PSAL Championship Preview
This Saturday is for all the marbles. The best 22 girls teams and 21 boys teams will toe the line for the chance to bring home the banner and be crowned City Champions.
The Bronx Science boys are chasing a three-peat and will enter the race as a very slight favorite over MSIT. On the girls side, there are three teams vying for the title. LaGuardia seeks a repeat, but will be challenged by Brooklyn Tech and Susan Wagner.
Boys Championship Race – 10 AM
Predicted Finish:
1. Bronx Science – Their top three runners (Thom, Hernandez, Faith) have all broken 17 minutes at VCP, Bowdoin or both. The speed ratings of these top three narrowly edge out the top three from MSIT, and their 4-5 runners are basically a dead heat. Any slip in performance could result in the Wolverines losing out on their three-peat.
Hernandez - 16:41 5K at Bowdoin
Thom - 16:52 5K at Bowdoin
Faith - 16:57 5K at Bowdoin
Hilpert-Navas - 17:21 5K at Bowdoin
Yeung - 14:20 4K at VCP
2. MSIT – Adam Zarrilli and Scott Kelly can match the top two of Bronx Science, but they’ll need a big race from third runner Matthew Fasanella. This will undoubtedly come down to the 4 and 5 runners and it’s likely we won’t know the actual winner until long after the race ends.
Zarrilli - 16:57 5K at Bowdoin
Kelly - 17:11 5K at Bowdoin
Fasanella - 13:32 4K at VCP
Calderon - 17:44 5K at VCP
Zaytsev - 13:47 4K at VCP
* These Bowdoin times were run in September during a Nor’easter.
3. HS for Math, Science and Engineering - The Flying Dragons are likely to qualify for the Federation meet for the first time in their program’s history. Top runner Wren Hansen will challenge for the overall title. If there’s a weakness here, it’s that their 5th man may not break 18 minutes.
4. John Jay Campus - Top runner Henry Bissell will likely finish in the top ten. After four runners, they might actually find themselves ahead of HSMSE. However, their 5th man did not break 19 minutes at Boroughs and that could be exploited by the teams chasing them, specifically Brooklyn Tech, who certainly has the depth to do so.
5. Hunter - This spot assumes that Lowen Zuo can regain the form he had in early September. If not, they will fall down this list. If he does, that gives them five boys under 19 minutes and makes them able to challenge John Jay Campus for the final Federation spot. Jasper Graham should find himself among the top ten in this race.
6. Susan Wagner - With Tristan Acevedo as a pre-race favorite, Wagner has three boys at 17:30 or faster. This is matched only by Bronx Science and MSIT. If their 4th and 5th run big races, they could steal the final Federation spot.
7. Brooklyn Tech – The last time that Brooklyn Tech did not qualify for the Federation meet was 2012. Unless they make a big leap, that streak will snap this year. It seems like they’ve been dealt some injuries this season and that has certainly slowed them. Their top runner, Carter Pfaff, doesn’t appear in the borough merge until 20th place. That would be enough to qualify him for the Federation meet, but it might not be good enough to carry his team.
8. Stuyvesant - After Brooklyn Tech, the Stuyvesant boys have the longest streak of qualifying for the Federation meet, at five consecutive years. They have a tight pack, but unfortunately they just aren’t fast enough to jump past the teams in front of them. If top runner Tyler Horiuchi replicates his run from Boroughs he could qualify as an individual for the Federation meet.
9. Lab Museum - This squad looks to finish in the top ten for the first time in program history. Marco Arrojo will contend for the top ten individually. Three other boys at 19 minutes or faster should place them firmly within the top ten.
10. High School of American Studies - Top runner Declan Olds will battle for an individual Federation qualifier. Sophomore Robert Tarbutton has been running well and could break 18 minutes. Their 3-5 are under 20 and if they run a little faster they’ll be able to leap past Lab.
11. Metropolitan Campus - The top Queens team doesn’t appear until 11th on our list. Simon Bird leads a trio under 19 minutes and their 5th man coming close to breaking 20 should vault them past RKA.
12. Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy - Led by Mason Tejada, three RKA boys broke 19 minutes at Boroughs. Their fifth man did not break 21 minutes, however, otherwise they could rise higher.
13. Curtis - Top runner Penaranda should qualify for the Federation meet and could scare the top ten in this meet. After him, however, it’s all freshmen and sophomores. They’re probably a few years away from breaking into the top ten here.
14. Bard - Another young team, Bard has no seniors in their top seven. Griffin Egozi is their only runner under 19 minutes though.
15. LaGuardia - A rebuilding year for the Lions, top runner Wyatt Weller will contend for the Federation meet. Only three boys under 20 minutes at Boroughs.
16. Midwood - Yousef Abdelhakim will battle for the overall title, but he has only one teammate that broke 20 minutes at Boroughs.
17. Francis Lewis - Zero boys under 18 minutes, but a tight pack with a 1-5 spread of around one minute.
18. CSIHS/McCown - Top runner Ostap Makovetskyi ran under 18:30 at Boroughs, but doesn’t have much help behind him.
19. West End Secondary - Gilad Abramson broke 19 minutes at Boroughs and has two teammates under 20 minutes, but #5 will need to run faster.
20. HS for Construction - Ryan Briones broke 19 minutes at Boroughs and Denzel Reyes has broken 19 in his career. After that they only have three runners who have yet to break 21.
21. Tottenville - Top runner Mitchell Allakhverdov broke 19 at Boroughs, then a tight 2-6 pack just over 20 minutes.
Girls Championship Race – 10:30 AM
Predicted Finish:
1. LaGuardia - The defending champs didn’t win the merge, but we know what their girls are capable of. If they do defend their title, it’ll be largely due to two girls who weren’t on their roster last Fall. Top runner Leah Belyavsky will likely finish her first ever cross country season with a Top three finish.
PRs at VCP:
Leah Belyavsky - 19:22
Genevieve Backus - 20:09
Virginia Begley - 21:00
Sigrid Lussier - 21:12
June Grunden - 21:19
Naya Gaudissard - 21:41
2. Brooklyn Tech - The largest high school in America will contend thanks to three girls who weren’t on their roster last season. New-to-XC Myla Hendrich and Fast Freshmen™ Sophia Walther and Lilah Murphy will likely be 60% of their scoring five.
PRs at VCP:
Sophia Walther - 19:44
Francesca Haidt - 20:38
Tatiana O’Neal - 21:06
Myla Hendrich - 21:12
Lily Korniewicz - 21:29
Lilah Murphy - 21:34
3. Susan Wagner - With Fast Freshman™ Genevieve Pantaleo added to the mix, this squad could raise the banner for the first time in their program’s history. Their borough race was not competitive, so their times from Boroughs are probably a little slower than they’re capable of.
PRs at VCP:
Riley Tefft - 20:00
Melisa Davila - 20:22
Malina Rodriguez-King - 20:55
Genevieve Pantaleo - 17:02 (4K)
Milani Jackson - 21:20
Alisa Kiliarska - 21:39
4. Bronx Science - Their top three of Sally Kramer, Hazel Lyons-Baum and new-to-xc Clara Grosso have all broken 22 minutes this season, something only one team chasing them (HSMSE) can say. They also have two more that have broken 22 before this season.
5. John Jay Campus - This team could be in the lead after their first two runners cross the line. Matilda Quinn is Melia Murphy’s closest challenger and Fast Freshman™ Elizabeth Grogan ran 20:36 in her first ever VCP 5K two weeks ago. After that, 3-5 have all run between 22 and 23 minutes, but will need to be a little faster to grab that final Federation spot.
6. Stuyvesant - Their top two runners (Eliam Brody and Isla Broadbent) just finished 1-2 in the Sophomore championship, so they should be able to match Bronx Science initially. 3-5 haven’t broken 22 this season and will need to if they want to make the Federation meet for the 7th consecutive season.
7. Beacon - The Sophomore city champs have a tight pack led by PPYRC’s Ilsa Gitt. They were 5th in the merge with a 1-5 spread of just over a minute.
8. HSMSE - Their top three girls (Hetherington, Estep and Fitzgerald) have been running very well this season, all under 22 minutes. With their 4 and 5 showing improvement throughout the season, they could very well finish higher than this on Saturday.
9. Hunter - Senior Noa Yirmiyahu is the last runner left from their historic run in 2023. She’s their only runner under 22 minutes so far this season, but that could change Saturday with some talented freshmen running as their 2nd and 3rd runners.
10. Manhattan Center - They qualified for the City Championship for the first time in their program’s history and they’ll immediately contend for a top ten finish. Top runner Ainsley Raha leads a talented group of juniors and their top freshman, Chloe Zelenski, finished right behind Hunter’s two freshmen at Boroughs.
11. Bard - Bard will look to continue the Manhattan onslaught in 11th. Three girls under 23 minutes, including veteran Eleanor Lewis Jenkins and another two right around 24 minutes.
12. Townsend Harris - A perennial top-ten program will struggle to record one here. Top runner Natalia Piszczatowski has been running well all year and should find herself in the top 20. After that, however, there isn’t much to convince us they’ll beat any of the seven Manhattan teams ahead of them.
13. Midwood - Maya Desideria Sullivan leads Midwood, a team with only one senior in their top five. She’ll battle for an individual Federation spot, but there was more than a minute between their 3rd and 4th runners at Boroughs. That will hurt them here.
14. Columbia Secondary - Eva Marmolejos will battle for a top ten spot, but the rest of her teammates have yet to run as fast as they did last Fall.
15. The Clinton School - Melia Murphy is the favorite, but she’ll likely only have one teammate finish inside the top 100.
16. Edward R. Murrow - Junior Tula Halladay leads three freshmen and one sophomore in their top five. Their freshmen hit the podium for the first time ever at the City Freshman Championships this past weekend, so they’ll be running with confidence.
17. DeWitt Clinton - Aisha Wajid should find herself inside the top ten, and her sister Sakinah broke 23 at Boroughs. If they can just find two more runners, they’ll be MUCH higher than this at this same time next year.
18. Curtis - New-to-XC Zoe Arellano has been getting steadily faster over the course of this season. With good races by their 4th and 5th, they could find themselves with five girls under 25 minutes and much higher than this in the final standings.
19. West End Secondary - Their top runner will probably only beat the top runners from three other schools. An excellent accomplishment to be the 10th Manhattan team into the field.
20. HS of American Studies - Their top runner is just a freshman, Amelia LoCascio. Only two girls under 25 minutes will leave them at the back of the pack.
21. Tottenville - Maeve Heck should finish in the top five. The rest of her teammates likely will not finish in the top 100.
22. Bayside - Unfortunately, someone has to occupy this spot.
Boys Individual Race – 9 AM
Contenders: Collin Toung (Manhattan Center), Hodaifa Elkayfe, (Port Richmond), Justin Ortega (Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice), Layden Irving (Thomas Jefferson), Aram Sargsyan (James Madison), Borut Junior Vojnic (Manhattan Center), Jonah Fox-Chmielewski (Queens HS Complex), Daniel Dimeola (New Dorp)
Girls Individual Race – 9:30 AM
Contenders: Salimata Timite (Evander Childs), Addison Ireland (RKA), Parisa Lee (Gaynor Campus), Kenley Miller (Lab Museum), Dylan Stoer (Eleanor Roosevelt), Abigail Luna Morales (Maspeth), Tessa Cruz (Queens HS Complex), Clea Jaumont-Charles (Queens HS Complex), Jenny Ren (MSIT), Elisa Torres (New Dorp)
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