On Saturday, 11/7, the CHSAA Freshman / Sophomore Intersectionals was held at the fabled Van Cortlandt Park. The day dawned clear and frigid, promising a good day for racing.
The day was kicked off with the Freshman Boys Championship race. The team performed well, but not to their usual standards of excellence due to some key injuries. They had to settle for a 3rd place team finish. The team was led by Dave Lipsky (5th) with Dave Keane next in (11), Jake Hensler (18), Joe Orelli (24), Sean Fitzgerald (33), Nick Koshansky (47) and Steve Sidor (53).
The next team up was the Freshman Lady Friars in their Championship race. The Frosh Ladies set the tone for the ladies team for the day, taking first place by an almost unheard of margin of victory (37pts vs. 108 for the second place team). The ladies were led by Alex Russo who claimed 2nd place. Next in was Kerri-Anne Flynn (4th), with Liz Kelsch (9), Gianna Signorille (10), Vicky Pileggi (12), Jade Brennan (16) and Caroline Kechejian (18). The Ladies had all 7 scorers in before any other team had 2 runners in. A great job and well done ladies!!
We now return to the boys... Next up was the Frosh "B" team and they followed up the ladies with a team victory of their own. They were also the first Friar team to take the top individual spot as well. Chris Regan won the race easily followed by teammate Matt Taddeo in 2nd. Close behind Matt was Nolan Hayes (4) and Will Isenberg (5). Rounding out the top 5 scorers was Chris Mayne (9), followed by Brian Doyle (17) and Mike Cox (18). Their team average was 13 seconds faster than the 2nd place team.
The Ladies Frosh "B" team must have felt they had something to prove, as they also won, but improved on the boy's "B" team victory by scoring a perfect 15 and placing all 7 scorers in the top 7 spots. They were led by Katie Skrypek who won with a 31 second lead over teammate Stephanie Edwards (2). Stephanie was followed by Liz Gomez (3), Delaney Miller (4), Michaela Drummond (5), Brianna Woodward (6) and Cassidy Brennan (7). Another great race by the Lady Friars!!
Next on the line was the final Freshman race, the boy's "C" team. The race looked like a dual meet between St. A's and the red & gold team as the top 18 runners were members of those 2 squads. Our guy's claimed 2nd as a team, with Will Lalor leading the pack (3), Pat Reutter (4), Brandon Blair (8), Tom Daly (9), Travis Volpe (10), Justin DeCristofaro (11) and Ed Blacker (15).
Now we're on to the Soph Championships.
The Ladies were up for their last race of the day and didn't disappoint as they continued the streak of wins started by the Freshmen. They handled the field with ease (38 - 70). They were led by Victoria Ciotti (3) closely followed by Veronica Leddy (5), Mariella Billello (9), Lauren Fontana (10), Nicole Krawczyk (11), Janna Powell (36) and Lauren Kerl (37).
The guy's ran 2 Soph races, with the Championship race up first. The guy's fed off the ladies win and produced a win of their own. The team led by Brian Smith (3) with Tom Diliberto (8), Kevin Kreider (9), Frank Segreto (12), Matt Nock (18), Matt Pluhowski (34) and Bobby Ferrara (56). They won 50 - 88 over a strong Farrell team.
The Soph "B" team finished the day with another Friar victory, taking the top spot of the race as well, claimed by Austin Seda, with Eric Macaluso (3), Doug Ateniese (5), Keith Vita (11), Gene Kum (16), Chris Eyebergen (26) and Frak Vulpi (28).
The teams performed very well and took home alot of the hardware at this meet. This meet marks the end of the Cross-Country season for many of the Freshman and they should be proud of their accomplishments this season. For some of the freshmen, the season has one more race in their future, competing in the JV race at the Varsity Intersectionals next weekend. For those not racing next weekend, it's time to relax, recuperate and get ready for the indoor season. Think back to the start of XC and realize how far you have progressed from those first days when many thought that running that 1.5 mile course was pure torture and now it seems a commonplace excersize.
Looking forward to seeing everyone during the winter season.
GO FRIARS!!