2025 Season Preview

Girls

2024 in Review

In 2024, Brooklyn Tech returned to the summit and took home their first PSAL championship since 2021. The LaGuardia girls achieved a school best finish, finishing runner-up to Tech. Their top runner, Naomi Douglas, won the individual title and went on to qualify for Nike Cross Nationals with a 5^th place finish at the Federation meet. Stuyvesant (3^rd) and Bronx Science (4^th) rounded out the Federation Qualifiers. Along with Douglas, The Clinton School’s Melia Murphy also achieved All-State at the Federation meet by finishing 40^th.

2025 Preview

Borough-by-Borough Breakdowns:

Staten Island

Susan Wagner is the big favorite here. Riley Tefft of Curtis is the fastest returning runner and this summer she became the 3^rd top Curtis runner since the pandemic restart to transfer to Susan Wagner. Adding her to their returning sophomores (Malina Rodriguez King and Milani Jackson) and juniors (Melisa Davila and Fatima Belem Vilchis) gives them a very solid top 5.

Two of the top freshman could also appear here with Abigail Robisky and Maeve Heck. Our sources tell us that Heck will be running at Tottenville, which will give them a solid 1-2 punch with rising junior Angelina Mavricos. As for Robisky, it would surprise no one if she shows up in a Wagner uniform.

Prediction:      1) Susan Wagner         2) Tottenville                           3) MSIT

Brooklyn

Despite losing 5 of their top 8, Brooklyn Tech should win this easily. They’ll be led by rising sophomore Evelyn Craig and rising junior Francesca Haidt. John Jay Campus, led by rising sophomore Matilda Quinn will battle James Madison for second. James Madison had been a difficult team to get a read on these past few seasons. This group, led by Kamora Ruelas won Freshman Cities in 2022 and are now seniors. But their City Championship performances (9^th, DNQ, 14^th) over the past 3 years have been subpar.

Prediction:      1) Brooklyn Tech         2) James Madison                   3) John Jay Campus

Queens

This was last year’s closest Borough Championship. Townsend Harris edged out Bayside by four points. Bayside got the last laugh, finishing 6^th at Cities, 4 places ahead of Townsend Harris. The top three returners are Natalia Piszczatowski (Townsend Harris), Jessica Ryan (Bayside) and Daphne Lin (Francis Lewis).

Prediction:      1) Townsend Harris     2) Francis Lewis                       3) Bayside

Bronx

Aisha Wajid (Dewitt Clinton) is the top returner, but she’ll have to wait at least another year before her little sister and any of her other VO2 Max teammates join her. This year, Bronx Science should win the Bronx Borough championship with ease, having lost only their top runner from last year. They’re led by rising senior Charlotte Wang, who finished 7^th at Cities last fall. Riverdale-Kingsbridge Academy returns a very young top 7, led by rising sophomore Lily Rustin.

Prediction:      1) Bronx Science         2) Riverdale-Kingsbridge         3) Dewitt Clinton

Manhattan

LaGuardia returns all but one of their top runners from a team that finished 2^nd in the City last year, led Naomi Douglas and Gwyneth Shupp’s 1-2 finish. Including those two, Manhattan runners made up 5 of the top 8 runners last year, and they’re all back this fall. They include Melia Murphy (The Clinton School), Noa Yirmiyahu (Hunter) and Emma Savonije (Stuyvesant).

Prediction:      1) LaGuardia               2) Beacon                                3) Stuyvesant

Back Hills XC - Preseason Rankings

1. LaGuardia - Returning 6 of their 7 runners from last season’s runner-up finish, LaGuardia is poised to win their first City Championship in school history. Naomi Douglas and Gwyneth Shupp will likely finish 1-2 again (Murphy likely relegated to Individual race yet again). Rising sophomore Sigrid Lussier had a great spring and is likely to round out their top 5. They’re also likely to have their 3^rd Fast Freshman™ in 4 years with The Computer School’s June Grunden.

2. Susan Wagner - With the suspicious transfer of Riley Tefft, Susan Wagner jumps directly into the mix as the most likely team to derail LaGuardia’s championship run. Rising sophomores Malina Rodriguez-King and Milani Jackson led this team to a 5^th place finish at Cities last fall. Rising juniors Melisa Davila and Fatima Belem Vilchis showed consistent improvement over the track seasons. They might be a step behind LaGuardia in overall depth, but that’s nothing the addition of a Fast Freshman™ can’t change.

3. Brooklyn Tech - It’s hard to ever count out a school of more than 2500 girls. However, they did lose 5 of their top 8 runners, so they’ll have to rely on girls moving up from their JV squad that won the JV city championship last fall. We know what they have up front, but they’ll need improvement and contributions from rising sophomore Mya Gentry and rising junior Tatiana O’Neal

4. Bronx Science - Yet another team that lost only 1 of their top 7. However, it was their top runner, Mina Petrova. Rising junior Sally Kramer had excellent track seasons and will be poised to join returning senior Charlotte Wang as their lead runners.

5. Beacon - With excellent pack running, this group mustered a 7^th place finish at Cities last year, without 2 of their top runners competing. This season, they lose only their top girl, but have a promising young core, led by Esra Kilic and Elka Cafcules.

6. Townsend Harris - Another good pack-running team that only lost 1 runner from last fall. Rising junior Natalia Piszczatowski leads a group of juniors that finished 2^nd at Sophomore champs last fall.

7. Stuyvesant - Quick, which girls program has the longest active streak of qualifying for the Federation meet? The last time they didn’t was 2018, but they’ll need some real help to keep that streak alive considering they graduated 4 girls who were varsity contributors over the past four years. One advantage this group has over the two teams ahead of them is a front runner in senior Emma Savonije, who finished 6^th at Cities last year running 20:26.

8. James Madison - As mentioned above, it’s difficult to predict exactly which squad will show up and when. But if they all show up and run to their potential, they could finish even higher than this. Kamora Ruelas and Aneika Owolabi-Fajana will lead a group of seniors eager to repeat their success from freshman year.

9. Tottenville - This group should have a potent 1-2 combination with freshman Maeve Heck and junior Angelina Mavricos. After that, they’ll need some girls in a senior-heavy group to step up.

10. Hunter - If they can field a varsity team, they’ll be led by one of the best runners in the PSAL, rising junior, Noa Yirmiyahu. They had some solid efforts from freshman during the outdoor track season last spring and will need those girls to make a jump. But make no mistake, the lightning in a bottle they experienced post-pandemic is officially over.

11. HS for Math, Science and Engineering - Last fall’s season was derailed by an injury to top runner Phoebe Estep. This group faces a steep climb after graduating 4 seniors.

12. Francis Lewis - Daphne Lin leads a group of all seniors eager to improve upon last year’s 12^th place finish.

13. Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy - A young group led by sophomore Lily Rustin could see some big improvement training in VCP and might leap into the Top 10 before the season ends.

Honorable Mentions: Dewitt Clinton, John Jay Campus, Bard, Bayside, MSIT

Boys

2024 in Review

In 2024, Brooklyn Tech was unable to win their 4^th championship in a row. A solid pack never materialized behind their top 2 runners. Instead, Bronx Science emerged as the dominant team, easily winning the city championship with only 36 points, 45 points ahead of Tech. They also were 2^nd at Frosh Cities and won Sophomore Cities, so there’s plenty more talent coming up through their program. MSIT placed a solid 3^rd at cities, with Stuyvesant finishing 4^th. Benjamin Berman of Bronx Science won the City title and will be back to defend this Fall. At the Federation meet, Amos Pres of Brooklyn Tech and Bansi Pande of Bronx Science earned All-State honors.

2025 Preview

Borough-by-Borough Breakdowns:

Staten Island

The top seven returners are all from MSIT, despite having lost 2 of their top 3 runners. Simon Saffeyeh (MSIT) is the top returner. Curtis and Susan Wagner will battle it out for 2^nd in the borough. A lot of the top runners on Staten Island graduated, so predicting this borough past MSIT is not easy.

Prediction:      1) MSIT                        2) Susan Wagner                     3) Curtis

Brooklyn

Brooklyn Tech won’t lose, but John Jay Campus might make it closer than it has been in years. John Jay Campus, led by junior Gavin Ashe, returns zero seniors in their top 7, so 2026 might be what they’re looking toward. Senior Alexander Jones (Brooklyn Tech) is the top returner in the borough. Thomas Jefferson, who won both the indoor and outdoor titles, should rise up for 3^rd.

Brooklyn Tech only has three returners who have run under 18 minutes, and that could be the least they had since the pandemic restart.

Prediction:      1) Brooklyn Tech         2) John Jay Campus                3) Thomas Jefferson

Queens

Normally one of the closest and hardest to predict, it looks as though the Academy of American Studies is a solid favorite. The Maru brothers (Umed and Anand) return for their senior seasons and they’re joined by 4 more returning seniors. The future is now for this squad. Their main challenger should be HS for Construction, who beat them at Boroughs last year. Senior Giuseppe Gambino returns to challenge Umed Maru for the borough title. After that, it looks like Metropolitan Campus, Francis Lewis and Forest Hills will battle it out for 3^rd.

Prediction:      1) Academy of American Studies        2) HS for Construction     3) Metropolitan

Bronx

Bronx Science isn’t losing here. Knowing them, they’ll probably just run their JV team and still win. Senior Benjamin Berman returns to defend his city title. Berman had outstanding track seasons and should be a threat to qualify as an individual for Nike Cross Nationals. HS for American Studies lost their top runner, but has a solid core coming back and will likely place 2^nd easily. RKA didn’t even field a boys team last Fall, and most other schools don’t even have 5 returners, so third is anyone’s guess.

Prediction:      1) Bronx Science         2) HS for American Studies     3) Harry Truman

Manhattan

In the 21^st Century, only two schools have won the Manhattan championship (Hunter and Stuyvesant), but 2025 looks increasingly like a 3^rd team will join this list. This should be the closest and most competitive of all the boroughs in 2025. HS for Math and Science won their first ever borough title in indoor and welcome back senior Isaac Tom and a whole host of juniors who have already broken 19 minutes for the 5k at Van Cortlandt. Bard has arguably the best top 3 (Ramsey Hansen, Arav McIntyre, Weston Macari) in the borough, but will be looking for two more boys to step up. Hunter also returns a solid core, led by junior Jasper Graham. Stuyvesant graduated 5 of their top 7 runners, but return the defending borough champion, senior Raphael Ramot.

Prediction:      1) HSMSE                    2) Bard                        3) Hunter

Back Hills XC - Preseason Rankings

1. Bronx Science - As long as everyone stays healthy, it doesn’t look anyone can take down the Wolverines this season. Led by seniors Benjamin Berman and Liam Hernandez, they are loaded with talent for a second year in a row.

2. Brooklyn Tech - Losing all-state runner Amos Pres will hurt, but let’s not forget they have over 3300 boys to choose from in that building. Alexander Jones will be Berman’s closest challenger, but they’ll need some of their younger runners to make the leap that they did not make last Fall.

3. High School for Math, Science and Engineering - This high ranking assumes that Wren Hansen dons the purple this Fall. Their strength lies in their pack, which figures to be quite strong this Fall. And being a team of mostly juniors, it looks like they’ll be pretty strong in 2026, too.

4. Academy of American Studies - They likely have two of the top 10 runners in the PSAL, but will need more from runners like Yassin Sabbar on the back end if they hope to be the first Queens school since 2019 to qualify for the Federation meet in November.

5. MSIT - This is a deep squad that will more than likely move up in these rankings as the year goes on. Senior Simon Saffeyeh is 3^rd among all returners and they have a serious pack that will make them dangerous come November.

6. Bard - Another team like Academy of American Studies looking to have the best season in school history. Led by Ramsey Hansen, they have four runners who have already broken 19 minutes and if they can find a 5^th by November they’ll have a shot at Feds.

7. Hunter - Last year was not supposed to be a very good year for the Hawks, having lost their top 3 runners to graduation. But they regrouped and with the emergence of rising junior Jasper Graham and rising sophomore Lucien Jaccon, they finished a surprising 5^th at cities. Another team with a solid pack, this is yet another group that could find themselves at Bowdoin in November.

8. John Jay Campus - As mentioned in the Borough preview, this is a young squad that could really make the jump this Fall. Juniors Gavin Ashe and Oliver Eaton lead the way.

9. LaGuardia - Senior Ezekiel Cohen was having a breakout Fall before injuries sidelined him in November. His track season proved that he is again healthy and ready to lead the Lions.

10. Stuyvesant - Senior Raphael Ramot should battle for a top 5 finish this Fall. After him, it’s a mystery as their next fastest returner has not broken 18:30.

11. HS for Construction - Senior Giuseppe Gambino made a good leap during the track seasons and it prepared to battle for a top 5 finish. Like Stuyvesant ahead of them, they drop off a lot after this.

Honorable Mention: Metropolitan Campus, HS for American Studies, Francis Lewis, Thomas Jefferson