NYC Cross Country Championship Preview

New York City XC Showdown

Confederation Championships for AIS, CHSSA, and PSAL,

Saturday, November 9 at Van Cortlandt Park

The city will be on fire on Saturday as the XC championships for the NYC-area schools will be blazing the back hills and parade grounds. In an event that likely goes back to the time of Peter Stuyvesant since one of the competing teams is named for him, more than 2700 runners will be burning up the cinders in three separate sports association championships. On the same day that the NYSPHSAA State Championship is being held at Queensbury HS north of Albany, the three New York City high school confederations will be holding their championships at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. The day kicks off with first the AIS (Association of Independent Schools) races and then the PSAL (Public Schools Athletic League) in the morning, and the CHSAA (Catholic High School Athletic Association) in the afternoon. The results of the four meets will determine selections for the combined NY Federations Championship on Saturday, November 16 at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls.

Peter's pack of runners will be there along with those of other NYC or Manhattan mayors such as Dewitt Clinton and Fiorello Laguardia, and a Staten Island team at least takes on the last name of Mayor Joseph McKee, even if it isn't named for him. Saturday is also a bit like All Saint's Day, as the CHSAA teams will be running for a host of luminaries such as Anthony, John the Baptist, Joseph, Peter, Dominic, Francis, Michael, Raymond, Agnes, and of course Xavier, plus the AIS will be including Ann and (Ignatius of) Loyola in their assembly.

Team winners last year included Collegiate and Nightingale-Bamford respectively for the boys and girls AIS crowns, Curtis and McKee-Staten Island Tech for the PSAL titles, and St. Anthony's for both of the CHSAA championships. As has been the case in recent years, the boys CHSAA race will be highlighting the action as both the Chaminade Flyers and St. Anthony's Friars are ranked in the top 6 in the state and will be among the teams fighting for a spot at NXN Nationals in two weeks.

There will be many JV, sophomore, freshman and B team (CHSAA smaller schools) races in action on Saturday that are not previewed here. Only the main varsity championship races are covered. Many of the pictures are taken from Patty Morgan's photography archive from this year's Manhattan Invitational action, so check out the great shots there again if you get a chance.

 

AIS
Saturday, November 9 at VCP.  Races start at 9:00. Boys varsity race at 9:00. Girls varsity race at 9:15. More than 30 schools are signed up to participate

Marco Pompilj of Collegiate, Hugh Kenny of Poly Prep, Josh Kotran of Packer Collegiate, Liam Buckley of Collegiate, and Henry Woods of Dalton will be headliners in the Boys' AIS race.

Boys Championship
Position	Team	TR	Top Runners
1	Collegiate	162.6	Pompilj, L. Buckley, Chang, Windolf, Heath, Da Silva
2	Trinity	152.0	Taylor, Marchan, Bolster, McDonald, Freymann
3	Poly Prep	140.2	Kenny, Clark, Kearns
4	Dalton	136.4	Woods, Fine, Kliott
5	Packer Collegiate	134.6	Kotran, Ruvkin
6	Riverdale	129.0	Ginzburg, Kutscher
7	Hackley	125.0	Jung, Medici
Fast Runners	Marco Pompilj (Coll) 186, Hugh Kenny (Poly) 175, Josh Kotran (Pack) 171, Liam Buckley (Coll) 169, Henry Woods (Dalt) 165, Sam Ginzburg (Riv) 163, Peter Clark (Poly) 162, Giacomo Taylor (Trin) 162, Luke Chang (Coll) 158, Nick Windolf (Coll) 155, Dylan Fine (Dalt) 154, Jack Bolster (Trin) 151, Sam Marchan (Trin) 151, Vaughn McDonald (Trin) 151, Andrew Ruvkun (Pack) 150, Nick Heath (Coll) 150, Tristan Jung (Hack) 150, Chris Da Silva (Coll) 149, Finn Freymann (Trin) 149

Summary:		The contest for the guys' AIS should be a little closer than last year as Collegiate lost some runners to graduation and also has had a few injuries, while Trinity has developed very well during the season. Both teams are high up in the rankings in the state Class C group, and Collegiate has been #1 for a few years as it looks to continue a comfortable dominance in AIS. Poly Prep appears to be the lead candidate for the 3rd spot here. Marco Pompilj is the reigning champ and should pick up another win on Saturday.

 

Among the top runners in the girls AIS race are Paris Calcagnini (running at indoor States), four who squared off previously in the Manhattan A race -- Carolina Beroutsos of Nightingale-Bamford, Claire Gomba of Hackley, Anna Jurew of Nightingale-Bamford, Julia Stevenson of Hackley -- plus Emma Pettit of Trinity who was in the D race.

Girls Championship
Position	Team	TR	Top Runners
1	Hackley	81.4	Gomba, Stevenson, Mueller, Levin, Seebacher
2	Marymount	77.4	Coughlin, Mohi, Alessie, Anthony, O'Sullivan, Solomon, Kenchington
3	Brearley	76.2	Zweig, Elliman, Ramamurthy, Prescod, Lai, Jones
4	Nightingale-Bamford	70.2 or 50.8	Beroutsos, Jurew, Chesley, Buschman
5	Chapin	67.4	Grimstad, Garcia, Torpey, Johnson
6	Trinity	67.2	Pettit, Ryan, Kerner
7	Friends Seminary	43.4	Kates, Axinn, DuGan
8	Convent of the Sacred Heart	43.4	Calcagnini, Larson, Ervine, Rosenwasser
Fast Runners	Paris Calcagnini (CSH) 119, Carolina Beroutsos (NB) 116, Claire Gomba (Hack) 114,  Nina Zweig (Brear) 105, Jamie Grimstad (Chap) 102, Julia Stevenson (Hack) 98, Emma Pettit (Trin) 98, Anna Jurew (NB) 95,  Hannah Kates (FS) 95, Claire Elliman (Brear) 95, Claire Coughlin (Mary) 94, Julia Trencher (Riv) 86, Mallory Edens (Trevor Day School), Emma Chesley (NB) 83, Lauren Strickler (Holy Child) 83, Isabelle Mohi (Mary) 83, Gabrielle Doran (Poly Prep) 81, Julia Larson (CSH) 79, Ella Ketchum (Poly Prep) 75, Lucia Ryan (Trin) 74

Summary:		A big scramble and exciting matchup of three closely matched teams seems to be in store for the girls' AIS race. Hackley, Marymount, and Brearley all have the depth to win the crown here. Reigning champ Nightingale-Bamford is a little too thin to take the title this year, and #2 runner Anna Jurew was not in action at the recent Collegiate Invite. Chapin and Trinity are also not far back in a race that could be a wild one. The reigning champ is Paris Calcagnini of the Convent of the Sacred Heart, and she is likely to be running in a top threesome with Nightingale-Bamford's Carolina Beroutsos and Hackley's Claire Gomba.

 

PSAL
Saturday, November 9 at VCP.  Races start at 10:00. Boys Individual varsity race at 10:45. Girls Individual varsity race at 11:15. Boys Championship varsity race at 11:35, Boys Championship varsity race at 12:00. The individual races are for runners like champ Luis Porto of the Manhattan Center for Science last year whose teams were not competing in the main team championship. More than 20 schools usually participate in the championship varsity races and dozens of others have runners in the other races.

Mohamed Aziz of McKee Tech, Eric Chen of Stuyvesant, Billy Hector of Midwood, Jacob Marlin of Curtis, Patrick Kearns of Fiorello Laguardia, and Mohammed Bah of Curtis should be among the leaders in the boys' PSAL race.

Boys Team Championship Overview
Position	Team	TR	Top Runners
1	Stuyvesant	167.6	Chen, Karson, Woods, Zhang, Sikowitz, Fairbanks
2	Midwood	156.2	Hector, Livchits, Zolatarevsky, Ikechukwu, Tavarez, Bonfils, Mehmood
3	Brooklyn Tech	155.0	Millard, Branch-Shaw, Hinchen
4	McKee Inst. of Tech. -SI	147.8	Aziz, Espinoza, Moncada
5	Francis Lewis	147.2	Baires, Faiq, Wong, Orellana, Myers
6	HS of American Studies	145.4	Markowski, Lakauskas, Reich
7	Curtis	144.8	Marlin, Bah
8	Susan Wagner	140.2	Guzman, Brandt
Fast Runners	Mohamed Aziz (MSIT) 186, Eric Chen (Stuy) 176, Billy Hector (Mid) 175, Jacob Marlin (Curt) 176, Patrick Kearns (Fiorello La Guardia) 170, Mohammed Bah (Curt) 167, Tomas Reimer (Fiorello La Guardia) 167, Pedro Millard (BT) 164, Fredia Baires (FranLew) 164, Ron Livchits (Mid) 163, Jeremy Karson (Stuy) 162, Harrison Branch-Shaw (BT) 160, Jacob Zolatarevsky (Mid) 158, Aaron Nieves (HS of Construction) 158, Juan Guzman (SW) 157, Owen Mittenthal (Hunter) 155, Mouctar Kaba (Mott Haven) 155, John Thomas Hinchen (BT) 154, Patrick Markowski (HSAS) 154, Ashani Virgo (Erasmus Hall) 151, Eamon Woods (Stuy) 151, Edres Faiq (Stuy) 151, Kermani Mighty (Clara Barton) 151

Summary:		Stuyvesant was the runner-up to Curtis last year, and this year it appears to have the top strength to win the PSAL title. Midwood has a lot of depth, however, and Brooklyn Tech is also in the running. The top 5 guys from last year's race graduated, but MSIT's Mohamed Aziz has made a huge leap to the head of the group this year, and 2012's 6-7-8-9 finishers of Eric Chen, Patrick Kearns, Billy Hector, and Jacob Marlin are all back to give chase.

 

Denise Branch of Benjamin Cardozo, Angelique Demeo of Tottenville, Lorna Sherwood Caballe and Aaliyaah Regg Wajid of Fiorello Laguardia and Dewitt Clinton, Mary Kate Drennan of McKee Tech, and Shaniqua Kirkpatrick of Benjamin Cardozo will be near the top in the girls' PSAL race.

Girls Team Championship Overview
Position	Team	TR	Top Runners
1	McKee Inst. of Tech. -SI	86.4	Drennan, Maliborska, Yakir, Lynch, Merlinsky, Cinco, Ibrahim
2	Benjamin Cardozo	83.6	Branch, Kirkpatrick, Williams, Chan, Landry, Jones
3	Tottenville	72.8	Demeo, Riccardelli, Graci, Santorelli, La Barbera
4	Bronx HS of Science	72.4	Lesiczka, Tobias, Anderson, Rohner, Foxe, Zou
5	Curtis	70.2	Persiak, Henriquez, Bryant, Rivera, Dunning, Diop
6	Fiorello La Guardia	69.2	Sherwood-Caballe, Yamizaki, Morano, Tavares, Wilson
7	Stuyvesant	65.8	Pertsouskaya, Olson, Liang, Kahan, Burkart
8	Brooklyn Tech	65.4	Yong, Chen, Ojeni, Je, Hua, Peterson, Yu
8	HS of Health Professionals	61.7	Yearick-Riley, Sutherland, Islam, Macpherson, James
Fast Runners	Denise Branch (Card) 126, Angelique Demeo (Tott) 125, Lorna Sherwood-Caballe (FLG) 112, Aaliyah Regg Wajid (Dewitt Clinton) 111, Shaniqua Kirkpatrick (Card) 100, Mary Kate Drennan (MSIT) 98, Yazmin Wilsonjones (Port Richmond) 96, Grace Adams (HS of American Studies) 96, Brenna Yearick Riley (HSHP) 96, Maria Scalici (Susan Wagner) 93, Vera Pertsovskaya (Stuy) 92, Erena Gaither (John Bowne) 91, Sylvia Plaza (Beacon School) 90, Anna Clair Piersiak (Curt) 90, Nicole Maliborska (MSIT) 89, Emily Yong (BT) 87, Olivia Leiczka (BHHS) 87, Catherine Varriano (Susan Wagner) 87, Alaina Lynch (MSIT) 86, Akia Callum (Benjamin Banneker) 86, Lili Tobias (BHHS), Ariela Sutherland (HSHP) 84, Jenny Yakir (MSIT) 84, Taylor Henriquez (Curt) 83, Dypna Umunakwe (Dewitt Clinton) 82, Keesa Miller (Boys and Girls) 81, Diondra Bryant (Curt) 81, Erika Yamazaki (FLG) 80

Summary:		McKee Tech of Staten Island is looking for a repeat championship and probably has the sheer depth to win the race again. Not far behind is Benjamin Cardozo, which is much deeper than last year even though it lost last year's champ Sabrina Southerland. There are a pack of teams a ways behind the top two teams headed by Tottenville. Denise Branch is looking to keep the individual championship in the Cardozo family, and she was the runner-up behind Southerland last year. Angelique Demeo of Tottenville was 6th last year and looks like she has the numbers to run right with Branch. Branch ran 19:02 and Demeo did 19:03 in separate races at the recent Borough championships, so you kind of get the feeling that this race could be close.

CHSAA
Saturday, November 9 at VCP.  Races start around 1:00. Girls Championship varsity race at 1:25, Boys Championship varsity race at 1:45, Boys B Championship varsity race (small schools) at 2:15.
Usually about 35 schools participate in the CHSAA championships, with some running in the varsity A race and some in B race for smaller schools.

Thomas Slattery and Sean Kelly of Chaminade, Louis Santelli and Patrick Tucker of Saint Anthony's, and John Rice of Xavier will be vying for the boys' CHSAA title.

CHSAA Boys Championship
Position	Team	TR	Top Runners
1	Chaminade	174.4	Slattery, Kelly, Nolan, Hayes, Aneser, Butler, Raver
2	St. Anthony's	172.4	Santelli, Tucker, Wolfe, Louro, McMullin, Buckholtz, Langer
3	Xavier	165.4	Rice, Kaufmann, Raslowsky, Berka, Vasquez, Sternglass
4	Fordham Prep	163.4	Lundy, Prunty, Miano, O'Driscoll, Newton
5	Monsignor Farrell	155.8	Freeman, Ruiz-Gomez, Lauria, Crowley, Goodwin, Jackson, Scharf
6	St. John the Baptist	155.2	Kildare, Tinti, Reilly, Seeburger, Bennis, Zigrosser
7	Archbishop Molloy	153.2	Warders, Henry, Tracey, Goldberg, Rock, Cashin
8	Regis	148.0	Phillips, Abrams, Dobkowski, Moreale, Kindschuh
9	Xaverian	143.6	Gonzalez, Mandala, Aapata, Powers
10	Bishop Loughlin	141.6	Wright, Gerson, Simms
11	St. Joseph by the Sea	140.8	D'Adessa, Guidicipietro, Velez
12	St. Francis Prep	140.4	Dwyer, Lidus, Colangeli
13	Kellenberg	140.2	Mosel, Rega, Keenan
Fast Runners	Thomas Slattery (Cham) 186, Sean Kelly (Cham) 186, Louis Santelli (SA) 184, Patrick Tucker (SA) 181, John Rice (X) 179, Gunnar Nolan (SA) 175, Conor Lundy (FP) 175, Joseph Prunty (FP) 173, Tyler Wolfe (SA) 171, Michael Miano (FP) 169, Eliot Kaufman (X) 168, Sean Phillips (Reg) 166, Thomas Louro (SA) 165, Dietrich Mosel (Kel) 164, Thomas Hayes (Cham) 163, Brandon Freeman MF) 163, Julio Ruiz-Gomez (MF) 163, Sean Kildare (SJB) 162, Jack Aneser (Cham) 161, Jordan Berka (X) 161, Freddie Buckholtz (SA) 161, John McMullin (SA) 161, Christian Raslowsky (X) 160, Caleb Wright (BL) 159, Branden Warders (AM) 159, Christopher Langer (SA) 159, Daniel Graham (Holy Trinity) 159, Chris Tinti (SJB) 158, Louis Vasquez (X) 158, Joseph Lauria (MF) 157, Sean Butler (Cham) 157, Bryan Reilly (SJB) 155, Daniel Gonzalez (Xian) 155, Sam O'Driscoll (FP) 155, Shane Dwyer (SFP) 155, Raymond Henry (AM) 155, Michael Raver (Cham) 155, Tim Seeburger (SJB) 155,

Summary:		Chaminade and St. Anthony's are joined at the hip and foot from mid October through November, and this race is one of the crown jewels in who gets bragging rights in the CHSAA. Chaminade won the recent Nassau championship by 12 points, and the Flyers will be seeking to keep up the pressure on a Friars team that has been hit by a number of injuries this year. St. A's took last year's contest by 31-67 over Chaminade. Xavier and Fordham Prep appear set to battle it out for 3rd place. Chaminade's top two of Thomas Slattery and Sean Kelly were 2nd and 3rd to Monsignor Farrell's graduated Dan Galford last year, and this year the Flyers are poised at the top of the field here. St. A's Louis Santelli, Patrick Tucker and Gunnar Nolan and Xavier's John Rice look to be right on the heels of the Flyer duo.

 

Tara Sweeney of Our Lady of Mercy, Stephanie Leo of St. Anthony's, Jazmine Fray of Kellenberg, Paige Duca of Sacred Heart, and Kate McCormick of St. John the Baptist will be battling for the girls' CHSAA crown.

CHSAA Girls Championship
Position	Team	TR	Top Runners
1	St. Anthony's	100.6	Leo, Mincone, Buglino, Worth, Bohan, D'Angelo, Pikulik
2	Notre Dame	89.2	Roda, Kelly, Rice, Pitarresi, Jaenicke
3	Kellenberg	83.2	Fray, Lewin, Lopez, Joyce, Elnick
4	Sacred Heart	80.0	Duca, Schmidt, Grueneberg, Wilson, Croutier
5	St. John Villa	69.2	V. SanFillippo, McCauley, Simon, Ametti, Caruano
6	Holy Trinity	66.8	Bartolotta, Byrne, Millen, Rosenthal, Powell
Fast Runners	Tara Sweeney (Our Lady of Mercy) 117, Stephanie Leo (SA) 117, Jazmine Fray (Kel) 116, Paige Duca (SH) 113, Kaye McCormack (St. John the Baptist) 111, Gianna Mincone (SA) 109, Charlotte Molloy (Our Lady of Mercy) 108, Delaney Worth (SA) 107, Lisa Fajardo (Bishop Ford) 106, Erin Endres (St. John the Baptist) 100, Shea Bohan (SA) 100, Alex Roda (ND) 99, Tara Kelly (ND) 98, Victoria SanFillippo (SJV) 98, Marianne Bartolotta (HT) 95, Gina D'Angelo 94, Jillian Baldassarre (St. Joseph Hill) 93, Deidre Lewin (Kel) 92, Makenzi Clark (St. Joseph by the Sea) 91, Sydney Rice (ND) 91, Therese Gallagher (Bishop Kearney) 89, Anneliese McCauley (SJV) 87, Nicole Pikulik (SA) 85, Jacqueline Gallagher (Bishop Kearney) 85, Kelli Schmidt (SC) 85, Raquel Lopez (Kel) 81, Lauren Pitarresi (ND) 81

Summary:		The actual strength rating of St. Anthony's could be higher or lower depending on who will be running for the Friars and the state of their health, a situation that has been in flux recently. St. A's had a TR average of 90 at the NSCHSAA meet, but assuming the Frairs are at close to full strength, they should be able to best Notre Dame, Kellenberg, and Sacred Heart. A pack of runners are eying the CHSAA championship. Tara Sweeney was tops at the Nassau CHSAA race. Page Duca, Kate McCormack, Stephanie Leo and Jazmine Frey should also be at the front on Saturday.