Week Four Recap
Unlike most weekends, all of the PSAL teams remained in the city for a meet at Van Cortlandt. And although many teams competed, it was also an SAT day, so many key runners were missing. It leaves us with more questions than answers.
Girls
PSAL Marty Lewis Borough Challenge – Van Cortlandt Park
The day began with the Freshman race, won easily by Susan Wagner. They had the two fastest freshmen in the race, Genevieve Pantaleo (OB Waverunners), who ran 10:12 and Antonia Schnell who ran 11:01. Kenley Miller (PPYRC) of Lab Museum placed third in 11:14. Beacon girls took the next three spots.
The 1.5 Girls Novice race was a battle of the Brooklyn schools with Midwood beating John Jay Campus 51-55. Mika Ohashi (Midwood) took the win in 11:02, followed by Dalia Richlin of Hunter College Campus in 11:21.
26 schools fielded teams in the Girls Varsity race, which will give us plenty to break down in the rankings. The race was won by LaGuardia with a total of 64 points, led by Senior Leah Belyavsky’s 2nd place finish in 19:47, in what was her first ever XC race. Melia Murphy of The Clinton School won the race in 19:16. Maeve Heck (OB Waverunners) of Tottenville was 3rd in 20:15 and Brooklyn Tech freshman Sophie Walther was 4th in 20:20. The Tech girls finished 2nd and Beacon was 3rd.
Lilah Murphy of Brooklyn Tech won the Individual/JV race in a time of 22:31, completing the family sweep of the 5k races. The Tech girls won the race, followed by the girls from Stuyvesant.
Boys
PSAL Marty Lewis Borough Challenge – Van Cortlandt Park
Perennial freshman powerhouse Bronx Science took the Boys Freshman Race with 34 points. The Stuyvesant boys were 2nd. Romel Barrett of Bronx Science won the race in 9:25.
Daniel Dimeola of New Dorp won the Novice Race in 9:23. The boys from Benjamin Banneker won with 34 points.
25 boys programs put a team on the line in the Boys Varsity race. It was a close race, with Brooklyn Tech defeating High School for Math, Science and Engineering by five points. It wasn’t originally that close, but Brooklyn Tech’s Brayden Coleman was DQ’d after running 17:24, which would have placed him 3rd. According to the team Instagram, he was “DQ’d post-race for non-running related issues” Sophomore Tristan Acevedo of Susan Wagner won the race in 16:38. His teammate Ayman Alshawih was 3rd in 17:28. Marco Arrojo of Lab Museum was 2nd in 17:12. Hunter College Campus was 3rd and Susan Wagner was 4th.
Brooklyn Tech defeated Stuyvesant in the Individual/JV Race, 28-42. Tech’s Rohan Lee won the race in 19:14
BHXC PSAL Rankings – After Week Four
Girls
1. LaGuardia - Victorious at Marty Lewis and just had a senior break 20 minutes in her first ever XC race. However, they were presumably at full strength this weekend and their chasers were not. This championship race is a lot closer than previously thought.
2. Brooklyn Tech - Still without two of their top three returning runners. Didn’t matter, however, as they have at least one Fast Freshman™ who nearly broke 20 minutes this weekend.
3. Susan Wagner - Their likely Fast Freshman™ won the Freshman Race this weekend. Four of their returning top five did not race and we’ll likely see next weekend if they are hurt or were resting.
4. Beacon - This group leaps up the rankings with some impressive pack running. With a 1-5 spread of about a minute, this group grabbed third place this weekend. Adding in yet another stellar group of freshmen, this team could grab the final Federation spot in November.
5. Bronx Science - Only one of their varsity team raced this week. Nothing new to report.
6. Stuyvesant - Finished 6th this weekend, running without a few of their top runners. Currently only have four girls who have broken 24 minutes this season. Finding a 5th will help them jump the teams in front of them.
7. Townsend Harris - Finished 13th this weekend, but were missing five of their top seven runners, including their top girl.
8. Hunter College Campus - Ran girls in the Freshman and Novice races, not enough for a team score in either race. On the season, their entire top seven has run faster than 25 minutes.
9. HS for Math, Science and Engineering - Finished 4th this weekend and they now have three girls who have run faster than 22 minutes in their careers. An improved 4-5 performance would vault them up these rankings.
10. Manhattan Center for Science and Math - They finished 8th place this weekend without one of their best runners, Ainsley Raha. Definitely a threat to finish top ten in November.
11. The Clinton School - With Murphy out front, this team has now gone from trying to qualify for Cities to trying to finish in the top ten. They were 7th this weekend.
12. Midwood - Finally raced this week. Noelle Barone won the Brooklyn Grand Prix and the rest of her teammates raced to a 10th place finish this weekend. They also won the Novice race
13. John Jay Campus - Their top five ran the Brooklyn Grand Prix this week and finished together in the 25 minute range. On Saturday, they went 1-3-5 in the Novice Race.
14. Tottenville - There was more than a seven minute gap between their 1st and 2nd finisher this weekend. Not sure where all the help is for Maeve Heck at this point.
15. Bard - 17th this weekend without at least two of their top runners. They were led by a freshman this weekend, who broke 24 minutes.
16. Columbia Secondary School - Top runner Marmolejos made her debut this weekend. Their two top runners ran the 5k, but the rest of the team did not.
17. Queens High School Complex - Disappointed to not see them at VCP this weekend. They did not race this week.
18. Edward R. Murrow - See Queens High School Complex
19. DeWitt Clinton - Nothing new to report beyond two Wajids.
20. HS of American Studies - Finished 14th this weekend, currently have four girls between 25 and 27 minutes, with a talented Freshman about to be plugged into the lineup.
21. West End Secondary - Finished 12th this weekend, seemed to be missing a few pieces.
22. Curtis - 16th this weekend without their top runner.
23. Bayside - 15th this weekend
24. Lab Museum United - Did not field a Varsity squad this week, but their top Freshman was 3rd in the Freshman race.
25. Maspeth - Senior Abigail Luna Morales medaled in the Varsity race this weekend, running 22:24 for 15th place.
26. Francis Lewis - 20th this weekend. Fun Fact: Their 4th finisher this weekend has more letters in her last name than their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th finishers combined.
Honorable Mentions: New Dorp, Fort Hamilton, Forest Hills
Boys
1. Bronx Science - Unsurprisingly, their top runners did not race this weekend. Their Freshmen won the Freshmen race.
2. MSIT - Off Week
3. Brooklyn Tech - Won the Varsity Race - a solid 3rd for sure, as long as no one gets DQ’d.
4. High School for Math, Science and Engineering - Solid 2nd place finish this weekend without top runner Wren Hansen
5. Stuyvesant - It’s possible they set the PSAL record this weekend with a 1-5 spread of 1.7 seconds. Likely not a max effort, more of a team tempo run.
6. Susan Wagner - Took 2 of the top 3 in the Varsity Race and finished 4th missing one of their top runners. (Only 6 boys finished, did he DNF?) 4-5 runners still over 19 minutes.
7. Hunter College Campus - 3rd this weekend - Their 5th runner is a Freshman who just broke 20 minutes this weekend.
8. Lab Museum United - A very solid 6th place finish this weekend, led by Marco Arrojo’s 2nd place finish in 17:12.
9. John Jay Campus - Finished 7th place this weekend without one of their top runners. One of their top runners from last year is not on the roster this season.
10. Curtis - Finished 8th this weekend. 3 and 4 are close to breaking 20. 5th man will need to step up.
11. HS of American Studies - 10th this weekend. Three under 20 now, looking for more out of 4 and 5.
12. Bard - Finished 11th this weekend with no seniors on their Varsity squad.
13. Metropolitan Campus - 12th place finish this weekend, two boys under 19 minutes, will need more from 3-5.
14. Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy - Did not race
15. CSIHS/McCown - 13th place this weekend, but only five runners means there’s no margin for error. 20:55 average might be enough to qualify for Cities.
16. Francis Lewis - Only their top runner broke 20 this weekend, when they finished 14th.
17. LaGuardia - 15th this weekend and still searching for boys to replace the departed talent.
18. HS for Construction - Did not race at VCP
19. James Madison - 16th place this weekend, two boys broke 20 minutes.
20. Manhattan Center for Science and Math - 20th this weekend without their top runner, but had a freshman run 18:33.
21. West End Secondary - 18th this weekend, no one under 20.
22. The Clinton School - 19th this weekend, no one under 20.
Honorable Mention: Midwood
Upcoming Meets…
Fordham Prep Developmental Meet #2 @ Van Cortlandt Park (Friday)
Lab Museum
Manhattan College Invitational @ Van Cortlandt Park (Preview out later this week)
Aviation HS, Bard, Beacon, Bronx Science, Bronx School for LGJ, Brooklyn Tech, Columbia Secondary, Curtis, DeWitt Clinton, LaGuardia, HS for Construction, HSMSE, Hunter College Campus, John Jay Campus, Lab Museum, Manhattan Center, MSIT, Midwood, RKA, Stuyvesant, Susan Wagner, The Clinton School, Tottenville, WESS
Suffolk Officials Invitational @ Sunken Meadow State Park
Bayside, Francis Lewis
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