UPDATE: Federation Meet Preview: Boys and Girls

Meet Info Snapshot

The cross country Federation Meet brings together most of the top teams from NY State's 5 conferences at Bowdoin Park in mid November each year on the Saturday after the conference championships. The entrants include 27 teams on both the boys and girls sides, along with around 70 additional runners picked from teams not selected for the meet, and there are usually a little over 250 finishers in each race. The breakdown for the selected teams is 16 from the public school NYSPHSAA conference based on the State Championship and State Qualifier results, 5 from the NYC metro area Catholic school CHSAA meet, 1 from the upstate Catholic school CHSAA league, 4 from the NYC public school PSAL meet, and 1 from the NYC area private school AIS meet or other considerations.  Under a special allowance, States Class D champ Barker will be running at Feds as a 17th NYSPHSAA team.

For some teams, the Feds serves as a preparatory warm-up for the NXN NY Regionals held at Bowdoin on the following weekend, the meet that is used to decide which NY teams will be traveling west for the NXN Nationals at Portland Meadows on Saturday, December 3rd. Some of the state's power teams such as Fayetteville-Manlius forgo Feds to build up for the NXN Regionals or avoid another cross-state trip, so that opens up the meet for other teams to battle for the combined leagues State championship. For some of the top public school teams that got blocked from States by a higher ranked team in their sectional class, Feds is their chance to contend in a States championship. And for all the teams and runners, Feds is a recognition of a job well done during the season. The top 5 teams in each race get plaques and medals, and the top 40 runners also earn medals.

The battle between the leagues for bragging rights is far more of a factor on the guys side, as CHSAA schools such as Chaminade and St. Anthony's often do finish among the top 10 teams of the dominant NYSPHSAA group of schools. The girls action is far more one-sided, as the 16 NYSPHSAA schools generally take the top dozen or more spots, but a CHSAA school will occasionally get in for a top 10 place.

The starts of the Feds races are a treat, as 250+ runners thundering off across the Bowdoin lower field create a lot of excitement, and if conditions get slick, interesting things begin to happen.

2010 Synopsis

The top two teams in the state will not be at Bowdoin on Saturday, but the rest of the top 10 teams will be there for the rumble. The top four attendees featuring reigning champ US #16 Shaker, US #17 Arlington, US #25 St. Anthony's, and Monsignor Farrell all have team TR averages in the 170s, and this year the battle at the top should be very close. Shaker and Arlington have already met three times, with the Admirals winning the first two and Shaker getting the edge for 3rd by 3 points at States. St. Anthony's and Farrell have fought at the Manhattan and CHSAA Championship, with St. Anthony's coming out ahead both times.

A few other Class A teams will be battling for spots in the top 5, including Warwick Valley, US #44 Saratoga Springs, Chaminade, and Bethlehem, all of them ranked in the NYS-A Top 10 and some with fresh legs after being shut out of States. Other ranked public school Class A teams at the meet include Ithaca, Smithtown, and Northport. Class B will also be having a revival meeting, as States champ East Aurora, Honeoye Falls-Lima, Franklin Academy, Burnt Hills, and Marcellus comprise the top 5 B teams at Saturday's mudfest, and they will be joined by Maine-Endwell and Pearl River, while Barker will appear as the lone small school.  Among the rest of the NYC teams who are contenders from the CHSAA and PSAL leagues, the top power is #1 NYS-C team Collegiate, which should finish in the top 10. Stuyvesant and 2011 champ Bronx Science will have another good PSAL scrap while trying to break into the top 15, and CHSAA teams Xavier and St. John the Baptist will be reaching for the top 20.

The battle for the individual title at Feds should be as close and scintillating as the team race. The top rated runner at the meet is Class C champion Brendan Smith of Christian Brothers Academy who will be trying to imitate 2009 's Class C runner-up Max Straneva and win the Feds out of a small school. But close around Smith is a large pack of runners who include Shaker's Mike Libruk and Jon Vallecorsa, Warwick Valley's Paddy Grandinali, Arlington's Sibby Hanson, Monsignor Farrell's CHSAA champ Dan Galford, Chaminade's Thomas Awad, Stuyvesant's PSAL champ Konrad Surkont, John Jay-East Fishkill's Mike Turi, Marcellus's Ryan Manahan, Lake Shore's TJ Hornberger, Brewster's Justin Maguire, and Baldwinsville's Alec Peinkofer. Another runner of note is Victor's MJ Erb, who took 2nd in the Class A race and the merge at States by flicking through the mud at a pace 14 TR points (42 seconds) above his season's average, and he may be seen trying to hose down the Bowdoin course on Saturday to recreate those ideal conditions.

Race Info: The race kicks off at 1:00 on the 5K trek. Course is considered difficult and rigorous due to its winding climb up the big hill. The last half of the race is great for flyers who can use the downhill to full advantage to lead into the final mile on the flats. Surviving the opening crush in one piece up front without overextending before the hill is a big key.

The Teams: Shaker (NYS-A #3) 175.6, Arlington (NYS-A #4) 173.6, St. Anthony's (NYS-A #5) 171.4), Monsignor Farrell (S1-A #6) 170.8, Warwick Valley (NYS-A #7) 169.6, East Aurora (NYS-B #1) 169.0, Saratoga Springs (NYS-A #8) 168.2, Collegiate (NYS-C #1) 168.0, Chaminade (NYS-A #9) 167.4, Pearl River (NYS-B #11) 165.8, Honeoye Falls-Lima (NYS-B #2) 165.6, Bethlehem (NYS-A #10) 165.6, Stuyvesant (NYS-A #16) 165.0, Burnt Hills (NYS-B #4) 164.8, Northport (NYS-A #15) 164.8, Smithtown (NYS-A #14) 164.2, Marcellus (NYS-B #7) 163.8, Ithaca (NYS-A #12) 163.8, Franklin Academy (NYS-B #3) 163.6, Bronx Science (NYS-A #13) 162.6, Xavier 161.8, St. John the Baptist 160.8, Maine-Endwell (NYS-B #10) 160.3, Corning District 159.2, Barker (NYS-D #1) 155.5, Midwood 153.4, Thomas Jefferson 152.2, Canisius 143.6

2011 Girls Overview

While the boys race should be fairly tight, the girls race should be the domain of Saratoga Springs, the #2 team in the state and nation. While the Blue Streaks were unable to keep US #1 Fayetteville-Manlius from running their string of perfect 15s at States to three in a row, with three of the top 4 NYS teams sitting out the Feds, the closest team to Saratoga at Feds is Class B States runner-up US #34 Burnt Hills, who are running about a half minute to 40 seconds behind. The other teams vying for a spot in the top 10 at Feds include Shenendehowa, the sole attending States champion US # 30 Bronxville of Class C, Class A 4th place finisher US #31 Ward Melville, Sachem East, Pearl River, Academy of the Holy Names, Honeoye Falls-Lima, Penfield, East Aurora, and Rush-Henrietta.

The top schools from the NYC metro area contingent are CHSAA champ St. Anthony's and PSAL champ Benjamin Cardozo. They will be chasing behind a group of public schools fighting for spots in the top 15, including Suffern, Northport, North Rockland, and Cicero-North Syracuse.

 Without any runners from Fayetteville-Manlius or North Shore around, the individual contest would appear to be a showcase for a battle between Class A runner-up Laura Leff and Bronxville's Class C champ Mary Cain. Cain proved she could handle Bowdoin's hill very well while running to the 10th best ever time there at the Section 1 Coaches meet with an 18:02. Leff has also run the course many times and had an 18:03 at Feds last year while taking 3rd. Sachem East's Rachel Paul has the next highest rating, and other top runners include Class A 5th place finisher Gianna Frontera of Newburgh, Benjamin Cardozo's Alexis Panisse, Shenendehowa's Lizzie Predmore, who will be looking to rebound from mud issues at States, Saratoga's Taylor Driscoll, Keelin Hollowood, and Estela Smith, Johnson City's Lauren Mullins, and Penfield's Katie Lembo and Leila Mantilla.

Race Info: The race starts at 12:15 on the 5K trek. Course is rated a tough one due to its winding climb up the big hill. The last half of the race is great for runners who can crash the downhill and stay strong into the final mile on the flats. Surviving the opening stampede in one piece up front without overextending before the hill is a big key.

The Teams: Saratoga Springs (NYS-A #2) 128.4, Burnt Hills (S1-B #2) 118.6, Shenendehowa (S1-A #5) 117.6, Sachem East (NYS-A #12) 116.2, Bronxville (NYS-C #1) 115.4, Ward Melville (NYS-A #4) 114.6, Pearl River (NYS-B #6) 113.8, Holy Names (NYS-B #3) 113.4, Honeoye Falls-Lima (NYS-B #4) 112.2, Penfield (NYS-A #13) 111.0, Rush-Henrietta (NYS-A #6) 110.4, East Aurora (NYS-B #5) 110.4, Suffern (NYS-A #11) 109.4, Northport (NYS-A #7) 107.2, St. Anthonys (NYS-A #15) 106.2, North Rockland (NYS-A #8) 105.2, Cicero-North Syracuse (NYS-A #14) 100.4, Benjamin Cardozo 95.6, Notre Dame 91.0, Sacred Heart 89.2, St. John Villa 88.4, Port Richmond 88.0, Kellenberg 87.6, Curtis 86.0, Hackley 80.6, Townsend Harris 78.2, Immaculata 38.8

Top 80 Runners: Mary Cain (Bronxville) 147, Laura Leff (West Genesee) 147, Rachel Paul (Sachem East) 140, Alexis Panisse (Benjamin Cardozo) 140, Gianna Frontera (Newburgh) 139, Lizzie Predmore (Shenendehowa) 137, Lauren Mullins (Johnson City) 135, Katie Lembo (Penfield) 135, Taylor Driscoll (Saratoga) 135, Keelin Hollowood (Saratoga) 134, Estela Smith (Saratoga) 132, Leila Mantilla (Penfield) 131, Alicia Clark (Granville) 129, Talia Guevara (Miller Place) 127, Ariana Bottalico (Brewster) 127, Caroline O'Hea (Ward Melville) 127, Kate Zendell (Suffern) 127,  Stephanie Gerland (Garden City) 126, Brigid Brennan (Northport) 126, Meredith Rizzo (Bronxville) 126, Hannah Cole (Honeoye Falls-Lima) 126, Leah Triller (Holy Names) 126, Maddie Zeitz (Windsor) 125, Maryanna Lansing (Shaker) 124, Jen Gerland (Garden City) 124, Tiana Guevara (Miller Place) 124, Lauren Reyda (Fredonia) 124, Liz Valento (Pavilion) 124, Val Palermo (Webster Schroeder) 124, Courtney Williams (Ward Melville) 124, Kelly Hayes (Pearl River) 124, Molly Shine (Pearl River) 123, Ursula Svoboda (Suffern) 123, Alyssa Drapeau (Burnt Hills) 123, Marta McLaughlin (East Aurora) 123, Amanda Paratore (Webster Schroeder) 123, Laura Pierce (Canton) 122, Emily Waligurski (Onteora) 121, Mary Welsh (Manhasset) 121, Victoria D'Amato (121), Katie Treichel (Saratoga) 121, ---[Medals Boundary]--- Dani Martino (Burnt Hills) 120, Katie Saroka (Bayport-Blue Point) 120, Natalie Tanner (Rye Neck) 120, Rachel Garn (Marcellus) 120, Victoria Campanian (South Lewis) 120, Lizzie Greiner (Rush-Henrietta) 120, Olivia Morrow (Saratoga) 120, Maggi Szpak (Saratoga) 120, Juliana Marcucci (Ward Melville) 119, Jenna Cupp (Newark Valley) 119, Meaghan Ventarola (Monroe-Woodbury) 119, MaryKate O'Meara (Nanuet) 118, Mary Carroll (Ithaca) 118, Shannon Ahern (Kings Park) 118, Meagan Roecker (Burnt Hills) 118, Jenny Delsignore (Sweet Home) 118, Bailey Kowalczyk (Shenedehowa) 118, Jordan Casey (Burnt Hills) 117, Catherine Maloy (Holy Names) 117, Alexis Hatcher (North Rockland) 117, Ceili McMorrow (Pearl River) 117, Jacqueline Willsey (Holy Names) 116, Alana McDonald (Rush-Henrietta) 116, Caroline Hampton (Shenendehowa) 116, Christine Melian (Susan Wagner) 116, Allison Fernandez (Burnt Hills) 115, Paige Anderson (East Aurora) 115, Sarah King (Dobbs Ferry) 115, Katie Engel (Honeoye Falls-Lima) 115, Tara Peck (Saratoga) 115, Shannon O'Hehir (Sachem East) 115, Victoria Ciotti (St. Anthonys) 115, Caroline Brown (Holy Trinity) 115, Sabrina Sutherland (Bishop Cardozo) 115, Kerri Flynn (St. Anthonys) 114, Schuyler Pruyn (Burnt Hills) 114, Jacqlynn Halstead (Cicero-North Syracuse) 114, Kelly Lavan (Sachem East) 113, Siobhan Quinn (Rush-Henrietta) 112, Maria Kohlbrenner (Pearl River) 111, Jacqueline Panepinto (Port Richmond) 111, Megan Pierce (Christian Brothers Academy) 111