11-15-08 State Federation Championships

St. Anthony’s boys runners.

2008 NYS Federation Championships

Bowdoin Park, Wappingers Falls, NY

Individual Meet Results

Boys 5000m Run Open
PLACE..NAME………………….TIME
49…..Kenneth Walshak………..17:49.30
58…..Todd Sather……………..18:01.90
95…..Patrick Murphy…………..18:28.80
112….Brandon Keany………….18:44.60
140….Thomas Flynn…………..19:07.10
149….David Kenney…………..19:21.10
166….Robert Cherkis…………20:03.10

Boys Cross Country: Buckley Rankings

The Kevin Buckley Rankings
CHSAA Cross Country Team Rankings

The Buckley Rankings (City Champs Edition)

A. The first set of rankings come directly from “Tullyrunners Speed Ratings” (combining top two performances by the runner); each runner then gets a placing based on the numbers (runners beyond 7th athlete are displaced…all those Chaminade, St.Anthony’s & Farrell runners who are better than your 4th & 5th guy; if “back scorers” did not get a speed rating, I added 10 points for the next scorer, and 20 points for last scorer (if there is no 4th scorer with a ranking)(if you can somegow figure out this byzantine scoring method
than we can move on.org)

B. The next set of rankings is based on my biases and handicapping predictions (this is from the same man who predicted Dewey over Truman, and Mitt Romney)(my last winner at the racetrack was Bucephalus, owned, trained and ridden by Alexander the Great)

A. Tully Runners/Buckley Nonsense:
1. Chaminade (68)
2. St.Anthony’s (79)
3. Monsignor Farrell (117)
4. Fordham Prep (178)
5. St.Peter’s (179)
6. Kellenberg Memorial (180)
7. Bishop Ford (182)
8. Holy Trinity (194)
9. St.Joseph by the Sea (244)
10.Iona Prep (254)

B. Buckley Predictions: (if I were a betting man and these were my wagers)

1.St.Anthony’s (3-1)…the odds are good for a possible upset; lost to Chaminade in
NS Sectionals, but the pre-season favorites have enough talent to breakthrough here;
$100 to win on the Friars at 3-1 (they have a better chance than John McCain)

2.Chaminade (1-2)…odds-on logical favorite, but you won’t get rich betting on them;
Coach Carriero should have gotten the Republican nomination for the job he did thusfar
this season (”Bill” would have done better in the swing states than McCain and carries
less “baggage” than both candidates)

3.Monsignor Farrell…(12-1)…they have to finish 3rd; great balance, but not enough punch
to win this; need a nor’easter to move beyond this spot; Coach Cuffe, our future Treasury
Secretary in the Obama Administration, will not be happy about this

4.Fordham Prep (all other teams are listed in “the field” at 25-1, this is a sucker’s bet, for
nobody else has a remote chance of winning…sorry)…major disappointment of the year,
but they invariably run very well at this meet

5.Kellenberg Memorial…I must back my own team to qualify for the State Meet; the
Firebirds appear rejuvenated and angry after abyssmal showing last week; if top three
are in the top 20, then Firebirds can make it

6.Holy Trinity…why not as high as 4th???; if break up Kellenberg’s top three, they will
beat my #5; have run very well, with lesser talent, in this race in recent years

7.Bishop Ford…seen working out on back hills on Saturday; top 2 get very low numbers,
other scorers are suspect (”round up the usual suspects”)

8.Iona Prep…coming on, but I just think it is too much to ask for in this team effort;
obviously, the Tully speed ratings do not reflect the quality of the Gaels; why can’t they
even beat Fordham Prep?

9.St.Peter’s…individuals post good times at various meets, but never on the same day;
if put it all together next Saturday, outcome can be different than this prediction

10.St. Joseph by the Sea…can beat a couple of teams listed above, but not really a
state berth challenge

N.B. you can throw a blanket over teams #4 thru #9 for the two last state qualifiers; I
feel Fordham Prep has a slight advantage, but a dogfight will occur; for the losing
teams (and their coaches) there will be “a weeping and gnashing of teeth”
-special mention to John Donodeo, Dave Wood and Pat Dormer, who are always good
fodder for comedy, who failed to even get mentioned above

***all predictions/polls above come with a margin of error of 4% (this is close to the
Gallup, Rasmussen, Clear Politics, AP and Pew surveys)
***remember to “vote early and vote often” (see “swing states”)

Boys Cross Country: NSCHSAA Results

Individual Meet Results - Personal Bests Only
NSCHSAA League Championships 26-Oct-08
Location: Sunken Meadow State Park
Saint Anthony [SA]
	Mark		Avg Mile			Rnd			Name		Age/Yr			Place		Points			Improv
Event # 2 Men 1.5 Mile Run Open
	8:30.04			5:40.03			F		Smith, Brian		9		1		1				-12.14
	8:38.94			5:45.96			F		Vita, Keith		9		2		2				-1.00
	9:10.61			6:07.07			F		Giuliano, Salvatore		9		12		12				-16.01
	9:12.36			6:08.24			F		Kum, Gene		9		13		—				-1.68
	9:22.55			6:15.03			F		Melón, Andrew		9		17		—				-30.19
	9:23.34			6:15.56			F		Ravella, Michael		9		18		—				-62.82
	9:24.01			6:16.01			F		Petersen, Christian		9		19		—				-15.81
	9:24.80			6:16.53			F		Seda, Austin		9		20		—				-60.03
	9:34.07			6:22.71			F		Nicosia, Gerard		9		27		—				-10.32
	9:34.27			6:22.85			F		Sheppard, Ryan		9		28		—				-17.99
	9:40.72			6:27.15			F		Vulpi, Frank		9		33		—				-37.13
	9:43.18			6:28.79			F		Falcone, Michael		9		34		—				-13.13
	9:44.22			6:29.48			F		Nastasi, Dominic		9		35		—				-6.65
	10:00.15			6:40.10			F		Eybergen, Christian		9		43		—				-6.48
	10:15.34			6:50.23			F		Lanzillotta, Joseph		9		50		—				-23.97
	11:26.63			7:37.75			F		Sepulveda, Nicholas		9		64		—				-50.99
Event # 4 Men 1.5 Mile Run Open
	7:53.59			5:15.73			F		Gallagher, Brendan		9		2		2				-1.96
	8:10.65			5:27.10			F		Diliberto, Thomas		9		4		4				-9.51
	8:24.21			5:36.14			F		Ferrara, Robert		9		7		7				-6.54
	8:26.46			5:37.64			F		Segreto, Frank		9		9		9				-18.40
	8:29.60			5:39.73			F		Meehan, Daniel		9		12		12				-0.64
Event # 5 Men 5000m Run Open
	17:08.50			5:31.04			F		Cherkis, Robert		12		2		2				-25.08
	18:04.80			5:49.16			F		Flynn, Thomas		10		16		16				-25.13
Event # 7 Men 5000m Run Open
	18:48.31			6:03.17			F		Krawczyk, James		10		14		14				-5.57
	18:49.53			6:03.56			F		Therry, Justin		11		15		15				-3.68
	19:15.40			6:11.89			F		Saracino, Marc		10		26		26				—
	19:32.39			6:17.36			F		Mazzucca, Nicholas		10		33		33				-14.17
	20:08.11			6:28.85			F		Gotkin, Ryan		11		46		46				-56.26
	20:11.78			6:30.03			F		Black, Dylan		11		50		50				-6.11
	20:13.27			6:30.51			F		Thieke, Thomas		10		51		51				-18.30
	20:15.58			6:31.26			F		Sclafani, Nick		11		53		53				-7.62
	20:20.71			6:32.91			F		Musacchio, Anthony		10		58		58				-15.29
	20:41.40			6:39.57			F		Mattesich, Eric		11		67		67				—
	20:58.79			6:45.17			F		Bruinooge, Matthew		10		79		79				-51.28
	21:01.64			6:46.08			F		Volpe, Michael		11		84		84				-19.53
	23:23.62			7:31.78			F		Rogers, Aaron		10		131		131				-109.39
	28:28.22			9:09.82			F		LoNigro, Patrick		10		166		166				-138.82

10-26-08 NSCHSAA Championship

St. Anthony’s runners fly off the starting line.

BY JASON MOLINET

Tim Dearie’s heart sank as he caught sight of the runners charging down the home stretch on Sunday at the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA boys cross country championships at Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park. The St. Anthony’s coach knew his team blew an opportunity to win the team title.

“We were first, third, fourth and fifth with a half mile to go – and there were gaps,’’ Dearie said. “They gave it away.’’

More like Chaminade took it. The rival Flyers placed four runners among the top six finishers of the 5K race, including winner Michael Kiley, who took the individual title in 17 minutes, 0.7 seconds. That overwhelming force helped Chaminade edge out St. Anthony’s for the team title, 28-37.

Friars senior Rob Cherkis of East Northport took the lead up Cardiac Hill, but was overtaken by Kiley at the moat and couldn’t make up ground down the back stretch. Cherkis finished second in 17:08.5, eight seconds behind Kiley but a full 11 seconds ahead of anyone else.

“Our overall expectation was to win,’’ said Cherkis, who is considering Temple and Fairleigh Dickinson. “But I guess everyone has their day.’’

Junior Kenneth Walshak finished fourth (17:23.60). Junior Patrick Murphy placed seventh (17:29.00). And senior Todd Sather was eighth (17:34.00).

Dearie was hoping for a stronger finish from each, starting with Cherkis. His message afterward was a simple New Yorkism.

“It ain’t over til it’s over,’’ Dearie said.

There’s always another day. The state CHSAA championship is next, Nov. 8 at Van Cortland Park.

State Boys Cross Country Rankings

FALL PREVIEW: Boys Cross Country

Venerable Kellenberg cross country coach Kevin Buckley offered up his preseason boys rankings.

1. St. Anthony’s: Plethora of distance runners return (Sather, Walshak, Cherkis, Murphy, et al); will their slogan be “Yes, We Can,” as the Friars look to return to the halcyon days of the Carter administration.

2. Chaminade: We all know that the Flyers (Dayton U. is the hometown of the Wright Bros.) were decimated by graduation; however, Carreiro’s charges are like Mao Zedong’s Red Army in Korea (they’re numerous and relentless); Kiley leads.

3. Farrell: Many pundits have the Lions at #1, but must rebound from the debacle of last year’s XC Cities; “Alex Orlando & Dawn” will be knocking at the ceiling for the top spot.

4. Fordham Prep: Three quality returners led by the elder Jennings; if Febles can convert all the 800 meter speed to the 2 1/2 distance, the Rams can conceivably win it all.

5. Kellenberg: Better than others think; a resurgent Posch + Cook (16th last year in Cities)+ an underappreciated Nicoletti will make the State Meet (I say as a team, you say as individuals).

6. Bishop Ford: The last set of twins still standing, the Gilhuley’s lead the Falcons; back scorers are a problem for all teams from #5 down.

7. Iona Prep: Terrific one-two punch of Halpin/Shephard; Jan Mitchell will have to be at his best to bring along others; the Gaels are rated this low due to the school’s connection to the Mara family; I now must pay $5000 each for my 2 season tickets to the Football Giants for my PSL (Personal Seat License); I have had these tickets since 1963 and my wife’s father served with Wellington Mara on the USS Randolph in the Pacific during WW II (along with Soupy Sales); this is the only remaining forum in which I can complain.

8. Holy Trinity: Muller’s Titans have a nice returning core group that performed so well in 2007 XC Cities; maybe.

9. St. Joseph by the Sea: Buoyed by last year’s very strong Soph squad, the Vikings will look to improve on this rating.

10. St. Peter: James Cannon is certainly a top contender, but can last year’s Frosh Champs help enough; Eagles can be a real wild card.

11. Xavier: Two fine returnees in Mirand and Elie-Vieux, but Dormer needs a lot more.