CHSAA Preview
2021 Recap
The CHSAA 2021 season had a lot of quirks. Fordham Prep had come close to a title in recent times, but the Rams finally ended a 62-year drought in a close battle with Xavier. Top Ram Myles Hogan became the first champ to earn a repeat title since Monsignor Farrell's Dan Galford turned the trick back in 2012. FP had a top 6 that was made up entirely of seniors, which even in the always senior-dominated CHSAA was a first at least in recent times. Ten of the top 13 finishers were seniors, which was a lot though not much different from other States races in 2021 or the general state of affairs for the CHSAA.
For the record, Fordham Prep won out over Xavier by 43-49, while Saint Anthony's, Chaminade, Monsignor Farrell, and St. Francis Prep earned the other four team berths to Federations, the Terriers' first visit there since 2003. Xavier topped the CHSAA teams at Feds with a 3rd, while Fordham Prep was 4th, Saint Anthony's 10th, St. Francis Prep 18th, Chaminade 25th, and Monsignor Farrell 27th. Myles Hogan was 2nd behind LaSalle Institute's Gitch Hayes at Feds. Earlier, in late October, Fordham Prep won another fairly close battle with Xavier for the BQ-NY CHSAA city and sectional titles, and Saint Anthony's was tops in the NSCHSAA contest for the Long Island squads.
With no NXN Nationals to aim for, the top CHSAA teams eschewed the NXN-NY regional. Myles Hogan was again the conference's big attention getter as he finished 4th at Eastbay NE regionals to qualify for Nationals, where he finished 27th. In track, Hogan went on to win indoor and outdoor States titles and also picked up the NSAF national championship win in the 3000m.
Teams
Again, Fordham Prep's loss of its top 6 guys to graduation is on the historic side for the CHSAA, as in recent years the worst case of senioritis by a champ was the top 5 wipeout for Xavier in in 2017, one year after the Knights had lost just one top 5 guy from their 2016 champs. So yes, the Rams are in extreme reconstruction mode in 2022, and unlike some Saint Anthony's champs of the past who were hard-hit by graduation, the Rams were not filling up the top spots in the JV races in 2021.
So, speaking of Saint Anthony's, the preseason #2 NY team in the Tully projections, the Friars are on the opposite end of the spectrum from the Rams as they have six of their top 7 guys back from last year's 3rd-place squad. Leading the Friars could be senior Jeremy Paredes who is the top returning CHSAA runner from last year's championship, but seniors Aidan Brancaccio and Hunter Wilson both had some higher ratings for the Friars than Paredes though they finished much further back in the CHSAA. St. A's has a good contingent of young guys coming up, so they could be set for an extended title run.
The one team that looks like it could have a solid chance to challenge the Friars is 2021 runner-up Xavier. The Knights lost most of their varsity squad to graduation, but with seniors Finn Sweeney and Matthew McCabe back and a strong contingent of last year's JV coming up, big things could be in store for the Knights if some strong development occurs at the back. Monsignor Farrell has six seniors back at the top (sounds like a CHSAA trend), and it will be relying on some veteran experience to nail down a high spot.
Again, these are times with special issues following the pandemic years. In 2019 the final team among the CHSAA top 10 previewed teams had a 138 TR speed rating average, while this year that number is 117. The runners going into this year's season are no less talented than the group from three years ago, they just have had far fewer development opportunities in the last few years, and there are many fewer guys on the roster. Hopefully, this will be the year that XC returns to full glory.
Top Runners
The top 6 rated CHSAA runners entering the 2022 season had places of 6th, 37th, 28th, 5th, 10th, and 36th in last year's championship race, so picking out a frontrunner is a lot more difficult than it was last year when Myles Hogan was returning as reigning champ. The leader could be St. Joseph by the Sea senior Dylan Doskocil who not only has the highest returning speed rating but also a very solid 6th place from last year's race and was the league's top steeplechaser last spring. Saint Anthony's Aidan Brancaccio was the NSCHSSA champ last year, and his teammate Jeremy Parades is the top returner from last year's championship. Xavier's top duo of Finn Sweeney and Matthew McCabe could also be breaking the tape at VCP this November. Maybe someone less heralded going into the season will wear the crown.
Top 10 Teams at 2021 CHSAA Championship
Top 5 Teams at 2021 Monsignor Martin All Catholic (Buffalo) Championship
Top 10 Teams from Last Year's Speed Ratings (TR) and Compression
Top Returning Runners by Last Year's Speed Ratings (TR)
Note that in the team previews on the following page, results from the top JV race are designated JV-1, while those from the race JV -17 are designated JV -2.