The Buckley Rankings The Buckley Rankings (week of Sept. 15) The Buckley Rankings (Pre-Season)
CHSAA Cross Country Team Rankings
The Buckley Rankings (week of Sept. 29)
1. Monsignor Farrell...a new #1...venture to Oregon for Pre-Nationals ( is this because it
comes before the Nationals or is it a bad allusion to Prefontaine...I surmise it is both;
a weak attempt at humor...something like I would do); good effort as Lions, led by Alex
Orlando place 7th in Jim Danner Championship vs. quality teams
2. St.Anthony...Rhode Island brought rain and an off-track to the "Black Wave," and it
wasn't handled well; 7th in Ocean State Championship Race; speed ratings low and no
high finisher; deserve another chance; dual meet Wed. vs. Kellenberg will also be
contested in the "ole muck and mire"
3. Chaminade...nice effort at Suffolk Coaches...wait a minute, the Meet was cancelled;
this is XC...???
4. Kellenberg Memorial...as far as invitationals go, resting on laurels until Manhattan;
given the construction at VCP, all existing fire laws for an outdoor venue will be
challenged
5.Fordham Prep...M.Jennings runs very well at McQuaid; so many obscure designations
of races in this meet; the Rams ran in the AK-47 Race
6. St. Peter's...supposed to compete at Wave Mania at Warwick; never did; did not Eagles
get swamped by an overflowing Kill Van Kull
7. Iona Prep...2nd at Dewitt Clinton; much better showing by back scorers; getting ready
for their annual "Mickey & Minnie trip"
8. Bishop Ford...also fell to Paul III (he called the Council Of Trent; the "Counter-
Reformation Pope") at Clinton (governor & canal builder); not living up to pre-season
hype
9. Holy Trinity...enjoyed WPIX rain-out theater with rain-out at Sunken Meadow
10.St.Joseph by the Sea...also swamped on S.I.
11.St.John the Baptist...did not have to travel far to stay home on Saturday
12.Xavier...a little better in AARP Race at McQuaid
The Buckley Rankings (week of Sept. 22)
1. St.Anthony's...like the B-1 stealth bomber, the "men in black" are powerful, can deliver
a lethal blow, but can't be seen
2. Monsignor Farrell...balanced 5th in Champ race at Bowdoin Park; plenty of depth, but
need higher scorer/scorers to emerge to challenge the inivsible #1
3. Chaminade...obtain Marianist bragging rights with 27-30 dual meet victory over
Kellenberg (Kiley 1st, Kellenberg gets next 3 spots); middle of the pack 6th in Champ
race at Briarwood (Phila.); no one in top 20; Phillie fans have booed Santa Claus...did
they boo Coach Carriero???
4. Kellenberg Memorial...OK 8th in tough Champ heat at Bowdoin; two in before Farrell's
first; where are the back scorers???
5. Fordham Prep...using St.Anthony stealth technology
6. St.Peter's...tough to figure anything from the mish-mosh combo races at Xavier; Cannon
with top Tully speed rating for CHSAA, but only off a single race
7. Bishop Ford...from Xavier results, you're starting to see that the Falcons can threaten
for a State berth
8. Holy Trinity...3rd in Class Race at Bowdoin (ahead of Iona Prep), but lose to the Gaels
in merged results???
9. Iona Prep...Halpin wins Class Race at Bowdoin, with Shephard 7th, but place 7th
overall as a team; top guys need some help quickly
10.St.Joseph by the Sea...visually impressive at Xavier, but times don't move them up yet
11.St.John the Baptist...8th in Bowdoin Class Race; the Cougars appear to have about
15 runners competing for the Varsity "A" squad; I don't know if that's a good thing
12.Xavier...I'm looking for improvement down the road (I'm not seeing it right now)
1. St.Anthony's... the "Black Wave" is lying low; smashed Baptist in dual meet
2. Monsignor Farrell...fine debut at own Rob Breen Invite, capturing 4 of first 5 places;
times not great, but course was mushy; practiced in VCP hills on Saturday; prepping
for Bowdoin and Oregon (in two weeks); will always remember Rob Breen as a fine
runner and quality gentleman
3. Chaminade...waiting for their unveiling in an invitational; go up against Marianist rival
Kellenberg on Wednesday; Phila. on Saturday
4. Kellenberg Memorial...won a division at Wizard (Washingtonville)(would have lost 51-65
to Wizards, if races combined; Firebirds get 3 of top 4 vs. Wizards); Washingtonvile
should be ahead of Firebirds in State Rankings; distant 2nd to killer Burnt Hills at
Guilderland
5. Fordham Prep...2nd, but no match, for Washingtonville at North Rockland (26-62); fall
a spot on basis of comparative races with Kellenberg
6. St. Peter's...beat Ford & Sea on Staten Island, without Cannon being a factor (injured?)
7. Bishop Ford...not a good start to the season on Staten Island after pre-season hype;
looking to rebound
8. Iona Prep...7th place at Randolph Invitational in Jersey does not put a scare into
anyone; at least we know what Willie Randolph is up to; Halpin a strong 3rd
9. Holy Trinity...didn't show too much at Guilderland, but missing some of the pieces;
no excuse for the rankings
10. St. Joseph by the Sea...better at Regis; can see improvement coming from young
team
11. Xavier...failed to rise to the occasion at Guilderland, but Dormer says it's a long
season
1. St.Anthony's...plethora of distance runners return (Sather, Walshak, Cherkis, Murphy,
et al); will their slogan be "Yes, We Can," as the Friars look to return to the halcyon
days of the Carter administration
2. Chaminade...we all know that the Flyers (Dayton U. is the hometown of the Wright
Bros.) were decimated by graduation; however, Carreiro's charges are like Mao
Zedong's Red Army in Korea (they're numerous and relentless); Kiley leads
3. Monsignor Farrell...many pundits have the Lions at #1, but must rebound from debacle
of last year's XC Cities; "Alex Orlando & Dawn" will be knocking at the ceiling for the
top spot
4. Fordham Prep...three quality returners led by the elder Jennings; if Febles can convert
all the 800 meter speed to the 2 1/2 distance, the Rams can conceivably win it all
5. Kellenberg Memorial...better than others think; a resurgent Posch + Cook (16th last
year in Cities)+ an underappreciated Nicoletti will make the State Meet (I say as a
team, you say as individuals)
6. Bishop Ford...the last set of twins still standing, the Gilhuley's lead the Falcons; back
scorers are a problem for all teams from #5 down
7. Iona Prep...terrific one-two punch of Halpin/Shephard; Jan Mitchell will have to be at his
best to bring along others; the Gaels are rated this low due to the school's connection
to the Mara family; I now must pay $5000 each for my 2 season tickets to the Football
Giants for my PSL (Personal Seat License); I have had these tickets since 1963 and
my wife's father served with Wellington Mara on the USS Randolph in the Pacific during
WW II (along with Soupy Sales); this is the only remaining forum in which I can
complain
8. Holy Trinity...Muller's Titans have a nice returning core group that performed so well in
2007 XC Cities; maybe
9. St.Joseph by the Sea...buoyed by last year's very strong Soph squad, the Vikings will
look to improve on this rating
10.St.Peter's...James Cannon is certainly a top contender, but can last year's Frosh
Champs help enough; Eagles can be a real wild card
11. Xavier...two fine returnees in Mirand and Elie-Vieux, but Dormer needs a lot more