Borough Championship Preview

Queens Varsity Boys – 9:20 AM

The Queens boys race is always one of the most difficult to predict. This one looks like a two-team race between #12 HS for Construction and #11 Francis Lewis. #14 Metropolitan Campus and #15 Academy of American Studies will battle for third. It’s been a particularly disappointing season for American Studies because two of their returning top 5 runners never made it off of the inactive list.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. HS for Construction *defending champ

2. Francis Lewis

3. Metropolitan Campus

4. Academy of American Studies

Ten Runners to watch:

Giuseppe Gambino (HS for Construction)

Umed Maru (Academy of American Studies) *defending champ

Jayron Salazar (Thomas Edison)

Eric Lin (Francis Lewis)

Anand Maru (Academy of American Studies)

Denzel Reyes (HS for Construction)

Alexander Charles (Academy of American Studies)

Santiago Ortix Mejia (Metropolitan Campus)

Zakariya Muntaz (Metropolitan Campus)

Ryan Briones (HS for Construction)

Queens Varsity Girls – 9:40 AM

It was close last year, but there doesn’t seem to be a team capable of ending the four year winning streak of the #10 Townsend Harris girls. #11 Francis Lewis has the next best squad, with a solid top two. #21 Bayside and Metropolitan Campus should battle for 3^rd.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. Townsend Harris  *defending champ

2. Francis Lewis

3. Bayside

4. Metropolitan Campus

Ten Runners to watch:

Natalia Piszczatowski (Townsend Harris)

Daphne Lin (Francis Lewis)

Jessica Ryan (Bayside)

Emily Gao (Francis Lewis)

Manyata Chhetri (Townsend Harris)

Kylie Comas (Benjamin Cardozo)

Isabela Pintado (Metropolitan Campus)

Deanna Maleki (Townsend Harris)

Xinyi Cheng (Francis Lewis)

Sophia Chen (Townsend Harris)

Manhattan Varsity Boys – 10:40 AM

This is easily the most competitive and difficult to predict of all the borough championships. There are five schools that could very easily win this. There are also probably five different runners (one from each of the five contending schools), who could win this race. Judging by 4k times over the past few weeks, it looks as if #6 Stuyvesant might have a slight edge over #8 LaGuardia, # 10 Hunter, #7 HSMSE, and #9 Bard. It wouldn’t surprise us if all five teams finished within 15-20 points of each other.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. Stuyvesant  *defending champ

2. LaGuardia

3. HSMSE

4. Hunter

Ten Runners to watch:

Raphael Ramot (Stuyvesant)  *defending champ

Ezekiel Cohen (LaGuardia)

Ramsey Hansen (Bard)

Wren Hansen (HSMSE)

Jasper Graham (Hunter)

Marco Arrojo (Lab Museum)

Ariel Yaron (LaGuardia)

Weston Macari (Bard)

Tyler Horiuchi (Stuyvesant)

Leopold Lussier (WESS)

Manhattan Varsity Girls – 11:00 AM

The team race won’t be close, but the individual race could be. Naomi Douglas (LaGuardia) and Melia Murphy (Clinton School) are both in the top 5 all time on the PSAL 4K list and both are strong 5K runners. Murphy’s appearance in the championship race will probably come down to team average, so the faster she runs, the better the odds of her team qualifying for the team championship at Cities. In fact, nine Manhattan teams could find themselves in the Team Championship Race at Cities.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. LaGuardia  *defending champ

2. Stuyvesant 

3. Beacon

4. Hunter 

Ten Runners to watch:

Naomi Douglas (LaGuardia)  *defending champ

Melia Murphy (The Clinton School)

Gwyneth Shupp (LaGuardia)

Noa Yirmiyahu (Hunter)

June Selib (Beacon)

Eleanor Lewis Jenkins (Bard)

Phoebe Estep (HSMSE)

Emma Savonije (Stuyvesant)

Virginia Begley (LaGuardia)

Eva Marmolejos (Columbia Secondary)

Bronx Varsity Boys – 12:00 PM

The only suspense here will be to see if #1 Bronx Science actually runs their full team. #17 HS of American Studies and #18 RKA will battle for second.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. Bronx Science  *defending champ

2. HS of American Studies

3. Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy

4. Harry Truman

Ten Runners to watch:

Ben Berman (Bronx Science)

Elijah Hernandez (Bronx Science)

Liam Hernandez (Bronx Science)

Eliot Faith (Bronx Science)

Lex Yeung (Bronx Science)

Aldo Hilpert-Navas (Bronx Science)

Christopher Thom (Bronx Science)

            The over/under on how many of these boys race is 3.5 and we’ll take the under.

Declan Olds (HS of American Studies)

Mason Tejada (RKA)

Ethan Lopez (RKA)

Bronx Varsity Girls – 12:20 PM

Four of the top Five runners from last year’s race won’t run Saturday (two graduates, two with injuries). #4 Bronx Science is the top team, but #8 RKA will make this race closer than it has been in years.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. Bronx Science  *defending champ

2. Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy

3. HS of American Studies

4. DeWitt Clinton

Ten Runners to watch:

Lily Rustin (RKA)

Sally Kramer (Bronx Science)

Addison Ireland (RKA)

Hazel Lyons-Baum (Bronx Science)

Saranya Vichaidith (Bronx Science)

Adelaide McDonough (Bronx Science)

Makayla McKenzie (DeWitt Clinton)

Ofelia Villanueva (RKA)

Gretchen Kamm (Bronx Science)

Evalina Lock (HS of American Studies)

Staten Island Varsity Boys – 1:20 PM

This past weekend the #3 MSIT boys beat this same field plus the top Catholic programs on the Island. It’s very reasonable to expect that they’ll do it again this weekend. They are a very deep team. #5 Susan Wagner is a pretty safe bet for 2^nd.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. MSIT  *defending champ

2. Susan Wagner

3. CSIHS/McCown

4. Curtis

Ten Runners to watch:

Simon Saffeyeh (MSIT)

Adam Zarrilli (MSIT)

Tristan Acevedo (Susan Wagner)

Andrea Gallina (Susan Wagner)

Scott Kelly (MSIT)

Nicholas Allegretti (CSI-McCown)

Preston Chin (Curtis)

Matthew Fasanella (MSIT)

Thomas Brown (MSIT)

Daniel DiMeola (New Dorp) 

Staten Island Varsity Girls – 1:40 PM

#2 Susan Wagner is head and shoulders above the rest of the teams on the island. #9 Tottenville and #19 CSIHS/McCown should battle for 2^nd.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. Susan Wagner  *defending champ

2. Tottenville

3. CSIHS/McCown

4. Curtis

Ten Runners to watch:

Maeve Heck (Tottenville)

Riley Tefft (Curtis Susan Wagner) *defending champ

Milani Jackson (Susan Wagner)

Malina Rodriguez King (Susan Wagner)

Melisa Davila (Susan Wagner)

Angelina Mavricos (Tottenville)

Fatima Belem Vilchis (Susan Wagner)

Queena Zhu (CSIHS/McCown)

Olivia Hsu (CSIHS/McCown)

Meena Morris (Curtis)

Brooklyn Varsity Boys – 2:40 PM

#2 Brooklyn Tech will win this easily. #4 John Jay Campus is much improved, but still well behind Tech. #16 James Madison and Midwood will battle for 3^rd.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. Brooklyn Tech  *defending champ

2. John Jay Campus

3. James Madison

4. Midwood

Ten Runners to watch:

Alexander Jones (Brooklyn Tech)

Aidan Fleming (Brooklyn Tech)

Wilson Margolis (John Jay Campus)

Gavin Ashe (John Jay Campus)

Dillon Chapuli (Brooklyn Tech)

Henry Bissell (John Jay Campus)

Yousef Abdelhakim (Midwood)

Dylan Lugo (James Madison)

Calvin Weiner (James Madison)

Joseph Manzo (John Jay Campus)

Brooklyn Varsity Girls – 3:00 PM

No girls team other than #3 Brooklyn Tech has won this championship since 2010 and that won’t change this year. The individual race, however, comes with some intrigue. Matilda Quinn (John Jay Campus) and Francesca Haidt (Brooklyn Tech) have very similar season bests and could run step for step until very close to the finish. The real team battle will be for 2^nd place. #20 Midwood, #17 John Jay Campus and #15 James Madison are all very close.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. Brooklyn Tech  *defending champ

2. Midwood

3. John Jay Campus

4. James Madison

Ten Runners to watch:

Francesca Haidt (Brooklyn Tech)

Evelyn Craig (Brooklyn Tech)

Matilda Quinn (John Jay Campus)

Tatiana O’Neal (Brooklyn Tech)

Milani Modeste (James Madison)

Olivia Nanes (James Madison)

Phoebe Landolf (Fort Hamilton)

Noelle Barone (Midwood)

Piper Brenton (Harry Van Arsdale)

Anna Prihodko (Brooklyn Tech)

City Championship Field Prediction:

Boys:

Automatic Bids: HS for Construction, Francis Lewis, Metropolitan Campus, Academy of American Studies, Stuyvesant, LaGuardia, HSMSE, Bronx Science, HS of American Studies, MSIT, Susan Wagner, Brooklyn Tech, John Jay Campus

At-Large Bids: Hunter, Bard, Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy, Lab Museum, James Madison

At-Large Bubble Teams: WESS, Forest Hills, CSIHS/McCown

Girls:

Automatic Bids: Townsend Harris, Francis Lewis, Bayside, Metropolitan Campus, LaGuardia, Stuyvesant, Beacon, Hunter, Bronx Science, Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy, Susan Wagner, Tottenville, Brooklyn Tech, Midwood, John Jay Campus

At-Large Bids: Columbia Secondary, WESS, HSMSE, Bard, James Madison

At-Large Bubble Teams: The Clinton School, Eleanor Roosevelt, HS for American Studies, CSIHS/McCown, Curtis, Benjamin Cardozo