hurricane Sandy wiped away the Section 8 and 11 state qualifier meets and with them some of the most anticipated sectional match-ups. The mud at .Portland Meadows for NXN also took its toll in a meet that for NY qualifiers turned into something more resembling a rugby scrum. Three guys who did provide some continuity were FM's repeat States A and NXN-NY winner and top NY runner Nick Ryan, Notre Dame-Batavia's Jeff Antolos who added a C crown to the D title he won in 2011, and Monsignor Farrell's Dan Galford who took his second straight CHSAA title. Senior runners made it a clean sweep at States as Marcellus's Ryan Manahan got the B title and Geneseo's Gabe Rodriguez cruised to victory in D. Arlington senior Sibby Hanson took the Federation title as a talented class of runners took their final bows. |
|||||
![]() |
|||||
Sibby Hanson of Arlington powers home for the win at the Federation Championship. | |||||
2013 Season Overview | |||||
In a turnaround from 2012, there will definitely be a clean slate of new faces winning the big individual titles at States, Federations, CHSAA, PSAL, and NXN-NY meets, but some of the team champs could well repeat. Only States B champ Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons appears to have been stabbed to the core by graduation, but St. Anthony's in the CHSAA-NY City area, Saratoga and Fayetteville-Manlius at the States A and NXN-NY level, Pawling in Class C, and Mount Academy in Class D should all have strong pulses in November. All of the States class divisions and two of the NYC leagues seem to have the potential for spirited ratings contests throughout the season, with only the AIS being an outlier. While Chaminade will likely be dishing it out with St. Anthony's in a storied CHSAA rivalry, a quintet of teams including LIverpool, Northport, West Genesee, Syosset, and Webster Thomas are early season favorites to join Saratoga and Fayetteville-Manlius near the top of the Class A standings. Only Liverpool of that less heralded five has a States title, won years before any of the team's current runners were born. Recent power Warwick Valley could also play a major role. Class B will likely see a huge turnover at the top as only Pittsford Mendon remains clearly strong from last year's old guard, and Section 9 teams Port Jervis and Cornwall enter the season with solid claims to being top contenders. Class C is just a big muddle with a dozen higher ranked teams looking for even a smidgen of depth in the lineup. Finally, Class D should pit the new king Mount Academy against a quartet of luminaries, as Barker, Beaver River, Sauquoit Valley, and Greenwich place their combined 20 titles on the line (and the Beavers will be quite willing to tell you that they own 14 of them). A renowned group of runners graduated last year, so the question is now who will be filling the shoes of Nick Ryan, Sibby Hanson, Dan Galford, Jack Stevenson, Eric Holt, Ryan Manahan, Jeff Anolos, and Gabe Rodriguez. Rush-Henrietta's Mickey Burke, Fayetteville'Manlius's Bryce Millar, Carmel's Benito Muniz, Lake Shore's TJ Hornberger, Pearl River's Brian Cook, Chaminade's Thomas Slattery, Collegiate's Marco Pompilj, Bronxville's John Flannery, and Greenwich's Jeremy Spezio are all top contenders at various levels as guys who will be wearing a championship pair of spikes, but somewhere out there in the shadows right now there is a guy lacing up the running shoes and saying, "Wait till they see the hurt I'm going to lay down this year." |
|||||
![]() |
|||||
The lead guys at the Federation Championship fronted by Baldwinsville's Alec Peinkofer and Chaminade's Thomas Slattery on the downhill section. |
|||||
13 Questions for 2013 | |||||
|
|||||
![]() |
|||||
The guys also had to run up a steep bit of nastiness (a.k.a. the Wall) at the Gressler meet in White Plains, but some did not appear to truly enjoy the fun experience. |
|||||
Fairly Fantastifastical Factoids | |||||
|
|||||
![]() |
|||||
The lead pack for the Eastern States race of the Manhattan Invitational head toward the cow path at Van Cortlandt Park. |
|||||
Top NY Teams for 2013 |
|||||
Using the TR speed ratings for returning runners from last year without any adjustments for great track results or special hunches about some upcoming young runners, here's the list of how the top 10 NY teams stack up. |
|||||
Team | Class | TR Average from 2012 | |||
1. Saratoga | A | 170.0 | |||
2t. Liverpool | A | 169.0 | |||
2t. Northport | A | 169.0 | |||
2t. St. Anthony's | A | 169.0 | |||
5t. Chaminade | A | 168.0 | |||
5t. Fayetteville-Manlius | A | 168.0 | |||
7. West Genesee | A | 164.6 | |||
8. Syossett | A | 164.2 | |||
9. Webster Thomas | A | 164.0 | |||
10. Port Jervis | B | 163.6 | |||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||||
Federation Teams -- New York City and Buffalo Areas | ||||||
Top 12 Teams in 2012 by TR Ratings | ||||||
1. St. Anthony's 173.4 (1-CHSAA, 3-Fed) | 2. Chaminade 172.4 (2-CHSAA, 7-Fed) | 3. Collegiate 170.4 (1-AIS, 8-Fed) | 4. Monsignor Farrell 166.0 (3-CHSAA, 19-Fed) | |||
5. Xavier 164.2 (5-CHSAA, 16-Fed) | 6. St. John the Baptist 163.6 (6-CHSAA, 28-Fed) | 7. Fordham Prep 163.2 (4-CHSAA, 15-Fed) | 8. Stuyvesant 160.4 (2-PSAL, 23-Fed) | |||
9. Curtis 158.6 (1-PSAL, 22-Fed) | 10. Regis 158.2 (8-CHSAA, 21-Fed) | 11. St. Joseph's-Buffalo 156.8 (27-Fed) | 12. McKee Tech-SI 154.2 (3-PSAL) | |||
Projected Top 12 Teams for 2013 from Returners' 2012 TR Ratings | ||||||
1. St. Anthony's 169.0 (1-CHSAA) | 2. Chaminade 168.0 (2-CHSAA) | 3. Collegiate 162.8 (1-AIS) | 4. Fordham Prep 160.4 (3-CHSAA) | |||
5. Xavier 159.0 (4-CHSAA) | 6. St. Joseph's-Buffalo 156.8 | 7. Monsignor Farrell 153.0 (5-CHSAA) | 8. St. John the Baptist 150.8 (6-CHSAA) | |||
9. Regis 147.4 (7-CHSAA) | 10. Trinity 144.2 (2-AIS) | 11. McKee Tech-SI 141.6 (1-PSAL) | 12. Xaverian 140.0 (8-CHSAA) | |||
![]() |
|||||
Monsignor Farrell senior Dan Galford was the CHSAA champ for the second year in a row, and he picked up a 12th here in the Eastern States race of the Manhattan Invitational. |
Top 2013 Returning Runners by Last Year's TR Rating | |||||
Name | Team | Grade | Conference | Championship Place | Season TR |
Thomas Slattery | Chaminade | 12 | CHSAA | 2 | 185 |
Marco Pompilj | Collegiate | 11 | AIS | 1 | 181 |
Sean Kelly | Chaminade | 12 | CHSAA | 3 | 181 |
Pier Berkmans | Bronx Science | 12 | PSAL | 2 | 176 |
John Rice | Xavier | 11 | CHSAA | 16 | 174 |
Patrick Tucker | St. Anthony's | 11 | CHSAA | 9 | 173 |
Liam Buckley | Collegiate | 12 | AIS | 3 | 172 |
Louis Santelli | St. Anthony's | 12 | CHSAA | 7 | 171 |
Joseph Tucker | St. Anthony's | 11 | CHSAA | 12 | 170 |
Billy Hector | Midwood | 12 | PSAL | 8 | 168 |
John McMullin | St. Anthony's | 12 | CHSAA | 13 | 168 |
Eric Chen | Stuyvesant | 11 | PSAL | 6 | 168 |
Gunnar Nolan | Chaminade | 11 | CHSAA | 18 | 168 |
Joseph Prunty | Fordham Prep | 11 | CHSAA | 14 | 167 |
Patrick Kearns | Fiorello Laguardia | 12 | PSAL | 7 | 167 |
Joseph Calvello | Fordham Prep | 12 | CHSAA | 11 | 166 |
Jacob Marlin | Curtis | 12 | PSAL | 9 | 166 |
Eliot Kaufman | Xavier | 12 | CHSAA | 27 | 166 |
Sean Phillips | Regis | 11 | CHSAA | 17 | 164 |
Josh Kotran | Packer | 12 | AIS | 4 | 163 |
Mohammed Aziz | McKee Tech-SI | 12 | PSAL | 17 | 163 |
Tyler Wolfe | St. Anthony's | 12 | CHSAA | -- | 163 |
Thomas Louro | St. Anthony's | 12 | CHSAA | -- | 163 |
![]() |
|||||
Chaminade's Thomas Slattery has a half step on Baldwinsville's Alec Peinkofer in the sprint to 2nd place at the Federation meet. |
|||||
2012 Season Summary for Federation Teams | |||||
Not to be lost among the many things that did get swept away by Hurricane Sandy last year was the manner in which St. Anthony's dominated the action in the NY City region, taking the CHSAA title for the 4th straight time and then putting up a 3rd place at the Federation meet behind Saratoga and Arlington. The Friar pack led by Patrick Ginty, Jake Hensler, and Matthew Taddeo won the CHSAA by 36 points, a gargantuan amount when you consider that the three previous titles had been won by 2, 2, and then 12 points. The CHSAA holy wars have traditionally been heated to the max with mercy thrown to the winds, so last year's romp was likely just an interlude before the start of more armageddons ahead. The CHSAA was a hotbed of fast-moving teams last year as joining St. Anthony's in the upper top-20 echelon of the state rankings were Manhattan G race winner Chaminade, Fordham Prep, Xavier and Monsignor Farrell. Two of the top individual runners were Monsignor Farrell's Dan Galford, who took his second straight CHSAA and NYC Mayor's Cup championships, and Chaminade's Thomas Slattery, who grabbed the runner-up spots at both CHSAA and Feds. The PSAL was nowhere near as explosive as the CHSAA but it also had its share of highlights. Curtis knocked off Stuyvesant and McKee Tech for the PSAL title and then ran to a respectable 22nd place at Feds. Stuyvesant senior Jack Stevenson was the top guy in the PSAL championship and also picked up a 2nd in the Mayor's Cup. The AIS was ruled by Collegiate, which also finished as the top NY Class C school and 12th overall in the state rankings. The Dutchmen took 6 of the top 9 places at the AIS championship behind a pack of Marco Pompilj, Ty Buckley, Liam Buckley, JP Meredith, Isao Anzai, and Jack Farley, and they then went on to take 8th in the Federation meet. Collegiate was also the Mayor's Cup champ. |
|||||
2013 Season Overview for Federation Teams | |||||
In 2013, St. Anthony's again enters the season among the state leaders even after losing its top two guys to graduation. The Friars again have a pack at the top as Patrick Tucker, Louis Santelli, Joseph Tucker, and John McMullin are back with a top foursome unmatched by any other NY team. But St. Anthony's is not in the clear even on its home turf because archrival Chaminade has the strongest duo with Thomas Slattery and Sean Kelly and a fast enough supporting group to stay right on the Friars heels all season. A little further back, a Fordham team led by Joseph Prunty and Jonathan Calvello and an Xavier team with frontrunner John Rice are expected to battle for the third and fourth spots in the CHSAA. The PSAL is in a far more uncertain state of flux this year as Curtis, Stuyvesant, and McKee Tech all took hits at the June graduation. McKee may be in best shape going into 2013, but a lot of development needs to be done before anything is really known. The top returning runner is Bronx Science's Pier Berkmans, the runner-up in last year's PSAL championship. The AIS leader Collegiate lost half of its top six to graduation, but the Dutchmen will again be strong with junior Marco Pompilj as the AIS frontrunner and Liam Buckley and Jack Farley forming a great top 3. Trinity has six of its varsity guys back from last year led by Sam Marchan, and the Tigers could move into the second spot in the AIS ahead of Packer Collegiate, which is fronted by Josh Kotran. |
|||||
Previews of Top Teams |
![]() |
![]() |
||||
St. Anthony's Patrick Tucker at left ahead of Bronx Science's Pier Berkmans, and Patrick Ginty at right on the downhill at Bowdoin at the Federation championship. | |||||
![]() |
St. Anthony's | Friars |
Conference: CHSAA | Colors: Black and gold | ||||
Last Year's Summary: 3rd at Federation, 1st in CHSAA |
Roster | |||
Name | Grade | Conference Results | Season TR |
Patrick Tucker | 11 | 9 | 173 |
Louis Santelli | 11 | 7 | 171 |
Joseph Tucker | 12 | 10 | 170 |
John McMullin | 12 | 13 | 168 |
Thomas Louro | 12 | 2 (JV) | 163 |
Tyler Wolfe | 12 | 3 (JV) | 163 |
William Henfling | 12 | 1 (JV) | 162 |
Jed McMullin | 12 | -- | 159 |
Ryan Kerwick | 12 | 9 (JV) | 157 |
This Year's Outlook | |||||
St. Anthony's is known for having the tightest pack of any team in the state, and this year is no different. Patrick and Joseph Tucker with Louis Santelli and John McMullin give the Friars a very strong four-headed monster at top and there are a lot of seniors in the mix to fill out the 5-6 spots. If everything shakes out for the Friars, they could be moving up on their 3rd-place place NXN-NY finish and taking a ride out to Portland. | |||||
![]() |
![]() |
||||
Chaminade's Thomas Slattery at left, and Sean Kelly on right running with champ Sibby Hanson of Arlington at the Federation meet. | |||||
![]() |
Chaminade | Flyers |
Conference: CHSAA | Colors: Crimson and gold | ||||
Last Year's Summary: 7th in Federation, 2rd in CHSAA |
Roster | |||
Name | Grade | Conference Results | Season TR |
Thomas Slattery | 12 | 2 | 185 |
Sean Kelly | 12 | 3 | 181 |
Gunnar Nolan | 11 | 18 | 168 |
Thomas Hayes | 12 | 6 (JV) | 153 |
Michael Raver | 11 | 53 | 153 |
Ryan Sheridan | 12 | 62 | 152 |
Jack Aneser | 12 | -- | 149 |
Sean Butler | 11 | 16 (JV) | 149 |
This Year's Outlook | |||||
The Flyers' Thomas Slattery and Sean Kelly put up some gaudy numbers last year while leading the team to 2nd place in the CHSAA and 7th at Feds. If they can get a little more development work form Gunnar Nolan and the guys behind them, this team could be very dangerous not only in the CHSAA matchup with St. Anthony's but possibly even more so at NXN-NY. | |||||
![]() |
![]() |
||||
Collegiate's Ty Buckley on the downhill and Liam Buckley on the right sprinting in a pack to the finish were among the Dutchmen running at the Federation meet. |
|||||
![]() |
Collegiate | Dutchmen |
Conference: AIS | Colors: Blue, orange and white | ||||
Last Year's Summary: 8th in Federation, 1st in AIS |
Roster | |||
Name | Grade | Conference Results | Season TR |
Marco Pompilj | 11 | 1 | 181 |
Liam Buckley | 12 | 3 | 172 |
Jack Farley | 11 | 9 | 161 |
Luke Chang | 12 | -- | 151 |
Tristan Gwertzman | 12 | 39 | 149 |
Nick Heath | 12 | 141 | |
Russell Shepard | 11 | 139 | |
This Year's Outlook | |||||
Collegiate has a very strong group back led by Marco Pompilj and Liam Buckley, and it should dominate the AIS and again lead the NY Class C rankings. | |||||
![]() |
|||||
Fordham Prep's Joseph Prunty and Jonathan Calvello head uphill at the Federation meet. | |||||
![]() |
Fordham Prep | Rams |
Conference: CHSAA | Colors: Maroon and white | ||||
Last Year's Summary: 15th in Federation, 4th in CHSAA |
Roster | |||
Name | Grade | Conference Results | Season TR |
Joseph Prunty | 11 | 14 | 167 |
Jonathan Calvello | 12 | -- | 166 |
Conor Lundy | 10 | 28 | 162 |
Michael Dugan | 11 | 19 | 161 |
Mike Miano | 11 | 30 | 160 |
Sam O'Driscoll | 12 | 70 | 147 |
This Year's Outlook | |||||
The Rams have a nice pack of top guys on a young and developing team and should be able to move up to the top 3 in the CHSAA if the good trends continue. | |||||
![]() |
|||||
Xavier's John Rice in flight mode at Federation meet. | |||||
![]() |
Xavier | Knights |
Conference: CHSAA | Colors: Maroon and blue | ||||
Last Year's Summary: 16th in Federation, 5th in CHSAA |
Roster | |||
Name | Grade | Conference Results | Season TR |
John Rice | 11 | 16 | 174 |
Eliot Kaufmann | 12 | 27 | 166 |
Jordan Berka | 12 | 39 | 158 |
Henry Comacho | 11 | 22 (JV) | 150 |
Louis Vasquez | 11 | 8 (JV) | 147 |
Thomas Sternglass | 11 | 18 (JV) | 145 |
This Year's Outlook | |||||
The Knights lost three of their top five to graduation, but top guys John Rice and Eliot Kaufmann are back to provide a good top set of runners for the group moving up from JV to develop around. | |||||
![]() |
|||||
St. Joseph's Matt Belfatto focuses in on the downhill at the Federation meet. |
|||||
![]() |
St. Joseph Collegiate | Marauders |
Conference: CHSAA-Buffalo | Colors: Maroon, silver and white | ||||
Last Year's Summary: 27th in Federation |
Roster | |||
Name | Grade | Conference Results | Season TR |
Anthony Belfatto | 10 | 162 | |
JD Maguire | 12 | 154 | |
Cornell Overfield | 12 | 154 | |
Joe Suhay | 12 | 137 | |
Jim Kilpatrick | 12 | 135 | |
Nick Courtney | 12 | 123 | |
This Year's Outlook | |||||
The senior-heavy Marauders have their top three back from last year, which should be enough to keep them in the lead of the CHSAA Buffalo league. | |||||
![]() |
![]() |
||||
Monsignor Farrell's Brandon Freeman at left was the second guy in for the team after Dan Galford at the Federation meet. At right, Brian Tress heads downhill with Freeman just behind. | |||||
![]() |
Monsignor Farrell | Lions |
Conference: CHSAA | Colors: Maroon and Vegas gold | ||||
Last Year's Summary: 19th in Federation, 3rd in CHSAA |
Roster | |||
Name | Grade | Conference Results | Season TR |
Sam Crowley | 12 | 16 | 158 |
Brandon Freeman | 11 | 27 | 154 |
Luke Jackson | 12 | 39 | 154 |
Julio Ruiz | 11 | 12 (JV) | 151 |
Christopher Arnone | 12 | 17 (JV) | 147 |
Andrew Scharf | 12 | 28 (JV) | 147 |
Joseph Lauria | 12 | 20 (JV) | 146 |
Sean Goodwin | 11 | 29 (JV) | 142 |
This Year's Outlook |
With graduation of long-time standout Dan Galford along with much of the top varsity, the Lions are in rebuilding mode with Sam Crowley assuming the lead role. |
![]() |
|||||
St. John the Baptist's Paolo Fiore chases Stuyvesant's Eric Chen toward the finish at the Federation meet. |
|||||
![]() |
St. John the Baptist | Cougars |
Conference: CHSAA | Colors: Red and white | ||||
Last Year's Summary: 28th in Federation, 6th in CHSAA |
Roster | |||
Name | Grade | Conference Results | Season TR |
Bryan Reilly | 12 | 47 | 155 |
Ryan Bennis | 12 | 46 | 153 |
Tim Seeburger | 11 | 5 (JV) | 150 |
Sean Kildare | 11 | 7 (JV) | 149 |
Aaron Zigrosser | 11 | 19 (JV) | 148 |
Brandon Khoury | 12 | 23 (JV) | 142 |
Chris Tinti | 10 | 39 (JV) | 141 |
Sean Sokol | 12 | 25 (JV) | 141 |
This Year's Outlook | |||||
The Cougars lost top guy Paolo Fiore and most of the varsity to graduation, so like Monsignor Farrell they will be entering a season when last year's JV guys will be playing a big role. | |||||
![]() |
|||||
A pack of red-clad Regis runners are in a dusty throng of the Manhattan Invitational's G race. | |||||
![]() |
Regis | Raiders |
Conference: CHSAA | Colors: Scarlet, silver and white | ||||
Last Year's Summary: 8th in CHSAA |
Roster | |||
Name | Grade | Conference Results | Season TR |
Sean Phillips | 11 | 17 | 164 |
Walter Abrams | 12 | 57 | 159 |
Brian Dobrowski | 12 | 63 | 154 |
Nicholas Hissong | 11 | 48 (JV) | 130 |
Mark Kindschuh | 11 | 50 (JV) | 130 |
Timothy McMullen | 12 | 52 (JV) | 128 |
Kevin Field | 12 | 53 (JV) | 127 |
This Year's Outlook | |||||
Regis has some chance to move up in the CHSAA if last year's JV squad can fill out the team behind frontrunner Sean Phillips. | |||||
![]() |
|||||
Trinity's Sam Marchan is in the distance on the right coming in at the Manhattan Invitational's A race. |
|||||
![]() |
Trinity | Tigers |
Conference: AIS | Colors: Blue and gold | ||||
Last Year's Summary: 3rd in AIS |
Roster | |||
Name | Grade | Conference Results | Season TR |
Sam Marchan | 12 | -- | 162 |
Giacomo Taylor | 11 | 22 | 147 |
Jake Bolster | 11 | 21 | 144 |
Vaughan McDonald | 10 | 23 | 135 |
Finn Freymann | 12 | 28 | 133 |
This Year's Outlook | |||||
Trinity has much of its varsity back from last year's 3rd place AIS team and could pass Packer for 2nd place if there is a solid performance behind top guy Sam Marchan. | |||||
![]() |
![]() |
||||
McKee Tech's Kevin Trimmer on left and Mohamed Aziz on right running at the Federation meet. | |||||
![]() |
McKee Technical - Staten Island | Seagulls |