Top Area Teams Get A Look At Bowdoin Park On Saturday

By John Nepolitan of DyeStat

Once again, the Bowdoin Park Classic in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. will see an early season showdown of highly ranked teams on the hilly 5,000-meter course that serves as the regional qualifying site at the end of the regular season. Both varsity boys races are deep with powerful state and regional teams.

The Girls Varsity 1 race at 10 a.m. kicks off the action. Cornwall NY will take on Pomperaug  CT as both teams try to climb rankings in their respective states. The Boys Varsity 1 race features Smithtown NY facing off against defending CT Open champion and NXN qualifier Xavier.

The action heats up further when the Girls Varsity 2 race goes off at 11 a.m. with a lineup that could be an early preview of the New Jersey Meet of Champions. Northeast No. 3 Holmdel NJ, Northeast No. 5 Ridgewood, along with Haddonfield, should be a close contest. 

The featured race of the day will be the final boys varsity race at 11:30 a.m. US#9 Christian Brothers Academy, which always races hard in this meet, goes to the line to face Haddonfield NJ, Mount Academy NY, North Hunterdon NJ, Staples CT and Pomperaug CT. Making the drive north from Philadelphia is a potential sleeper, LaSalle College, which dominated the recent Briarwood Invitational. 

All of the teams coming Saturday will be looking for a positive experience with hopes of returning in November to Nike Cross Regionals for New York and Northeast.