Borough Championships Preview

Manhattan Varsity Boys – 9:20 AM

High School for Math, Science and Engineering (HSMSE) is the big favorite to win their first ever varsity borough championship. Neither Stuyvesant nor Hunter have been able to get their act together this year, and while they each have some very talented runners, they don’t have the depth that HSMSE has.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. HSMSE 

2. Stuyvesant 

3. Hunter  *defending champ

4. Bard

Ten Runners to watch:

Raphael Ramot (Stuyvesant)  *top returner

Ezekiel Cohen (LaGuardia)

Ramsey Hansen (Bard)

Oliver Flor (Hunter)

Ariel Yaron (LaGuardia)

James Anderson (Stuyvesant)

Jasper Graham (Hunter)

Henry Dahl (HSMSE)

Brendan Hofmann (HSMSE)

Weston Macari (Bard)

Manhattan Varsity Girls – 9:40 AM

The girls from LaGuardia (and Greyhounds, and RunCCG and Prospect Park) are big favorites to win their first Borough Championship since 2013. Last year, this race was by far the fastest race of the day, with 13 girls running faster than 22 minutes (the other 4 boroughs had 6 combined). It also featured the eventual top 3 teams at the City Championship. It probably won’t be as prolific this year, but there will definitely be some speed with what will probably be 4 of the fastest 5 girls in the city racing. Ella Cohen from Hunter will be going for her 3rd straight Borough Title, but will face stiff competition from Naomi Douglas (LaGuardia) and Melia Murphy (Clinton School)

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. LaGuardia 

2. Stuyvesant 

3. Beacon

4. Hunter  *defending champ

Ten Runners to watch:

Naomi Douglas (LaGuardia) 

Ella Cohen (Hunter)  *defending champ

Melia Murphy (The Clinton School)

Gwyneth Shupp (LaGuardia)

Noa Yirmiyahu (Hunter)

June Selib (Beacon)

Eleanor Lewis Jenkins (Bard)

Phoebe Estep (HSMSE)

Emily Li (Stuyvesant)

Genevieve Backus (LaGuardia)

Bronx Varsity Boys – 10:40 AM

The only suspense here will be to see if Bronx Science actually runs their full team. The Ghosts wouldn’t be surprised if only 2-3 of their top 5 raced, even though there is no chance that any of them are in danger of being over-raced. It doesn’t look like RKA or Dewitt Clinton can even field a team, so this is a very shallow field. Only six schools fielded teams last season and it looks like it could be even fewer this year.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. Bronx Science  *defending champ

2. HS of American Studies

3. Bathgate

4. Harry Truman

Ten Runners to watch:

Ben Berman (Bronx Science)

Bansi Pande (Bronx Science)

Liam Hernandez (Bronx Science)

Jack McCurry (HS of American Studies)  *defending champ

Nick Anderson (Bronx Science)

Alistair Blee (Bronx Science)

Chen Lin (Bronx Science)

Isaac Allen (HS of American Studies)

Nicholos Sealey (Harry Truman)

Malachi Mcghie (Bathgate)

Bronx Varsity Girls – 11:00 AM

Similar to the Bronx Boys, the Bronx Science girls should take this crown easily, even if they don’t run everyone. The real battle will be for 2nd. Dewitt Clinton will likely have the individual winner, so will basically take on HS of American Studies and RKA 4 on 5.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. Bronx Science  *defending champ

2. HS of American Studies

3. Dewitt Clinton

4. Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy

Ten Runners to watch:

Aisha Wajid (Dewitt Clinton)

Rossitsa Petrova (Bronx Science)  *defending champ

Charlotte Wang (Bronx Science)

Adelaide McDonough (Bronx Science)

Haley Rodriguez (HS of American Studies)

Katherine Siegel (Bronx Science)

Ofelia Villanueva (RKA)

Sally Roth (HS of American Studies)

Jenna Lino (Dewitt Clinton)

Lucia Villanueva (RKA)

Staten Island Varsity Boys – 12:00 PM

This past weekend the 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.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. MSIT  *defending champ

2. Curtis

3. Tottenville

4. Susan Wagner

Ten Runners to watch:

Preston Kostioukov (MSIT)

Simon Saffeyeh (MSIT)

Justin Berka (MSIT)

Randy Nieva (Curtis)  *top returner

Noe Velez (Curtis)

Clevon McPherson (Curtis Susan Wagner)

Nicholas Cisak (Tottenville)

Shanuka Wijesekera (CSI-McCown)

Minul Gamage (MSIT)

Jordan Dale (Curtis)

Staten Island Varsity Girls – 12:20 PM

We got a nice preview of this race last weekend at the Staten Island Varsity Champs. Susan Wagner looks head and shoulders above the rest of the teams on the island. Tottenville and CSI-McCown should battle for 2nd.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. Susan Wagner  *defending champ

2. Tottenville

3. CSI-McCown

4. MSIT

Ten Runners to watch:

Riley Tefft (Curtis)

Milani Jackson (Susan Wagner)

Sahar Mollah (MSIT)

Olivia McComiskey (Tottenville)  *defending champ

Malina Rodriguez King (Susan Wagner)

Melisa Davila (Susan Wagner)

Angelina Mavricos (Tottenville)

Ilse Avery (Susan Wagner)

Olivia Hsu (CSI-McCown)

Jaritza Portillo (CSI-McCown)

Brooklyn Varsity Boys – 1:20 PM

The suspense here will be to see if Brooklyn Tech can finish 1-5. John Jay should be second easily, with at least 3 freshmen in their top 7.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. Brooklyn Tech  *defending champ

2. John Jay Campus

3. Thomas Jefferson

4. James Madison

Ten Runners to watch:

Alexander Jones (Brooklyn Tech)  *top returner

Amos Pres (Brooklyn Tech)

Cullen McCleary (Brooklyn Tech)

Gavin Ashe (John Jay Campus)

Dillon Chapuli (Brooklyn Tech)

Henry Bissell (John Jay Campus)

Wilson Margolis (John Jay Campus)

Kavin Dormand Jr. (Thomas Jefferson)

Roman Shamilev (James Madison)

Calvin Weiner (James Madison)

Brooklyn Varsity Girls – 1:40 PM

Neither Brooklyn race should be very competitive.  No girls team other than Brooklyn Tech has won this championship since 2010. It’s a difficult task when Tech has nearly 1,000 more girls enrolled than any other school in the borough. The only suspense will be whether or not Tech can put all 7 girls in the top 10. The real race is for 2nd. John Jay Campus and James Madison seem like they are currently neck and neck for the 2nd best girls team in Brooklyn.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. Brooklyn Tech  *defending champ

2. John Jay Campus

3. James Madison

4. Benjamin Banneker

Ten Runners to watch:

Susana Sharp (Brooklyn Tech)  *defending champ

Francesca Haidt (Brooklyn Tech)

Evelyn Craig (Brooklyn Tech)

Matilda Quinn (John Jay Campus)

Danielle Andrews (Brooklyn Tech)

Tatiana O’Neal (Brooklyn Tech)

Aneika Owolabi-Fajana (James Madison)

Stella Rojek (John Jay Campus)

Olivia Nanes (James Madison)

Phoebe Landolf (Fort Hamilton)

Queens Varsity Boys – 2:40 PM

Of all the varsity races, this one might be the toughest one to predict. It looks like a three-team race between HS for Construction, Academy of American Studies and Francis Lewis. Either way, it looks like Forest Hills’s 3-year run will come to an end.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. HS for Construction

2. Francis Lewis

3. Academy of American Studies

4. Forest Hills *defending champ

Ten Runners to watch:

Giuseppe Gambino (HS for Construction)

Umed Maru (Academy of American Studies)

Jayron Salazar (Thomas Edison)

Jeffrey Ye (Francis Lewis)

Jacob Alexander (Forest Hills)

Anand Maru (Academy of American Studies)

Resean Dunlop (HS for Construction) *defending champ

Roberto Liang Xu (Francis Lewis)

Nathaniel Hansen (Bayside)

Ryan Briones (HS for Construction)

Queens Varsity Girls – 3:00 PM

Townsend Harris has won the three previous Queens titles and is certainly the favorite to win a 4th in a row. They’ll be challenged though, by a number of schools. Bayside has had a very good season and has a very solid first three runners. Francis Lewis can probably put 5 girls under 24:30. Forest Hills falls off a bit after its first 3 girls. However, Townsend Harris’s depth will probably be too much for these teams.

Projected Top 4 Teams:

1. Townsend Harris  *defending champ

2. Bayside

3. Francis Lewis

4. Forest Hills

Ten Runners to watch:

Natalia Piszczatowski (Townsend Harris)

Christina Sakellis (Bayside)

Daphne Lin (Francis Lewis)

Jessica Ryan (Bayside)

Natalie Niselson (Bayside)

Denise Samaniego (Forest Hills)

Margaret Mumford (Forest Hills)  *defending champ

Kylie Comas (Benjamin Cardozo)

Isabela Pintado (Metropolitan Campus)

Lelaina Medrazo (Townsend Harris)