Christian Brothers Pack 6 Into Top 15 Of Loaded Varsity 2 Race

By John Neplolitan of DyeStat

With the return of Nike Cross Nationals some teams who are looking to earn a trip to Portland in December took the chance to run on the NXR Regional course at Bowdoin Park (Wappingers Falls, NY) and made a statement.

JOHN NEPOLITAN PHOTOS

Here is a breakdown of the four varsity races:

Varsity Girls I – Opening the day's racing, Sarah Lawson (Corning NY) went right to the front and pushed the pace to cross the finish line in a swift 19:24.4 on the hilly 5,000-meter course.  Dyestat Northeast #4 and NJ #2 Haddonfield had no problem dominating the team battle placing five runners in the top nine led by third place finished Helene Usher.

Varsity Boys I – Paul McGuire (Don Bosco Prep NJ) went right to the front to get the pace rolling early, but Adam Furman (Tri-Valley NY) and George Andrus (Haddonfield NJ) kept him close. Coming down to the 2-mile point Furman and Andrus moved ahead of McGuire and those two would battle all the way to the line with Furman getting the 16:02.3 to 16:02.9 win with early leader McGuire third in 16:29.3. Westfield (NJ) Dyestat Northeast #3 and NJ #3 put three runners in the top 10 and all five of its scorers in the top 15 for the 48 – 70 win over NJ rival Haddonfield Memorial, currently Dyestat Northeast #4, NJ #4. Connecticut's No. 2 team, Xavier, was third. 

Varsity Girls II – Union Catholic NJ came into the meet Dyestat Northeast #2, NJ #2 and put in a show of force in going 1-2-3-5-10 for the 21-96 win over NY Class C power Bronxville and current Ridgewood NJ in third with 100 points. Peyton Hollis of Union Catholic posted the fastest time of the day and was the only runner in the two varsity girls races to crack 19 minutes, with 18:51.5.

Varsity Boys II – The featured race of the day lived up to the pre-meet billing with current Dyestat Northeast #1, preseason US #6, NJ #1 Christian Brothers Academy NJ putting itself right at the front and daring anyone to challenge and no team could.  Four runners in the top 10 and six in the top 15 left no doubt who had taken the team title. The Colts scored a 41-98 over  Union Catholic, currently Dyestat  Northeast #2 , preseason US #10 and NJ #2. Dyestat NY #1 Corning-Painted Post was third with 111. Right in front of the CBA pack in the early going was current US#9 individual Jimmy Wischusen (Union Catholic NJ). The junior kept the pressure on and slowly put distance between himself and Nicholas Sullivan (CBA), Joseph Perazzo (Susan Wagner NY) and Joe Barrett (CBA) to be the only runner to crack 16 minutes, running 15:54.2, just a few seconds off the all time course top 50 list. When Wischusen returns in late November he is sure to move onto that list and could even take a run at the fastest time ever recorded by NJ runner on the course when Jim Rosa (West Windsor Plainsboro North) ran 15:35.5 in 2010. The course record is held by David Principe (Lasalle, RI), who ran 15:18.0 in 2016.