TEAM

NEWS

PERFECT TENTH

MWXC ENDS 2025 ON HIGH NOTE

11/22/25 -- After a disappointing, but not unexpected seventh place finish at the NYSPHSAA Championship, the MWXC runners and coaches stopped for a late lunch on their trek home from Queensbury. Over pizza at Venezia's in Clifton Park, the team set the bar for the upcoming Federation Championship at Nike Cross Regionals. Top ten was established as the goal. Not an impossible feat, but one that would require MWXC to achieve some things they had not done yet in 2025.

After many races of plotting and planning ideal scenarios for success, the Crusaders broke their pre-race huddle with one message "go for it". That they did.

MWXC raced from the gun and were injecting themselves in strong positions around the initial 1200 meter climb through the playground area. As they plateaued to even ground through the mile mark, they were holding strong. At the midpoint of the race, just before the steep inclines of the back woods, the entire MWXC pack was between 74th and 140th places. While that might sound like a huge gap, in a race with almost 300 competitors, the 66 person spread was only miniscule 18 seconds. The team standing reflected the MWXC compression as they stood in 7th place and were the second team to get five scorers through the midpoint.

The race was on to the finish. Nick Doran who lead the Crusaders at the mid-point followed closely behind by Mason Williams-Murray who was inserted to the lineup in place of an injured John Mancuso. The pre-race instructions of "go for it" were heard and executed. It would now be a wait to see if the team could hold on to their top ten goal.

A week earlier, over the last mile of the NYSPHSAA Championship, the Crusaders lost 17 points and, in doing so, fell from sixth place to seventh. It was apparent after the big hills of the back woods that M-W was starting to feel the pain from their early push. Coming down the hills and heading to the finishing field, the Crusaders were battling, but losing positions. Doran was able to only surrender 8 places. Williams-Murray and Krzysztof Balbuena both feel 24 and 22 places. Joe Chiosie closed hard and was the only Crusader to advance places in the final 2500 meters gaining 6 spots. Ironically, even with the loss of positions over the final half of the race, M-W still managed to find what their season identity had always been, compression.

Doran finished first for the team in 81st place. Williams Murray was next in 120th place followed by Balbuena (125th), Chiosie 127th, and Leo Gowrie (134th). Five scorers, 53 places apart, but all within 27 seconds of each other. Tylan Haag crossed in 175th and Will Hassler in 208th. The entire Crusader roster finished within one minute.

Now the wait was on for the official team scores to tabulate. When they popped up, MWXC had achieved the goal they set one week earlier. They were tenth place, 7 points ahead of Class B state champion Burnt Hills.

How did they get there? Simply put, they went for it and held true to their team identity. Their tight compression was the factor. Of the thirty teams competing, M-W was one of only 4 teams to place all five scorers in the top 80 scoring places, joining NXN qualifiers North Rockland and Ward Melville as well as 7th place Northport.

Putting into perspective what this performance meant for this team one needs to look no further than pre-season projections that were released in July. In was predicted that M-W was projected to be the 31st best team in NY. They weren't even considered the top team in Orange County or Section 9. The tenth place finish proved that the senior class that so heavily impacted the 2025 MWXC team had come together and left their stamp on Purple Pride history.

The one question that remains is, who will be next in 2026?

6th 7th

MWXC BATTLES CLASS A

11/15/25 -- For the 18th time, MWXC competed at the NYSPHSAA Championships on Saturday November 15th. 2025 would be the first time where MWXC would enter the competition as the defending public high school state champions. After losing the top 5 scorers from the 2024 team to graduation, the Crusaders retooled with a herd of seniors and built a tightly packed group that dominated the local cross country season.

Entering the meet, all pre-race predictions and forecasts had MWXC landing in 7th place, considerably behind the top 6 and ahead considerably ahead of 8th and 9th. The goal of the team was simple, run our best race of the season and be satisfied where it left us.

Through the first mile, MWXC was off to a strong start. Nick Doran was leading the team in 42nd place clocking 4:52.1. John Mancuso, Leo Gowrie, Krzysztof Balbuena and Joe Chiosie all landed between 51st and 65th place within 3 seconds of each other and only 5-8 seconds behind Doran. The team standings had M-W in 7th, but only a small number behind Saratoga Springs for 6th

In pre-race meetings the coaching staff stressed the importance of moving forward in the second mile. Doran continued the race plan and moved up eight places and now stood in 34th place. Balbuena and Tylan Haag made up 4 places to offset Mancuso and Chiosie dropping places. Gowrie held steady in 59th. The growing concern was that the typical tight pack was now stretched with Doran 18-20 seconds ahead of his teammates. With the mostly positive position increases, M-W closed the gap and overtook Saratoga for 6th place by 4 points.

In the last mile, Doran continued to excel and only lost one spot in the race to the finish placing 35th overall in an outstanding time of 16:04.8. The pack that typically followed close behind was not there today. Balbuena crossed began a flurry of M-W finishers at 16:35.8 for 63rd place. Mancuso (16:36.4), Haag (16:37.1) and Gowrie (16:39.3) closed out the scoring in 65th, 67th, and 70th places respectively. Chiosie finished less than a second behind Gowrie in 71st place and Wil Hassler battled to an 84th place finish. In the team scoring, MWXC dropped 17 crucial points over the final mile. They finished in their prediction location of 7th place, but were only 17 points behind Saratoga for 6th.

MWXC did not automatically qualify for the Federation Championship by being one of the top 9 teams on the merged results of all classes at the NYSPHSAA meet. However, they did received word later in the day that the NYSPHSAA selection committee included MWXC as one of the 9 at-large invitations they can select. The 2025 team will return to Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls on November 22nd to conclude their season in the race that decides it all.

CLOUD 9

MWXC WIN 6th STRAIGHT SECTION TITLE

11/5/25 -- Warwick, NY -- With the arrival of November, the cross country season dwindles down to a week to week schedule with advancement based purely off performance. The Section 9 Championship, held this year at Warwick Valley's Sanfordville Elementary, was the Crusaders first opportunity to extend their season.

Entering the meet as heavy favorites, the Crusaders looked to secure their 6th consecutive class A championship and a return trip to the NYSPHSAA Championship.

The Crusaders quickly established themselves as the team to beat placing all seven runners in the top 10 through the first mile of the race. As the racers crested the long gradual hill heading to the 1.5 mile marker, MWXC maintained a sizeable lead placing all five scorers behind race leaders Leo Shotal of Warwick Valley and Joe Mullan of Washingtonville.

With the winds at their backs, MWXC raced to the finish and their victory celebration. Sophomore Leonidas Gowrie crossed the finsh line first for M-W with his 3 place time of 16:26.5. Seniors Tylan Haag (16:31.8) and Nick Doran (16:33.3) followed closed behind in 4th and 5th places. Will Hassler ran a spirited race moving up from being 7th man at the OCIAA Championship to being the Crusaders 4th finisher at the Section meet placing 6th overall in 16:44.9, two tenths of a second ahead of teammate Joe Chiosie.

John Mancuso sprinted past the top runners from Kingston over the last 125 meters to claim 8th place overall and dip under 17 minutes. Krzysztof Balbuena completed the Crusader dominance finishing 14th overall.

MWXC dominated the team scoring placing 6 runners of every runner except Shostal and Mullan. Their 25 point total was nearly 40 points better than Kingston's second place performance. With the victory, the Crusaders will return to Queensbury High School to complete in the NYSPHSAA Class A championship on November 15th.

SPREAD OUR WINGS

MWXC RIDE COMPRESSION

TO 21st OCIAA TITLE

10/25/25 -- Warwick, NY -- As the 2025 season was getting ready to kick off, the MWXC boys quickly learned that their identity as a team would revolve around the ability to develop a tight pack. With a strong nucleus of returning seniors, MWXC returned to the OCIAA Championship looking to secure their sixth consecutive title and the 21st in program history.

A brisk fall morning welcomed the best of orange county cross country to the championship 3.09 mile course at Sanfordville Elementary. Entering as race favorites based off seasonal results, MWXC understood their marching orders of their pursuit to victory. A poised first mile set the Crusaders up in a great position. Sophomore Leo Gowrie and Senior Nick Doran led the MWXC charge in the second mile. Teammates Kris Balbuena, John Mancuso, and Tylan Haag followed close behind and gave M-W 5 racers in the top 10 heading past the two mile maker.

Over the last 1.09 miles, M-W harriers pushed to the finish. Gowrie and Doran crossed the finish line in 6th and 7th (fitting for societies current brain rot). Babuena (10th), Mancuso (12th) and Haag (13th) faded slightly over the last mile, but still battled to give M-W 5 or the top 13. Joe Chiosie (15th) came in 6 seconds behind Haag and Will Hassler (18th) followed 2 seconds after Chiosie.

The Crusaders rode their pack mentality placing their five scorers within 13.2 seconds of each other and their entire 7 member team within 21.1 seconds. MWXC placed 7 runners before every other teams 3rd runner enroute to a 38 point victory over runner up Cornwall and 42 points over 3rd place Kingston.

Later in the morning, the Crusaders sent 31 competitors to the line to complete the sweep of titles. MWXC placed 6 runners in the top ten led by the 1-2 of seniors Mason Williams-Murray and Tim Belmont. M-W once again claimed victory with a dominant 20 point performance.

The Crusaders will shrink their roster on Monday and prepare for the Section 9 Championship on November 4th at Sanfordville.

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE

FRESHMAN TAKE ON CORNWALL

10/21/25 -- New Windsor, NY -- A unseasonably pleasant late October afternoon welcomed the MWXC freshman to the newly renovated Cornwall athletic complex. Competing with fellow OCIAA powerhouses Cornwall and Washingtonville, MWXC blazed across the Dragons' 1.8 mile course.

Tyler Mancuso led M-W with an outstanding 4th place finish. Logan Gold followed closely behind in 5th plance and Liam Rittger gave the Crusaders 3 top ten finishers when he crossed in 9th place. Thomas Gilstrap (14th) and Noah Hernandez (15th) rounded out the team scorers. Dylan Singh and Liam Chichester also competed and finished 16th and 17th respectively.

The fill MWXC contingent will return to the course on Saturday as they compete in the OCIAA Championship in Warwick.

VAN CORTLANDT PACK

MWXC TUNES UP FOR POSTSEASON

10/17/25 -- Bronx, NY -- With the turning of the midpoint of October, the cross country season is dwindling down to a few final races. MWXC traveled to the famed Van Cortlandt Park for the George Calano Collegiate HS Invitational.

The Crusaders competed in 3 races kicked off by the 1.5 mile freshman race. Logan Gold, Liam Rittger, and Tyler Mancuso all finished in the top 7 to lead M-W to a runner up finish behind host Collegiate.

The JV squad so 21 competitors take to the traditional 2.5 mile VCP course. MWXC took 6 of the top 8 positions led my Tim Belmont's second place finish. Erik Escarcega Tellez crossed in 3rd and Aidan Sullivan was 5th for the Crusaders. The JV team race was dominated by the Crusaders as they placed 6 runners before any other team placed two.

The day rounded up with the varsity squad using the 5000m race as a tune up for what to expect at the upcoming OCIAA Championship. Nick Doran led the way with an impressive third place finish in 16:54.1. Teammates Leo Gowrie, Joe Chiosie, Tylan Haag, and Krzysztof Balbuena packed in the Crusader scorers between 17:13.9 and 17:22.1, good enough for places 7th through 10th. Will Hassler grabbed a medal in 14th place with a time of 17:36.7 and John Mancuso finished 16th in 17:29.2. The Crusaders claimed victory in the team competition outdistancing Poly Prep by 35 points.

The Crusaders will send their freshman contingent to the Cornwall freshman invitational on Tuesday the 21st. Everyone else will be preparing for the OCIAA championship at Sanfordville Elementary on October 25th.

GOLD BACK

CRUSADERS TOP NFA, CLINCH DIVISION TITLE

10/14/25 -- Newburgh, NY -- MWXC enteted the final dual meet of the season looking to clinch another OCIAA Division 1 title. Standing in their way was host Newburgh Free Academy who welcomed M-W to their Chadwick Lake Course.

Staving off a spritied finsh from NFA junior Kiernan Judson who sprinted to the indivudial victory, MWXC rattled off the next 8 finishers en route to a 20-43 victory.

Leo Gowrie, Tylan Haag, and John Mancuso all finished less than a second behind Judson. Joe Chiosie and Will Hassler rouded out the MWXC scorers all less that ten seconds off the lead.

MWXC will travel to the famed Van Cortlandt Park on Friday afternoon to compete in the George Calano Collegiate High School Invitational for the second straight season.

PACKED & READY

CRUSADERS CLUCTH AT BURNT HILLS

10/11/25 -- Saratoga Springs, NY -- October cross country is all about building towards championship season. Over the past few years, the Burnt Hills Invitational at Saratoga Spa State Park has been an accelerator push for MWXC. 2025 proved to continue that trend as M-W put forth spirited efforts in all three races in which they participated.

The Crusaders opened up with a contingent of 21 runners competing in the unlimited JV B race. Logan Hong put forth his best race of his your career breaking the 18 minute barrier and placing 6th overall. MWXC followed with their next 3 racers crossing the line less than 30 seconds behind Hong. Senior Jake Montevirgen, newcomer Javier Cotto, and rising freshman Tyler Mancuso packed in between 18:10 and 18:18. Ryan Chang closed the scoring at 19:01. The huge gap from 4th to 5th man left the Crusaders in third place, nine points behind runner up Guilderland.

An hour later the top 7 JV runners competed in the JV A race. Senior Mason Williams-Murray found himself in the lead pack for most of the 3.02 mile course only to fade to 6th place in the last quarter mile. His time of 16:39 was over a minute better than his performance in the same race a year ago. Seniors Tim Belmont, Aidan Sullivan, and Jerry Haber combined with sophomore Kareem Bleibel to secure points that landed the Crusaders another 3rd place finish.

The varsity were the last race on the course. The race was stacked with top teams from section 2 and neighboring Vermont. Once again, MWXC battled as a pack and secured an outstanding 5th place finish behind top NY teams Saratoga Spring and Northport and top VT teams Champlain Valley and St. Johnsbury Academy. Tylan Haag led the Crusaders with a 3.02 mile time of 16:00.7. Leo Gowrie (16:04.7), John Mancuso (16:08.7) and Joe Chiosie (16:13.2) gave the Crusaders 3 quick scorers behing Haag. Nick Doran closed out the scoring at 16:27 with Kris Balbuena (16:31) and Will Hassler (16:37) not far behind.

MWXC will conclude their dual meet season and look to wrap up the OCIAA division 1 title when they visit Newburgh's Chadwick Lake Park on Tuesday.

PRs @ PB

MWXC BLAZES THE BUSHMEN

10/7/25 -- Pine Bush, NY -- Tuesday's in October are built for blazing trails to PR's and postseason success. For MWXC, the first Tuesday dual of the 2025 season came at Pine Bush High School's 3 mile course.

On a perfect weather day for racing, the Crusaders dominated putting 7 runners under 17 minutes and an additional 6 runners under 18 minutes. Tylan Haag led the Crusaders taking the overall victory in 16 minutes 17 seconds. John Mancuso, Joe Chiosie, Nick Doran, and Kris Balbuena were the 5 scorers who led MWXC to a 15-50 victory over the host Bushmen.

MWXC looks to continue their POPtober rise when they once again take part in the Burnt Hills Invitaitonal at Saratoga Spa State Park on Saturday.

CARDIAC RHYTHM

MWXC STRONG AT ST. ANTHONY'S

10/4/25 -- Kings Park, NY -- There was nothing irregular with the Crusaders return to the St. Anthony's Invitational at Sunken Meadow State Park. MWXC continued to build on recent strong performances as they push ahead towards the pivotal championship season at the end of the month.

The freshman got the day started competing on the 3000 meter course. Tyler Mancuso has the breakout race of his career placing 6th and leading the team to a 5th place finish.

The varsity race so MWXC square off with 25 teams including meet host St. Anthony's. Earlier in the season, St. Anthony's beat M-W on the merge at WaveMania by 36 points. Early on, the race played out like expected, a battle between two top programs over the past 5 years. Midway through the legendary 5000 meter course, the Friars held a thirteen point lead. MWXC made a strong push up cardiac hill and closed to within 1 point with just over a half mile remaining. Racing to the tape, St. Anthony's 3rd man made a huge surge and passed MWXC top two Leo Gowrie and Nick Doran to secure a thrilling four point victory for St. Anthony's. MWXC ran a spirited race highlighted by a 25 second 1-5 spread and a 29 second 1-6 spread. Without question, this was a loss that will benefit the Crusaders as the month progresses.

In the final race of the day, the JV squad took the the trails to continue their strong performances in recent weeks. John Mancuso dominated the individual race with an outstanding time of 18:00.1 Teammate Tim Belmont secured second for the Crusaders who looked well on their way to a dominant victory. Kareem Bleibel and Luka Joncic held serve as they both finished ahead of their St. Anthony's counterparts. With the racers passing by, MWXC was searching for their 5th man who was sitting in the top 10 as he head up Cardiac. It was quickly evident that something went wrong and someone else needed to close the scoring. John McConnell stepped up and held grown over the final 1000 meters to lock the Crusaders in at 42 points, 2 ahead of St. Anthony's.

After a thrilling day on Long Island, MWXC returns to action on Tuesday October 8th in a dual meet at Pine Bush.

CRASHING WAVES

MWXC TOPS WARWICK

9/30/25 -- Central Valley, NY -- MWXC wrapped up it's home dual meet season with a clash against fellow class a power Warwick Valley. The Crusaders made a strong statement taking 8 of the top 10 places and 14 of the top 20 en route to a 20-43 victory.

MWXC has led by Nick Doran's runner up finish covering the challenging 3 mile course in 17:23.9. He was followed in by scorers Leo Gowrie, Joe Chiosie, Will Hassler, and Tylan Haag.

The Crusaders will return to action this weekend when they visit the famed Sunken Meadow State Park for the St. Anthony's Invitational

TIGER TAMERS

MWXC Sweeps Kingston

9/26/25 -- Lake Katrine, NY -- Delayed one day due to forecasted thunderstorms, MWXC traveled up to Miller Middle School for an OCIAA Division 1 dual meet with Kingston.

Racing on the Kingston home course for the first time since 2022, MWXC staved off a blistering start from the Tigers and methodically moved up the leaderboard. Eventually, the Crusaders secured the top 7 places to lock up the 15-50 victory over the Tigers. Nick Doran and Leo Gowrie led the Crusaders covering the 3 mile course in 16:36.8 and 16:37.1 respectively. Seniors Tylan Haag, Krzysztof Balbuena, and Will Hassler closed the scoring with a 29 second 1-5 spread for MWXC. Mason Williams-Murray and Joe Chiosie rounded out the top 7 for MWXC only 38 seconds behind Doran.

MWXC will return to action on Tuesday September 30th when they welcome Section 9 Class A rival Warwick Valley to Central Valley.

STRONG BREEZE

MWXC SOLID AT XAVIER INVITE

9/20/25 -- Staten Island, NY -- A trip normally traveled during the winter season, became a new destination for MWXC at the team competed for the first time on the cross country course at the Ocean Breeze Atheltic Complex. Hosted by fellow 2024 NXN qualifier Xavier HS of NYC, the Crusaders were joined by a strong contingent of schools competing in four races at the Xavier Invitational.

The freshman team was the first on the course at 9am. Navigating the combination of trails and fields over 3000 meters, the Crusaders finished 3rd out of 6 schools. Tyler Mancuso led the way for MWXC with a 10th place finish. Also earning medals by finishing in the top 25 were Liam Rittger (11th) and Logan Gold (14th)

Next on the course was the sophomore contingent. Kareem Bleibel was the Crusaders top finisher in 13th place. Newcomer Chidozie Nwigwe grabbed a medal in his first race placing 17th. The sophomore team finished 3rd out of 12 teams.

At 12pm, the varsity had its chance to take on some quality teams from perrenial NYS powerhouses including Northport, Xavier, and local neighbor Washingtonville. MWXC built off their solid performance from last week's Queensbury Invitational with another strong top 5 compression. Sophomore Leo Gowrie led the way in 16th place covering the 5000m course in 16:44.3. Teammates Tylan Haag (16:46.3), Joe Chiosie (16:49.6), and Nick Doran (16:49.7) brought the first four MW scorers across the line within 6 seconds of each other. Krzysztof Balbuena rounded the team scoring placing 25th in 17:04.5 The tight 20 second compression catapulted MWXC to finish 2nd in the team standing, 11 points by the victors from Northport.

The final race of the day saw the JV squad dominate en route to the seasons first invitational race victory. Will Hassler, Tim Belmont, Aidan Sullivan, and Luka Joncic swept the top 4 places and Jake Montevirgen locked up the victory by finishing just behind Xavier high school's 5th scorer.

MWXC travels to Kingston on Thursday the 25th for a OCIAA Division 1 dual meet.

MOUNTAIN HIGH

CRUSADERS STEP UP AT QUEENSBURY

9/13/25 -- Queensbury, NY -- For the first time since their triumphant 2025 state championship, MWXC returned to the base of the Adirondacks at Queensbury High School.

Competing in the 21st annual Queensbury Adirondack classic, MWXC looked to improve after the disappointing start to the season a week earlier.

In the freshman race, Logan Gold led M-W for the 2nd straight week finishing 50th overall and earning the final medal awarded. His teammates followed and helped the Crusaders to a 14th place team finish.

The varsity race was next on the fast 5000 meter course. The Crusaders ran a disciplined race finishing strong and placing 5 racers between 16:58.7 and 17:16.7 led by Nick Doran's 22nd place finish. In the team competition, MWXC was 5th, only 23 points behind champion Guilderland.

The day rounded out with the JV 5000 meter race. Tim Belmont ran an intelligent race and took the overall victory by less than one second. Teammate Jerry Haber also secured a top 5 finish with one of the best races of his career. Missing a few key scoreres, the team finished 3rd behind Guilderland and Ithaca

MWXC will return to action on September 20th when they compete at the Xavier Initational at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island.

GRIN & BEAR IT

MWXC BESTS MIDDLETOWN

9/9/25 -- Central Valley, NY -- It was all smiles for the MWXC boys as they opened the 2025 dual meet season with a 15-50 victory over Middletown.

Competing on the campus 3 mile course, senior Tylan Haag led MWXC for the second straight meet. The pack attack was in full effect as M-W placed their top 5 scorers within a seven second spread. In total, the Crusaders took the top 12 finishing spots and 17 out of the top 20.

MWXC travels to Queensbury High School this weekend to compete on the host course for the NYSPHSAA Championships.

REFRESHER COURSE

MWXC OPENS 25 SEASON

9/6/25 -- Warwick, NY -- With the dawning of a new school year, the MWXC boys opened their competition season at WaveMania hosted on the Sanfordville Elementary course by Warwick Valley. Competing against close to 40 teams, the Crusaders entered in the JV, Varsity, and Freshman races.

The JV squad got the day started battling the 2.61 mile course. Senior Mason Williams-Murray led the way for MWXC finishing 3rd overall and besting his 2024 time from the same race. The Crusaders finished 2nd behind Catholic powerhouse Chaminade.

Tylan Haag led the varsity squad with a 12th place finish in the 2nd of two varsity races. M-W finished a distant third behind Chaminade and Connecticut small school powerhouse Haddam-Killingworth, coached by MWXC alumnus Matt Diglio.

The season opener finished up with the 1.5 mile freshman race. Logan Gold was the Crusaders top finisher in 19th place. Following close behind in 20th place was Tyler Mancuso. Both boys earned medals for their top 20 placement.

MWWXC returns to action on Tuesday as they open the dual meet season at home against Middletown.

ALL STATE

GOLIO, CATHERWOOD, MWXC HONORED

12/20/24 -- Central Valley, NY -- With the recent conclusion of the cross country season the time as come for the annual announcement of individual and team accolades. Milesplit New york released the 2024 all state and program of the year accolades. Gavin Catherwood and Shane Golio were both named first team class A, while the MWXC program was named program of the year for the second straight season.

Catherwood finishes a brilliant four year career with his first all state recognition in cross country. During his tenure, MWXC won 4 Section 9 titles, 3 NYS Federation titles, two NYSPHSAA runner up finishes, the programs first NYSPHSAA Championship, and two trips to Nike Cross Nationals.

Golio, who always seems to raise his game in the biggest races, received his second all state honor after being second team class A in 2023. Golio's MWXC legacy will be one of legends. Rising from the bottom of the depth chart as a freshman to a huge contributing scorer for the duration of the 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons. All of the team accomplishments listed above would not have been possible without the impact that Golio had on those teams.

Catherwood and Golio join a unique fraternity of MWXC runners who were able to finsh top 20 in the NYSPHSAA Championship race for two consecutive seasons. Catherwood was 18th in 2023 and 4th in 2024 while Golio was 11th in 2023 and 5th in 2024. Other MWXC legends to acieve this honor include Bruce Mapes (1969/1970), Jim O'Shea (1975/1976), Brian McKnight (1995/1996), Collin Gilstrap (2021/2022) and John Trautmann (1982,1983,1984,1985)

MWXC was named MileSplit NY program of the year for the second straight year on the heels of the magical postseason run that saw the Crusaders sweep the NYSPHSAA, Federation, and NXR championships for the first time in team history. Throughout the season MWXC was barely cracking the overall top ten on Milesplit's NY rankings, despite being the preseason #1 ranked team. A tough invitational season that saw the team finish no higher than 2nd place was quickly erased with victories at the OCIAA, Section 9, NYPHSAA, and Federation/NXR Championships. The Crusaders were also the highest NY team at Nike Cross Nationals for the second year in a row.

Congratulations to Gavin, Shane, and the entire team for this incredible accolades!

FINISHED ON EMPTY

MWXC 20th AT NIKE NATIONALS

12/7/24 -- Portland, Or. -- Very few coaches and cross country teams ever get the opportunity to advance to Nike Cross Nationals. For the 3rd straight season, Monroe-Woodbury boys cross country would have a presence in the sports culminating event. In 2022 Collin Gilstrap made the trip individually and finished 19th overall, good for third team all-american honors. Last fall, MWXC sent a full team to NXN and finished 20th. Once again in 2024, MWXC sent a full ream hoping to improve on their placement from 2023.

The trip started with a cross country flight from Newark, NJ to Portland, OR on Wednesday 12/4. The festivities began on Thursday with the the entire field on competitors spending the day on the campus of Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Or. Friday, the teams traveled to Glendoveer Gold Couse to preview the 5000m course they would race on the next day.

Saturday morning, athletes were greeted by typical pacific northwest rainy weather that had been mysteriously absent for the first two days of the trip. This year, the girls race was first which meant the boys would be running through a course that had just been trampled by close to 200 racers.

MWXC took to the sloppy course in a steady rain at 11:35 pacific time. The Crusaders executed the early race plan well and were in solid positions through the first 2000 meters of the race. The top 5 of Shane Golio, Gavin Catherwood, Devon Ryan, Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez, and Vinny Costello were all within 19 seconds on each other. The race plan had them pushing hard over the final 3000 meters to catch as many faders as they could. Krzys Balbuena and Ty Haag were also battling back from their positions. Unfortunately, it didn't play out as planned and the boys from MWXC largely held their places over the final sloppy second half of the race and narrowly held onto 20th place.

The weather ended up being an accurate representation of how the trip went for MWXC. Thursday and Friday were beautiful pacific northwest weather days where boys got to enjoy many great experiences including meeting 2024 olympic champion Cole Hocker. Saturday, everything turned gray, the weather and the race performance. It was natural for the boys to leave feeling disappointed that they couldn't perform at their best when they so desperately wanted to, but in the end, they can hold their heads high knowing their stature as the best team in NY over the past two years more than justified their inclusion in this competition. Bottom line, MWXC 24 finished on empty, exactly how Nike wanted it!

BACK to BACK to BACK to PORTLAND

MWXC WINS 3rd STRAIGHT FEDS TITLE

11/23/24 -- Wappingers Falls, NY -- November has become a magical month in recent seasons for the Monroe-Woodbury boys cross country program. The importance of the month and the competitions that lie within its thirty days are accentuated by the teams moniker, GOvember.

The newly minted NYSPHSAA State Champions were back on familiar turf as they travelled to Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls for the NY State Federation Championship. The Federation meet brings together the best schools from each of four different interscholastic governing bodies, the state public schools, the New York city public schools, the catholic high schools, and the independent schools. M-W were the two time defending Federation state champions entering competition on a brisk Saturday along the Hudson River.

The 2024 Federation race also took on a new meaning as the race organizers reached an agreement with Nike in mid August to use the Fed race as the regional qualifier for the Nike Cross Nationals. The first and second place teams along with the best five finishers not on those teams advance to the national championship race in Portland, Oregon.

Their strong performance at the NYSPHSAA meet coupled with their past success at the Federation race gave MWXC momentum entering the challenging 5000m course. Competing against 31 teams and over 250 racers, MWXC carefully executed their race strategy formulated from the successes of previous experiences at Bowdoin Park.

Seniors Shane Golio and Gavin Catherwood planted themselves in the lead pack of runners. Fellow seniors Devon Ryan, Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez, and Vinny Costello along with juniors Krzysztof Balbuena Matusiak and Tylan Haag all found their proper positions allowing room to gain places over the challenging 3.1 mile competition.

At the mid race checkpoint MWXC had taken firm command of the race and led 2nd place by 52 points and 3rd by 71 points. The only question remaining was could anyone catch them in the last half of the race? While the competition raced to catch up, the Crusaders stood firm. Their mid race point total of 124 only increased by 9 points at the finish. Golio (6th), Catherwood (24th), Rodriguez Perez (43rd), Ryan (48th), Costello (99th), Balbuena (140th) and Haag (164th) had done it. They clinched the teams third consecutive Federation state championship. By virtue of placing first, the Crusaders also earned one of two automatic qualifying positions for the Nike National Championship.

MWXC will head to the Nike National Championship for the third straight season. Collin Gilstrap (MW '23) raced individually to a 19th place finish in 2022 while the 2023 team advanced as a unit and place 20th. The Crusaders will compete with 22 other teams from across the country on the 5000 meter course at Glendoveer golf course in Portland, Oregon on December 7th. The race is scheduled for 2:35pm eastern, 11:35am pacific.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS

MWXC WINS 1st NYSPHSAA XC TITLE

11/16/24 -- Queensbury, NY -- Ten days after the Monroe-Woodbury boys cross country team secured the Section 9 Class A championship they were back in action against eight other top teams, each of which won their geographically based sectional championship.

For the Crusaders, this was their 5th straight appearance in the NYSPHSAA Class A championship race dating back to 2019. The 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. The eight team field was filled with familiar foes and new and upcoming challengers. Entering Saturday, MWXC was the only team that was part of the past three NYSPHSAA Class A championship races. It was that experience that would help them pen a magical chapter in 2024.

The past two seasons, M-W has been runners up in the team standings. In 2022 they fell to Corning High School by 17 points. One year later, they fell in heartbreaking fashion as they tied Saratoga Springs for the top spot, but lost the title by virtue of Saratoga having the highest sixth finisher.

Previews of the 2024 competition all reflected the regular season success of many teams. For the most part, the Monroe-Woodbury season had been somewhat underwhelming. Many experts projected the Crusaders to finish between fourth and sixth places. One aspect very few took into account was that M-W was without question the most experienced team at running this particular race.

From the 10:00am fire of the starters pistol, the MWXC harriers flawlessly executed a poised and intelligent approach to the highly competitive race. Senior captains Gavin Catherwood and Shane Golio comfortably established themselves in the lead pack. Not far behind, Devon Ryan was battling in the chase pack. Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez, Vinny Costello, Krzysztof Balbuena all effectively found their battleground just inside the top half of the 108 person race. Seventh man Tim Belmont had an important roll of pushing up from the back.

Over the duration of the 3.1 mile race, the Crusader experience become evident with each passing step. Each teammate ran for each other and refused to take their foot off the gas until they had crossed the threshold of the finish.

Catherwood and Golio were first to finsih in 4th and 5th place respectively. The highest finishes for a Crusader tandem since Andy Halpin and Jim O'Shea were 3rd and 5th in 1976. Devon Ryan and Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez each ran a spirited last kilometer to move up to 25th and 34th places. One year removed from coming being on the short end of the sixth man tiebreaker, Vinny Costello shut the door on the 2024 team score with a 58th place finish. Juniors Balbuena (72nd) and Belmont (99th) rounded out the finishers for the Crusaders.

As the remaining racers crossed the finish line, the wait was on for team scores to be calculated. Having lived through the long stressful wait of the tiebreaker calculation one year ago, all in the MWXC were anxious to learn their team standing. Thankfully, the wait was significantly shorter in 2024. When the timers from Leone Timing flashed the team scores, Monroe-Woodbury climbed to the top of the list. The Crusaders had finally won a NYSPHSAA Cross Country State Championship. Their team score of 60 points was 22 points ahead of runner up North Rockland and 34 points ahead of pre-race favorites Colonie.

In a brief 20 minute period on a crisp autumn morning in the Adirondack mountains, the seven MWXC competitors erased all past history of Monroe-Woodbury being one of the best programs to never win a NYSPHSAA cross country championship. In the end, it was channeling past experiences that brought the team, coaches, and fans a new experience they'll never forget!

REACHING A GOLIO

MWXC TOPS AGAIN IN SECTION 9

11/6/24 -- Tomkins Cove, NY -- After a one year absence, championship cross country returned to Bear Mountain State park for 74th running of the NYSPHSAA Section 9 Championship.

On an seasonably warm November morning, MWXC took the legendary 3 mile course for the 10am class A race. Entering as heavy favorites, M-W knew securing victory would return them to the NYSPHSAA Championship.

After the initial dash to Hessian lake, seniors Gavin Catherwood and Shane Golio quickly took charge of the race during the latter half of the trek around the lake. As the racers reached the climb roughly half way through the race, M-W had all 7 racers in the top 15 places and led the team score by 33 points.

Golio and Catherwood continued to battle over the last half of the race, while teammates Devon Ryan, Vinny Costello, Krzysztof Balbuena, and Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez and Nick Doran all remained in the top 15.

Golio used a strong push over the final incline to the ice rink to create slight separation from Catherwood and raced to secure the individual championship. After the 1-2 finish, Devon Ryan followed in 6th place, and Costello, Baluena, and Rodriguez Perez grabbed positions 10-12. Doran rounded out the Crusader racers in 14th place. M-W was tops on the team standings with 30 points and increased their midpoint lead from 33 points to 44 points.

With the victory, M-W will return the NYSPHSAA Championship on November 16th at Queensbury High School.

BY THE NUMBERS

Golio and Catherwood became the 48th and 49th athletes in team history to run under 16 minutes at Bear Mountain.
Golio becomes the 7th MWXC runner to win an individual section title.
All 7 MWXC runners were ahead of 7 teams #2 runner and 2 teams #3 runner.

MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME- After not winning a section title since 1994, MWXC has won 6 of the last 7 and 5 in a row.

BACK ON TOP

MWXC WIN OCIAA CHAMPIONSHIP

10/26/24 -- Warwick, NY -- In a season with such lofty expectations, it was somewhat surprising that entering the OCIAA Championship, the Crusaders had not been victorious at any invitationals during the regular season. After logging many long hours on the bus, MWXC took a shorter route of 35 minutes to Sanfordville Elementary for the 2024 OCIAA Championship.

Winners of the last 4 consecutive championships dating back to 2019 (there was no meet in 2020 due to COVID), the Crusaders once again were heavy favorites entering the 2pm varsity race.

On a breezy fall day, M-W had it's breakout race of the season placing 3 in the top 4, 5 in the top 15, and 7 in the top 25 to dominate the team standings winning by 53 points over runner up Cornwall. The triple threat at the top of the Crusader lineup all ran faster than any M-W athlete has ever run at Sanfordville.

Gavin Catherwood lead the way with his 15:21.7 clocking, just under 25 seconds better than his previous mark which sat atop the MWXC all time list. Shane Golio (15:35.0) and Devon Ryan (15:39.1) all smashed the previous best MW performance at the championship Warwick course. Even more impressive was where the Crusader times rank in the history of the Sanfordville course. Since it was created in the early 2000's Catherwood now ranks 6th all time, while Golio and Ryan sit 21st and 25th respectively. The Crusader trio is the fastest top 3 from a single team in course history.

Krzysztof Balbuena and Vinny Costello followed the top trio with equally impressive performances. Both harriers ran 20+ second personal bests and gave the Crusaders new hope from moving throughout the postseason. Juniors Nick Doran and Tim Belmont also set PR's and gave the Crusaders 7 medalists for in the 153 man field.

Not to be outdone by their varsity teammates, the JV (Exhibition) race was again dominated by MWXC. Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez won the individual race for the 3rd straight week. Joe Chiosie, John Mancuso, Mason Williams-Murray, and Will Hassler followed in 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 8th places to give the Crusaders a championship team score of 19, 70 points better than runner up Warwick Valley. Incredibly, if the 35 atheltes M-W ran in the exhibition race, 30 ran equal to or better than their previous best performance at the Warwick course.

MWXC return to action on November 6th for the Section 9 Championship meet which will be returning to Bear Mountain State Park after a one year absence.

WE WERE MERELY FRESHMAN

9th GRADERS COMPETE AT CORNWALL

10/22/24 -- For the first time, MWXC brought a contingent of freshman to the 2nd annual Cornwall Freshman race. The Crusaders were led by Leo Gowrie's 5th place finish. Luca Wen and Logan Hong gave MWXC three top 10 finishes with their 9th and 10th placements.

In the team standings, MWXC was a distant 2nd to host Cornwall. The Crusaders will enter the postseason on Saturday when they head to Warwick for the OCIAA Championships.

THE COLLEGIATE TRY

CRUSADERS TAKE ON VCP

10/18/24 --Bronx, NY -- After a two year hiatus, MWXC made it's return to the famed courses at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. While most schools op for the chaos and majesty of the Manhattan College Invite, the Crusaders opted for the smaller George Calano Memorial Invitational hosted by independent school Collegiate High.

With the top 12 Crusaders staying home to prepare for the upcoming OCIAA Championships, M-W used this meet as one more opportunity to compete before the end of season approaches for the vast majority of the team.

The MWXC race day opened up with the 4000 meter JV race run on the traditional course that finishes next to the woods instead of next to the road. Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez won his second consecutive JV race covering the course in 15:13.0. His JV teammates all followed close behind as Leo Gowrie, John McConnell, Jake Montevirgen, and Aaron Barbanel gave the Crusaders 5 scorers in the top ten. The Crusaders used this strong front pack to run away with the team competition besting runner up Riverdale by over 50 points.

The race day wrapped up with the varsity 5000m race. Matt Sim lead the way for M-W grabbing the final medal with his 20th place finsih. Mason Williams-Murray, Jerry Haber, Luka Joncic, and Lincoln McConnell all secured top 40 finishes to help the team finish 5th overall.

MWXC freshman return to the course on Tuesday October 22nd for the Cornwall Freshman Meet.

DIVISIONAL DOMINANCE

CRUSADERS CLAIM 7th STRAIGHT TITLE

10/16/24 -- Central Valley, NY -- After a 24 hour delay due to Newburgh schools being dismissed early on Tuesday, MWXC was finally able to conclude its dual meet season Wednesday with a 15-50 victory over the Goldbacks. The victory combined with previous victories over Middletown, Kingston, and Pine Bush locked the Crusaders into their 7th straight OCIAA Division 1 Championship.

Gavin Catherwood took home the individual victory breaking the campus 4000 meter course record with a time of 12:51.2. The previous mark, set in 2022, by his brother Collin was 12:55.7. Shane Golio joined the Catherwoods as the only runners to break 13 minutes on the 4k course with his runner up finish of 12:57.8.

The Crusaders took the top 7 placce finishes. Throughout the dual meet season, only one runner has been able to race into the Crusaders top 7 and that was Kingston's Andrew Lee who ran runner up to Catherwood on October 1st.

A partial squad returns to action Friday 10/18 at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx for the Calano Memorial Collegiate Invitational.

SPARTAN RACE

TOP 3 FINISHES HIGHLIGHT BURNT HILLS INVY

10/12/24 -- Saratoga Springs, NY -- On a picture perfect autumn day, MWXC returned to Saratoga Spa State Park for the 42nd annual Burnt Hills Invitational.

The race day started with the JV B overflow race. Fourteen harriers from MWXC ran a strong team race grabbing 3rd place, narrowly missing 2nd by 3 points. Aidan Sullivan consistently moved up the standings throughout the 3.04 mile race and finished 4th overall. Jerry Haber, Lincoln McConnell, Leo Gowrie, and Ryan Liang rounded out the scoring five for the JV B team.

Next up, the top 7 JV runners competed in the JV A race. Will Hassler led an early charge to the front by M-W and the Crusaders never looked back. MWXC placed all 5 scorers in the top 11 led by the triumphant return of Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez, who placed first overall in 16:56.2. Tim Belmont was 2nd overall and John Mancuso was 4th.

The main event of the afternoon was the varsity division 4 race. Competing with a bevy of section 2 schools, the Crusaders looked to build on their October progress. Gavin Catherwood was once again the top Crusader to cross the finish line with a strong 3rd place finish. Catherwood's 15:22.9 time moves him to #4 all time for M-W on the SPA Course. Shane Golio followed in 9th place and Devon Ryan claimed 15th. Further down in the 40's, the Crusaders 4th, 5th, and 6th finishers all finished within 5 seconds of each other. Still a work in progress, the tight pack will need to move up 20 -30 seconds in future races if the Crusaders hope to make noise at the State level.

MWXC takes the course for the final home dual meet of 2024 when they host Newburgh on Tuesday October 15th at 4pm.

HUNTING FOUR

HAAG, DORAN LOOK STRONG vs. PB

10/8/24 -- Central Valley, NY -- Back on their home turf, M-W used it's dual meet versus Pine Bush as an open audition for team members to close the gap between their outstanding top 3 of Gavin Catherwood, Shane Golio, and Devon Ryan and the rest of the team.

Competing on the supremely challenging MWXC 3 mile course, juniors Tylan Haag and Nick Doran conquered the hills of mile two and pulled away for a strong 1-2 finish. Vinny Costello and Krzysztof Balbuena also had strong performances, but fell slightly behind the paces of Haag and Doran. Will Hassler, Tim Belmont, and John Mancuso rounded out the Crusaders a 1-7 finish, earning the 15-50 victory over Pine Bush.

Back of pack eye popping races came from Jerry Haber and Leo Gowrie. Both boys broke 20 minutes on the most challenging course in NY.

MWXC return to action this weekend when they travel to Saratoga State Park for the Burnt Hills Invitational.

BRONZE IN GOLD

MWXC ENGINEERS 3rd PLACE FINISH

10/3/24 -- Bethlehem, Pa. -- On a humid Friday afternoon, MWXC made it's 9th trip to Lehigh University for the 50th annual Paul Short Run. This years visit also marked the Crusaders return to the most elite race at this annual invitational. The 2014 team finished 23rd in the elite "Brown" race that year. Since that initial trip, M-W has found a home is the "White" race, winning titles in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023. For the 50th anniversary if the event, Lehigh added a 3rd high school race. The "Gold" race became the main event of the day. With over 40 schools and 470 competitors, it was the biggest event of the 2024 season to date.

The senior captains led the way for the Crusaders yet again as Gavin Catherwood, Shane Golio, Devon Ryan, and Vinny Costello all ran personal bests on the all grass 5000 meter championship course. Catherwood, Golio, and Ryan all broke the 16 minute barrier joining 2015 alum Jack Jibb, and the 2022 trio of Collin Gilstrap, Collin Catherwood, and John Urciuoli as the only MWXC harriers to achieve this accomplishment.

M-W has strong back end performances from Krzysztof Balbuena, Joe Chiosie, Matt Sim and Mason Williams-Murray.

MWXC ended up 3rd in the team competition earning a team plaque for the 6th time in their 9 visits to Bethlehem. The boys return to action Tuesday October 8th as they host Pine Bush on the 3 mile campus course.

HOME COOKING

CRUSADERS TOP TIGERS IN HOME OPENER

10/1/24 -- Central Valley, NY -- Over a month since the start of the fall season, MWXC finally got to race on its home turf as the Crusaders welcomed the Kingston Tigers to campus for a 2.5 mile OCIAA Division 1 dual meet.

The Tigers led by Andrew Lee and coached by Joe Cahill are a formidable test for the steadily improving Crusaders. Lee was joined by the MWXC trio of Gavin Catherwood, Shane Golio, and Devon Ryan in the lead pack. All 4 racers covered the 2.5 mile hilly course in under 13:26 with M-W securing 1st, 3rd, and 4th places. After the lead pack, MWXC packed in the next 4 places in a span of 9 seconds led by juniors Tylan Haag, Nick Doran, Krzysztof Balbuena, and senior Vinny Costello. Kingston then rattled off 8 of the next 11 places to round out their top 7 varsity runners.

Continuously working towards a tighter compression, M-W put their top 7 runners within 58 seconds of each other to claim the 19-44 victory. MW returns to action this Friday for their annual trek to Lehigh University for the Paul Short Run.

CATCHING A WAVE

MWXC SHINE AT SANFORDVILLE

9/24/24 -- Warwick, NY -- Monroe-Woodbury returned to dual meet action Tuesday on the site of the 2006 NYSPHSAA Championship and 2023 OCIAA & Section 9 Championships. The Crusaders clashed with Warwick Valley and Cornwall on the picturesque 3.09 mile course that will once again play host to the 2024 OCIAA Championships.

The Crusaders had a great day led by Gavin Catherwood who ran the fastest time in MWXC history on the Sanfordville course. Devon Ryan had a return to form race with a very strong 16:06 2nd place finish. The Crusaders put 5 scorers under 17 minutes and an additional 3 athletes under 17:35.

On the score sheet, the Crusaders bettered Warwick 18-45 and Cornwall 15-47. This brings the MWXC record to 3-0. The team will now enjoy a weekend off before they return to action Tuesday October 1st when they host Kingston on the 2.5 mile campus course.

CARDIAC KIDS

VARSITY, NOVICE 2nd, JV 1st

at SUNKEN MEADOW

9/21/24 -- Kings Park, NY -- For the first time in six years MWXC returned to the legendary Sunken Meadow State Park for the Bob Pratt Invitational. The 5000m course at Sunken Meadow, which has been mostly unchanged for almost half of a century, has remained one of the most challenging in courses in NY.

The day began with the varsity taking the course in 22 team field that featured class B power Manhasset and 2023 Federation runner up Brooklyn Tech.

Gavin Catherwood took control of the race early and extended his lead through the famed snake and cardiac hills. He crossed the line victorious in a time of 16:48.8 which ranks him #6 all time for M-W. Shane Golio has a nice bounce back race finishing 4th overall and Devon Ryan showed improvement grabbing 9th.

For the second time this season, the varsity finished 2nd by less than 10 points. Earlier in the year is was 7 points at PTXC and today Manhasset won the team title by 8 points. The difference in meet was that Manhasset's top 6 runners finished less than a minute apart and all before the Tylan Haag and Vinny Costello rounded out the Crusader scoring.

The Crusaders compted in two other races on the day. The JV squad competed on the 5000m course and swept the top three places with Kryzystof Balbuena, John Mancuso, and Joe Chiosie finishing first, second, and third respectively. M-W finished with 28 points good for a small measure of revenge over runner up Manhasset.

The racers in the novice competition ran an abbreviated course that eliminated Cardiac. Freshman Luca Wen led the charge for M-W with an impressive 8th place finish over the 2.4 mile course.

MWXC returns to action Tuesday September 24th when they travel to Sanfordville Elementary for non-league dual meets against Warwick and Cornwall.

WORK IN PROGRESS

MWXC RETURNS TO FORM AT MIDDLETOWN

9/17/24 -- Middletown, NY -- MWXC returned to the basics after a humbling weekend in Queensbury. The team opened up it's dual meet season with a dominant victory over host Middletown.

Senior Captains Shane Golio, Gavin Catherwood, and Devon Ryan lead the Crusader pack securing the automatic victory by claiming the top 3 finishing spots. The Crusaders ran off 10 straight finishers and 18 of the top 20 to defeat Middletown 15-50.

After a tough weekend that saw the majority of the team regress from their 2023 performances at Queensbury, MWXC rebounded in a big way by having 18 of the 20 racers who competed at Middletown last fall run year to year personal bests.

Jake Montevirgen, Aidan Sullivan, and Tristan Stroud all improved close to 4 minutes from 2023 to 2024.

The Crusaders return to action Saturday September 21st when they travel to Long Island and the famed Sunken Meadow State Park to compete in the Bob Pratt Invitational!

REALITY CHECK

MWXC 4th AT QUEENSBURY

9/14/24 -- Queensbury, NY -- Over the past two seasons, the MWXC pilgrimage to Queensbury High School has proven to be a precursor of the successes to come. The 2024 trip did not follow the same script. With many of the top teams in NY traveling the Adirondacks to preview the site of the next three NYPHSAA Championships, the Crusaders struggled to a 4th place race finish and 9th placed merged (combination of all races) finish.

Competing in unseasonably warm temperatures, the typically blazing fast course did not play that way for the Crusaders this week. Of the 25 harriers who competed on this course in 2023, 16 had slower times in 2024. There is no doubt the heat and long travel day played into these regressions, but it also serves as a reminder that nothing is guaranteed from one season to the next.

Leading the way for the Crusaders in the varsity race was Gavin Catherwood. His 5000 meter time of 15:57.4 was good for 10th place. Kryzystof Balbuena was the top finisher for the Crusaders in the JV race. The JV team also finished 4th.

On the bright side, MWXC saw some better performances from the junior class. Tylan Haag had a solid effort as the teams 4th scorer. Nick Doran ran really rough after battling some discomforts earlier in the week. Will Hassler, Tim Belmont, and Joe Chiosie also showed promising signs that the Juniors are ready to push this team to new heights.

The Crusaders return to action Tuesday September 17th when they travel to Presidential Park Elementary for an IOCIAA dual meet against Middletown.

BACK ON COURSE

MWXC RETURNS AT KUTZTOWN & WARWICK

9/7/24 -- Kutztown, Pa./Warwick, NY -- Coming off the two most successful seasons in program history, the MWXC boys returned to racing as they kicked off the 2024 season at the PTXC invitational at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and WaveMania at Warwick Valley.

With pre-season honors flying high for the two time defending NYS Federation Champions, the top 8 finishers took to the road for an overnight trip to the PennTrack XC Invitational held on The Farm course at Kutztown University.

Competing against top ranked teams from Pennsylvania and Connecticut, the boys opened the season with a 2nd place team finish, 7 points behind defending Pa state champions Council Rock North. Gavin Catherwood led the way for M-W finishing 3rd overall in an impressive early season 5k time of 15:59.5.

The remainder of the squad stayed local and competed on the Sandfordville Course in Warwick Valley. MWXC particpated in 3 races. Mason Williams-Murray's 18th place finish led the Crusaders to a 9th place finish in the JV race. John Mancuso led the Crusader harriers in the varsity race finishing 48th. The team placed 11th. In the final race of the day freshman Leo Gowrie grabbed the teams highest place finish as he took home 4th place in the 1.5 mile freshman race. The remaining freshman, all competing for their first time in HS, combined for a 4th place team finish.

MWXC returns to action September 14 at the Queensbury Adirondack Classic, site of the 2024 NYSPHSAA Championships.

HEMMER HONORED

NAMED USTFCCCA NY BOYS COACH OF THE YEAR

1/11/24 -- New Orleans, La. -- The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) in conjunction with the US Marine Corps have announced their state-by-state recipients of the High School Cross Country Coaches of the Year.

A committee of experts select two winners per state, one for boys' teams and one for girls' teams. Winners are chosen based on their teams performance during the 2023 XC season. Factors that are considered include; team performance against rankings, state championship victories, individual success, and program performance versus previous years.

After graduating their top 3 racers from the 2022 Federation State Championship team, Coach Hemmer guided the MWXC boys through an astounding season. Pre-season rankings listed the Crusaders as the 8th best NY squad entering the 2023 season. Despite some excellent early season races, rankers continued to project MWXC between 8th and 12th overall in NY.

After winning their 3rd straight OCIAA division 1, OCIAA league, and Section 9 Class A Championships, the Crusaders began a magical postseason run that began at the NYSPHSAA Championships. Entering the race projected to finish 5th, MWXC ran a sprited race that saw 3 finishers in the top 18 lead the team to a tie for first place with Saratoga Springs. Unfortunately, they lost that title on a 6th man tiebreaker. They weren't held down for long as a week later they defended their Federation State Championship at Bowdoin Park.

One week later, the Crusaders got a measure of revenge as they beat all of the best NY team at the Nike Cross Regionals. Their victory earned them a spot on the starting line at the Nike Cross Nationals on December 2, 2023. The Crusaders performed admirably in tough conditions to finish 20th overall and tops amongst NY schools.

In the end, MWXC finished the season ranked #1 in NY and #30 in the US.

Hemmer becomes the first M-W coach to with the USTFCCCA XC Coach of the Year and is now in contention to be chosen as the National Coach of the Year that will be announced in the future.

BANNER DAY

2022 & 2023 FED CHAMPS HONORED

1/4/24 -- Central Valley, NY -- Great things come to those who wait. That quote in itself encompasses many events that have occurred for the boys' cross country teams over the last two fall seasons. After winning it's first state title at the 2022 NY Federation Championship, the MWXC family anxiously awaited to the arrival of their championship banner. Bark ordered materials prevented the banner from arriving until well in the the fall of 2023, long after the seniors from the 2022 squad had left for college.

With everyone scheduled to be home for winter break, a ceremony was planned to properly unveil the banner with the athletes who achieved this championship at the forefront of the event.

Incredibly, as the event was being planned, the 2023 team had an amazing postseason run that resulted in the boys defending the 2022 title, winning the the 2023 Federation state championship.

Surrounded by teammates, coaches, and family, the 2022 team reunited to finally feast their eyes on the banner that will commemorate their championship on the wall of the MWHS gym forever. 2022 captains Collin Gilstrap, John Urciuoli, and Collin Catherwood all returned to M-W for the long awaited reveal.

Early in the ceremony, athletic director Howard Harrison announced that a banner to commemorate the 2023 championship had been ordered and will be permanently displayed next to the 2022 banner once it arrives. The 2023 team, four of whom were part of the 2022 team, were also honored for their successful defense of the the Federation State Championship.

MWXC BY THE NUMBERS

First season - Fall of 1958

Total seasons - 65

OCIAA Championships - 19

Section 9 Championships - 16

Highest NYSPHSAA Championships Finish - 2nd (1984, 1994, 2022, 2023)

Highest NY Federation State Championships Finish - 1st (2022, 2023)

NXR- NY Finishes - 2022 (3rd) 2023 (1st)

Nike Cross Nationals Finishes - 2023 (20th)

JIBB, GOLIO NAMED ALL-STATE

POST SEASON HONORS ROLL IN FOR MWXC

12/11/23 -- Central Valley, NY -- Just over a week since the Crusaders were competing on the national stage in Portland, Oregon, some post season accolades have been released.

On Sunday afternoon, MileSplit New York released it's lists of All State performers. Senior Oliver Jibb and Junior Shane Golio were both recognized as 2nd team for Class A. Jibb finished 6th at the NYSPHSAA and NYS Federation Championships before finsihing 8th a the Nike NY Regional. Golio was 11th in the NYSPHSAA Class A race and followed that up with a 9th place finish at Federations and a 3rd place finish at the Nike NY Regional.

In the same press release MileSplit NY recognized MWXC as the boys' program of the year! Earlier in the week, DyeStat released it's final national ranks for the 2023 season. MWXC made the list at #30, the only NY team to finish the season nationally ranked! As more accolades become available, we will keep up to date in our news feed.

JUST DID IT

MWXC 20th at Nike Cross Nationals

12/2/23 -- Portland, Or. -- For the first time in program history, MWXC qualified a full team to compete at the Nike Cross National Championship race. Competing as "Woodbury" in the USATF sponsored event, the Crusaders were one of twenty-two teams from 9 geographic regions to earn the opportunity to compete in the best cross-country race of the year. The 154 team runners were joined by 50 individual qualifiers on the starting line.

The Crusader experience began on Wednesday November 29th as the team flew from Newark, NJ to Portland. Thursday, Nike moved all competitors and chaperones into the Embassy Suites in Tigard, Or. From there, athletes were brought via coach busing to Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton for a practice session.

On Friday, the athletes previewed the Glendoveer golf course, site of the 5000m championship race. Competitors also received their racing uniforms for Saturday's race. MWXC would be in red, a slight change from the traditional purple and white.

Saturday was finally race day. The Crusader team comprised of Oliver Jibb, Shane Golio, Gavin Catherwood, Devon Ryan, Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez, Vinny Costello and Jason Saldanha were greeted with a sloppy, wet course that had been battered from multiple days of rain leading up to the race. There was even one area with pooled up water at least 2 feet deep that the racers had to navigate.

MWXC battled hard at the start, but the level of competition was nothing like they had ever seen. The Crusaders top finisher was Oliver Jibb in 111th place. Shane Golio was next in 114th. Devon Ryan (147), Gavin Catherwood (151), Vinny Costello (184), Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez (186), and Jason Saldanha (197) rounded out the team finishers. Projected to finish 19th overall, the Crusaders grabbed 20th, 2 points ahead of the 21st place team from Nashville Tn.

The race marked the end of an amazing season for the Crusader harriers, one the could easily be classified as overachieving. Pre-season projections had MWXC as the 9th best team in NY, but their recent performances has solidified them as the top NY team for the 2023 XC season. With 5 of their 7 nationals runners returning, the goals for 2024 are already being set!

TRAIL BLAZERS

MWXC WINS NXR-NY, HEADED TO PORTLAND

11/25/23 -- Wappingers Falls, NY -- When the historic 2022 MWXC season concluded, few expected an duplicate experience. Who could blame them. The Crusaders graduated their top 3 racers from the 2022 squad including 3rd team All American Collin Gilstrap and 3rd team all NY Collin Catherwood.

Incredibly, the 2023 returning runners continued to carry on the focus and determination left by their graduated leaders. Once again MWXC joined programs from all across New York State and the Northeast region for the Nike Cross Regionals (NXR). Competing in the USATF event as the MWXC Club, the Crusaders looked to improve on their 3rd place finish from 2022 and secure and automatic berth in the Nike Cross Nationals held in Portland, Oregon in December 2nd.

The parity across NY in boys cross country was evident in the NYSPHSAA and NYS Federation Championship races held the last two weeks. At the NYSPHSAA meet, the top 4 schools were separated by 27 points and at the Federation Championship the top 3 were separated by 47 points. It was crystal clear that there were at least six teams that could make a case that they could be one of the top two teams in the NXR-NY race.

MWXC entered the race fresh off receiving a US #27 national ranking and one week removed from competing on the Bowdoin Park 5000 meter course where they won their 2nd straight federation state championship! The Crusaders used that experience to run a disciplined first mile setting themselves up for the ascent to the peak of the course.

At the midway point of race, MWXC was in first in the team scores with NYSPHSAA Champion Saratoga and Auburn just behind. Oliver Jibb and Shane Golio were both entrenched in the top 10 racers. Gavin Catherwood was 18th, Devon Ryan 28th, and Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez in 77th.

With the course decending towards the finish line, the racers made their final moves. Golio moved up from 9th to a battle for a top 5 finish. Jibb was holding steady in the top 10. Racers began to converge on Catherwood and Ryan, but both remained poised and battled the to the finish. Rodriguez Perez, Vinny Costello, and Jason Saldanha were all trying to pass any many bodies as they could to help the Crusaders get to Portland.

As the 207 racers began crossing the finish line, Golio emerged from the woods in 3rd place. Jibb was in a battle for 8th edging the first runner from Auburn by less than a second. Catherwood battled a tough second half to grab 30th and Ryan followed less than six seconds behind in 36th. Rogriguez Perez channeled his sprint speed to pass 5 racers in the final straightaway to grab 77th place. With their 5 scorers in, the wait was on for the team scoring to be announced.

After what felt like an eternity, the announcement was made, "first place to MWXC with 78 points, 2nd to Auburn with 80." Another nail biter that this time broke in favor of the Crusaders. For the first time in program history, MWXC will race as a team in the Nike Cross Nationals race in Portland, Oregon! MWXC becomes the first Section 9 school to the win the NXR0NY and joins Warwick's 2007 the only section 9 boys teams to advance to nationals.

BACK 2 BACK

MWXC WINS 2nd STRAIGHT FEDERATION TITLE

11/18/23 -- Wappingers Falls, NY -- For the first time in school history MWXC returned to a state championship event to defend it's title. On another picturesque November afternoon the Crusaders descended on Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls for the NYS Federation Cross-Country Championship.

After their strong performance at the NYSPHSAA championships, the M-W harriers were joined by top NYSPHSAA teams and schools from each of the other Federation member leagues, the CHSAA (Catholic High Schools) PSAL (NYC Public schools), and the AIS (Association of Independent (Private) Schools), including Brooklyn Technical, Hunter College High School, Xavier, and St. Anthony's.

The 1pm race saw 287 runners compete on the challenging 5000m course at Bowdoin Park. Running off the lessons learned at last years Federation Championship run, the MWXC pack ran a poised first mile establishing their positioning on the steady ascent. Oliver Jibb, Shane Golio, and Gavin Catherwood each established themselves in top 25 places. Unfortunately, approximately one quarter mile into the race, junior Devon Ryan was knocked down and kicked in the neck knocking him back from his targeted position. Incredibly, Ryan picked himself up and began the steady process of racing back to his position. In the middle mile, MW held steady to the elevated peak of the course before beginning the decent towards the mile 2 marker.

With Ryan steadily working his way back into position and Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez and Vinny Costello pushing together to close the M-W scoring, the Crusaders were in contention to defend their title. The emerging challengers from Brooklyn Tech, Auburn, and Hunter College High School all were working to chase down the Purple Pride singlets ahead them.

4000 meters into the race and MWXC had Jibb and Golio pushing for a top ten finish and Catherwood not far behind. As the race reached its culmination MWXC was feverishly battling to pass every body they could to help decrease their team score. Oliver Jibb crossed first in 6th place with a 3.1 mile time of 16:24.3. Shane Golio followed in 9th timing 16:27.0. Gavin Catherwood placed 20th in 16:40.4. Devon Ryan recovered from his early race fall and charged all the way up to 49th place clocking 17:04.8. Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez closed out the team scoring in 76th place. Vinny Costello placed 88th overall and sophomore Tylan Haag completed the team in 176th.

As the racers recovered the crowd consistently refreshed their cell phone browsers in hopes to learn the team scores. When they finally popped up, MW was once again on top with 92 points successfully defending their Federation State Championship. Brooklyn Tech was 2nd with 129 and Auburn was 3rd with 139.

UP NEXT- MWXC will compete as the "MWXC Club" at the Nike NY Regional at Bowdoin Park on Saturday 11/25. The top two teams in the Championship race advance to the NXN Championships in Portland Oregon on 12/2.

BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY

HISTORIC EFFORT COMES UP JUST SHORT AT STATES

11/11/23 -- Vernon. NY -- One year removed from their runner up finish at the 2022 NYSPHSAA Championship, MWXC was back at Vernon Verona Sherrill high school for the 2023 installment of the Championships.

The Crusaders entered the race as one of five teams mentioned as potential threats to the team championship. Fairport, Auburn, and Ithaca were the top 3 favorites, while Saratoga Springs and M-W were given an outside shot at the title entering the race.

After 7 previous races had conquered the deceptively challenging VVS 5k course, the state was finally set for the grand finale at 2:30pm. The field of 108 runners included 9 teams of 7 runners and an additional 45 individual qualifiers from varying schools.

Heavy race favorite Nolan McGinn from Fayettville-Manlius quickly established himself as the race leader with a strong 1st mile. While the individual race title was becoming crystal clear, the team championship was still tight.

MWXC raced a disciplined 1st mile and quickly climbed into contention with a strong 2nd mile. Saratoga, Auburn, and Fairport also found themselves in contention. As the racers approached the final half mile, MWXC was in position to have it's top 3 finishers all earn medals by virtue of finishing in the top 20. Oliver Jibb lead the Crusaders with a 6th place finish. Shane Golio was close behind in 11th. The Crusaders had two medalists. After hearing his place status as he approached the final stretch, Gavin Catherwood surged ahead to grab 18th place and lock up his medal. The Crusaders were in great shape through 3 finishers.

Tasked with a pre-race assignment of finishing in the top 35, junior Devon Ryan entered the stadium battling three runners from Saratoga. Ryan was able to get ahead of 2 of the 3 Toga runners to claim 30th place.

Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez, Vinny Costello, and Tylan Haag all had pre race assignments of challenging for a finish in the top half of the second half of the race, specifically targeting positions 55 through 83. Rodriguez Perez came across in 66th, Costello in 70th, and Haag in 95th.

With all runners in, the wait was on for the team scores to be released. MWXC knew it had 4 low numbers in team score, but Saratoga was also in strong position based a tight 18 second compression between their 2nd finisher in 29th and their 6th in 46th. After what felt like an eternity, the results popped up online, Saratoga 58, MWXC 58. The place numbers before each team read 1 for Saratoga and 2 for M-W. The race required a tiebreaker. Under NFHS rules, ties in cross-country scoring are settled by comparing the finish of each teams 6th runner. On this day, Jacob Bernd from Saratoga finished 46th while Vinny Costello for MW finished 70th. By virtue of the tiebreaker, Saratoga was awarded the Class A State Championship. MWXC would settle for their 2nd straight runner up finish.

Looking back at history of boys NYSPHSAA Championships dating back to 1950, it is believed this was the first instance where a team championship came down to a 6th man tiebreaker. Results from 1965 and 1976 show the top teams in the class A division tied, but were designated as co-champions as these years possible predated the 6th man tiebreaker rule.

BY THE NUMBERS:

This was the 5th runner up performance in MWXC history joining the 1974, 1984, 1994, and 2022 teams.
Oliver Jibb, Shane Golio, and Gavin Catherwood became the first Crusader trio to medal in the same XC state meet.

Photo Credit - T. McDonogh

Photo Credit - Mark Diorio

NY STATE OF MIND

MWXC RETURNING TO STATES

AFTER DOMINATING SECTION 9

11/4/23 -- Warwick, NY -- Some folks like to get away and take a holiday from the neighborhood. MWXC will be doing just that as they once again will be heading up to Vernon-Verona-Sherril high school for the 2023 NYSPHSAA Championships.

Saturday, MW put on a dominant display at the Section 9 Championships placing 4 in the top 5, 5 in the top 10, and 7 in the top 15 to claim victory in the class A race. Oliver Jibb let the Crusaders in 2nd place clocking 15:47.6 over the 3.09 mile Sanfordville Elementary championship course. MWXC's trio of juniors Gavin Catherwood, Shane Golio, and Devon Ryan were just off Jibb's heals all crossing the finish line in under 16 minutes. Each of the top 4 MW finishers equaled or bettered their performance from the OCIAA Championships race held on the same course a week earlier.

Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez rebounded from the experimental race he ran at the OCIAA championships to place 10th overall improving his time from 17:16.6 to 16:43.9. Vinny Costello and Jason Saldanha rouded out the top 7 placing 12th and 15th respectively. Costello saw an improvement of 5 seconds from his OCIAA time and Saldanha improved 12 seconds.

The Crusaders finished with 24 points to clinch their 4th straight Section 9 Class A Championship. Minisink Valley was 2nd with 88 points including overall race winner Gavin Rossi.

MWXC will now return to the site of their 2022 NYSPHAA Class A runner up finish where they will be locked into a 2:30pm battle with state powerhouses Arlington, Saratoga, Auburn, Ithaca, Fairport, Clarence, Port Washington, and Commack

KINGS OF THE O.C.

MWXC DOMINATES VARSITY & JV RACES

AT OCIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

10/28/23 -- Warwick, NY -- The 2023 championship season kicked off for MWXC with the OCIAA league championship. For the first time in forever, the race was moved off its traditional home at Bear Mountain State Park due to damages that occurred during the storms of July. Sanfordville Elementary in Warwick, site of the 2006 NYSPHSAA championships provided an all grass 3.09 mile course for the 20 plus schools competing.

The varisty race was first up at 10am. Heavily favored entering the race, MW still understoof what needed to be done. From the gun, MW flooded the top 10 with almost all of their runners. Oliver Jibb, Shane Golio, Gavin Catherwood, and Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez were locked into the top 7 spots through the first half of the race. Krzysztof Balbuena and Vinny Costello trailed behind right around position 10. As the race progressed Golio, Jibb, Catherwood, and Ryan locked into positions 2-5 behind race leader Van Furman of Tri Valley. Despite early success, Rodriguez Perez began to fall off the pace heading into the last mile, but Balbuena and Costello continued to charge forward to lift their struggling teammate.

As it often does, the last mile proved to be a grueling separator. Golio raced ahead to a 2nd place finish in 15:53.6 Jibb (16:08.4), Catherwood (16:09.0), and Ryan (16:11.4) remained 3rd, 4th, and 5th, separated by 3 seconds. Costello and Balbuena surpassed Rodriguez Perez to finish 14th and 16th respectively. Rodriguez Perez finished 20th overall to give M-W seven of the first twenty finishers.

In the team scoring, M-W claimed 1st with 28 points. Cornwall was runner up with 93 points.

Later in the day, the JV race saw M-W once again claim victory with 18 points. Senior captain Jason Saldanha was the overall race winner. Sophomores Will Hassler and Lathan Piper crossed the line in 2nd and 3rd. In all, the Crusaders took seventeen of the first twenty places.

DIVISION CHAMPIONS

MWXC CLINCHES OCIAA DIVISION 1 CROWN

10/17/23 -- Pine Bush, NY - MWXC wrapped up its dual meet schedule with a trip to Pine Bush for a tri meet with Pine Bush and Warwick Valley. The Crusaders used a strong front pack to secure shutout 15-50 victories over both the Bushmen and the Wildcats. Racing as a team, M-W secured the first 12 finishing places and 15 of the first 20 finishers. The victories gave M-W a perfect 6-0 record in dual meets this season.

With the victory over Pine Bush, M-W clinched the OCIAA Division 1 Championship. This title was earned with victories over fellow division rivals Pine Bush, Middletown, Newburgh, and Kingston.

The Crusaders return to action on October 28th when they defend their OCIAA League Championship. This years race moves from Bear Mountain to Sanfordville Elementary School in Warwick due to the damages to the Bear Mountain hill caused by summer flooding. Race time is set for 10am for varsity and 11am for JV.

WE LOVE (BURNT) HILLS

CRUSADERS BREAKOUT AT SARATOGA

10/14/23 - Saratoga Springs, NY -- For the second time this season MWXC escaped adverse conditions at home by traveling to the hills of Section 2 for a perfect weather invitational. Earlier in September it was Queensbury high school providing the setting. Saturday, it was the famed Saratoga Spa State Park that brought together a over 80 schools for the Burnt Hills Invitational.

With almost half the team home taking the PSAT exam, MWXC was still well represented in two JV races and the loaded varsity race. It all started at 10:45 with the JV B race. Freshman John McConnell lead the way with strong 33rd place finish covering the 3.04 mile course in 20:05.8. The JV B team finished in 8th place.

The JV A race followed at 11:50 and senior Jason Saldanha ran right to the front Finishing 4th overall, Saldanha dropped his Saratoga PR from 18:38.5 in 2022 to 16:51.4. Matt Sim, James, Fackrell, Simon Del Rio, Lincoln McConnell, and JeremyLiam Lynch rounded out the 4th place team finishing between places 26 and 38.

The main event commenced at 3:35 pm as the final race of the day brought together 8 of the top 16 teams in NY including NY#1 and US #18 Fairport. M-W entered the race at NY#10 in Class A and #13 overall. Other top contenders included fellow class A schools #3 Saratoga and #5 Guilderland, as well as Class B #2 Burnt Hills and Class D #1 Pine Plains.

Perfect weather and fierce competition led to some incredible times by all racers. For M-W, the brekout started with senior captain Oliver Jibb. From early on in the race, Jibb established himself in contention with the top 10. The lightning like pace led Jibb to a phenomenal time of 15:19.9, third in school history behind course record holder John Trautmann and 2022 MVP Collin Gilstrap.

Juniors Shane Golio and Gavin Catherwood gave M-W 3 in the top 17 as Golio claimed 15th in 15:44.8 and Catherwood took home 17th in 15:47.4. Not to be out done, fellow junior Devon Ryan charged to the finish and closed to within 7 seconds of Catherwood to grab 22nd place in 15:54.3

Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez running his 3rd race in seven days closed out the team score finishing 46th clocking 16:27.1. Krzysztof Balbuena (16:35.0), Vinny Costello (16:39.9), Will Hassler (17:11.8) and Tylan Haag (17:36.8) gave the Crusaders a strong back pack to round out the team.

In the team scoring, Fairport placed first with 101 points. M-W was not far behind finishing 2nd at 106. Saratoga followed in 3rd with 123 points. Pine Plains (159) edged Guilderland (161) for 4th place. The race lived up the hype as the top five teams were all within 60 points of each other.

MWXC wraps up it's dual meet season on Tuesday as they head to Pine Bush to face off with the Bushmen and Warwick Valley. Race time is 4pm at Pine Bush Elementary.

SEEK & DESTROYER

MWXC CONQUERS CAMPUS 3 MILE COURSE

BESTS NFA 15-49

10/10/23 -- Central Valley, NY -- After covering the 2.5 mile campus course at the Crusader Kickoff and in duals versus Washingtonville & Kingston, MWXC stretched itself out on the exceptionally challenging campus 3 mile course. The Crusaders and Goldbacks of NFA raced through the most challenging 2nd mile of any course in NY faced with the hills of "Destroyer" and the "Roller Coaster. MWXC came out on top taking the top 6 places and 17 of the top 20.

The core 4 of Devon Ryan, Gavin Catherwood, Shane Golio, and Oliver Jibb raced as a pack and became the first 4 MWXC to break 18 minutes on the 3 mile course in the post COVID era. Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez & Tylan Haag has impressive races that should set MW up for more excitement as October rolls on.

MWXC saw a number on runners set course PR's when compared to the 2022 Middletown dual that was held in late September. Among the highlights were, Matt Sim improving 2 minutes and 46 seconds, Joe Chiosie and Gorav Multani improving almost 4 minutes, and Abhilash Patel, Greg Grisar, and Andrew Ferdico all improving between 5 and 6 minutes!

The Crusaders return to action on Saturday when they compete at the Burnt Hills Invitational held on the famed Saratoga State Park 3 mile course.

SOMETHING'S BREW'N

CRUSADERS STRONG AT BREWSTER BEAR CLASSIC

10/8/23 -- Brewster, NY -- The crazy weather summer has continued into October. Heavy rains that soaked the Hudson Valley on Saturday forced the Brewster Bear XC Classic to a rare Sunday competition.

MWXC opened up with the freshman race. The defending freshman race champions raced shorthanded and made some small tactical mistakes that proved costly. In the end, MW was 2nd in a tight three team race that saw Greenwich (Ct.) come away victorius with 61 points. M-W at 62 and North Rockland at 63 made this an intense team battle. James Fackrell lead the Crusaders finishing 7th. Matt Rubin followed closely behind in 8th. Lincoln McConnell earned a medal finishing 11th. John McConnel and Jaden Shaw rounded out the scorers finishing 25th and 35th respectively.

Next up the Crusaders raced in the 2nd of two boys JV races. Junior Matt Sim doubled down on his 20th place medal performance from last years Brewster JV race. This season he captured 15th running almost a minute faster than last fall. Sophomore Mason Williams-Murray grabbed the final medal of the race with his 20th place finish after running the majority of the race with one shoe. The Crusaders finished 5th in the team standings.

The final boys race of the day saw MW field a varsity squad without their 5 top runners. The 7 who toed the line all battled hard and did an amazing job setting the Crusaders up for future success as the postseason quickly approaches. Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez was the first finisher for MW claiming 13th place. His time was a minute and a half faster than he ran a year ago. Tylan Haag, Vinny Costello, Lathan Piper and Jason Saldanha all finished within 28 seconds of Rodriguez Perez to give MW the tightest pack of the top teams. M-W finished a very respectable 4th place behind North Rockland and two schools from Connecticut, Greenwich and Haddam-Killingworth.

MWXC returns to the course Tuesday to race Newburgh Free Academy on the MW 3.0 mile course.

PA. PRIDE

CRUSADER RECLAIM

WHITE RACE TITLE @ PAUL SHORT

9/30/23 -- Bethlehem, PA -- A year to the day after MWXC and Episcopal Academy blazed the Paul Short Run white race to new levels, the Crusaders returned to reclaim the title they had previously won in 2019 and 2021.

Let by an air tight compression of 15 seconds, the Crusader top 4 that included Oliver Jibb (3rd), Gavin Catherwood (5th), Shane Golio (6th) and Devon Ryan (8th) all placed in the top 8 giving MW an insurmountable lead in the team scoring. Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez closed out the Crusader scoring with his 26th place finish covering the 5th man spot of Krzys Balbuena who competed under the weather.

Saturday also saw four Crusaders make their varsity race debuts. Sophomore Lathan Piper raced his way to an impressive personal best and was the 6th MWXC finisher. Senior Captain Jason Saldanha also had a successful varsity debut finishing 7th on the team. Sophomores Nick Doran and Will Hassler also competed well in their first large race.

In the final team standings, MW outdistanced runner up Stuyvesant High School by 95 points. Earlier in the day, the boys were able to reunite with the 3 captains of the 2022 squad who all raced in various collegiate competitions. Collin Gilstrap won the open mens race for Stony Brook. Collin Catherwood raced into the top 7 for UMASS Amherst in the gold race and John Urciuoli did the same for Emory in the brown race.

MWXC returns to the course next weekend when they compete at the Brewster Bear Invitational at Brewster High School.

TIGER TAMERS

MW TOPS KINGSTON IN SLOPPY CONDITIONS

9/26/23 -- Central Valley, NY -- Originally cancelled during the first week of school heatwave, MW welcomed Kingston to campus for an OCIAA Division 1 dual meet on Tuesday. The course conditions reflected the soaking rains that fell over Central Valley the previous three days causing multiple muddy encounters.

MWXC was able to navigate the conditions and secure a 24 to 37 victory improving to 3-0 in dual meets. Shane Golio led MW with a strong 2nd place finish. After Kingston took 1st and 3rd, MW answered by grabbing positions 4 through 14 to secure the victory.

The Crusaders return to action on Saturday as they take their annual trek to Lehigh Univerisity for the Paul Short Run

SILVER LINING

STRONG VARSITY NABS 2nd, JV GETS THE W

9/23/23 -- Queensbury, NY -- On a rainy Saturday in southeastern NY, MWXC took a trip up the Adirondak Northway for dryer conditions at the Queensbury High School Adirondak Classic.

The defending large school varsity champions opened up the afternoon competing against 15 schools highlighted by early season Section 2 favorites Saratoga Springs, Guilderland, and Niskayuna. The Crusaders practiced patience throughout the blistering start and settled into their pack approach with Oliver Jibb leading the charge. He was followed closely behind by Shane Golio and Gavin Catherwood. Not far behind, Devon Ryan paced Krzysztof Balbuena, Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez, and Tylan Haag through the fast trails of the Queensbury 5k course.

Saratoga and Guilderland both had strong front runners and the Blue Streaks established a considerable lead in the team standings at the midpoint of the race. MWXC, true to form, battled through every step of the second half of the race to close within 6 points of the team title. Jibb (8th), Golio (9th), and Catherwood (11th) had the Crusaders in the mix through 3 finishers. Ryan's 19th place finish gave MW a 2 point lead, but Saratoga placed their 6th and 7th runners just ahead of Balbuena to lock up their 6 point victory.

In the JV race, Saratoga claimed the top 3 finishers, but MW rallied to take five of the next nine places highlighted by Vinny Costello (4th), Jason Saldanha (5th), Nick Doran (7th), Lathan Piper (9th), and John Mancuso (12th). Piper racing up 15 places over the last 1000m and Tim Belmont and Will Hassler displacing the Toga 5th man all contributed to MWXC's 3 point victory.

In comparison to last year's trip to Queensbury, MWXC23 had 14 runners race faster than than the 2022 teams 7th fastest runner. Progress is being made. MWXC returns to action on Tuesday for a dual meet with Kingston that was rescheuled from September 6th

WIZ KIDS

STRONG PERFORMANCES SPARK

VICTORY OVER WASHINGTONVILLE

9/19/23 -- Central Valley, NY -- On a picturesque September afternoon two long time rivals renewed acquaintances while paying tribute to a legend. Both teams lined up side by side for a brief pre race ceremony to honor 1961 MW alum and legendary Washingtonville XC coach Art Jessup who passed away in August after a courageous battle with cancer.

Once the race began the boys from both squads aggressively took on the challenging 4000m MWXC course that both teams has races 18 days prior. Juniors Gavin Catherwood and Shane Golio teamed with senior Oliver Jibb to claim the first 3 places, each breaking the 14 minute barrier.

Further back in the a pack, another senior had a breakthrough performance. In finishing 9th place, senior Jason Saldanha dropped his PR on the MWXC 2.5 mile course by an astonishing 17 seconds over his performance on 9/1 and almost 90 seconds faster than his time from last fall.

MWXC moves to 2-0 on the dual meet season. They'll head for the Adirondaks this weekend to compete Queensbury High School's Adirondak Classic.

THE SAY HAAG KID

SOPHOMORE GRABS FIRST VARSITY WIN

9/12/23 -- Middletown, NY -- Tuesday afternoon the MWXC varsity squad traveled to Presidential Park Elementary in the Middletown City School District for ab OCIAA Division 1 dual meet. M-W swept the first 10 places and also took 16 of the first 20 finishers leading to a 15-50 victory.

Sophomore Tylan Haag led the charge crossing the finish line first with a 5k time of 18:11.1. It was Haag's first race victory since arriving on the varsity squad last fall. Devon Ryan, Tim Belmont, John Mancuso, and Jason Saldanha rounded out the scoring five for the Crusaders.

M-W improves to 1-0 in duals this season and will be back in action on campus next Tuesday in a non-league dual versus Washingtonville!

RIDING THE WAVE

JV, VARSITY VICTORIOUS AT WAVEMANIA

9/9/23 -- Warwick, NY -- After a scorching week that resulted in numerous practices being cancelled due to heat index or thunderstorm restrictions, the MWXC team was back in action at the Warwick Valley WaveMania. Th races, held on the site of the 2006 NYSPHSAA Championship course at Sanfordville Elementary, provided the Crusaders the opportunity to preview the 2023 home of the OCIAA and Section 9 Championships.

Up first, the 22 boy JV squad raced an abbreviated 2.61 mile course. A dominant pack of runners stormed to the front abling the Crusaders to claim 6 of the top 10 places across a 46 second spread. Junior Devon Ryan, sophomore Nick Doran, senior Jason Saldanha, and sophomore John Mancuso crossed the line in 2nd throuh 5th respectively. Sophomores Tim Belont (7th) and Will Hassler (9th) rounded out the first pack of MWXC finishers. Later in the field Matt Sim, Aaron Barbanel, and JeremyLiam Lynch finished 14th, 16th, and 17th, all earning medals. In the team scoring, the Crusaders posted a perfect score of 15 points bettering runners up FDR by 45 points.

In the 3.09 mile varsity race, the Crusaders weathered an early challenge from Manhasset to pull away with the team victory. Senior Oliver Jibb and sophomores Shane Golio and Gavin Catherwood all scored top 10 finishes to get the Crusader team score off to a quick start. Sophomore Krzysztof Balbuena continued his early season success placing 14th. Junior track & field standout Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez closed with scoring for MW with an 18th place finish. The Crusader time spread from scorers 1-5 was 62 seconds. Tylan Haag (32nd) and Vinny Costello (43rd) rounded out the team. Placing 5 in the top 18 garnered the Crusaders a team score of 43 points. They outdistanced the early challengers from Manhasset by 39 points.

In the final race of the day, the freshman boys raced the 1.5 mile course. James Fackrell (3rd) and Matt Rubin (10th) got MW off to a quick start. Lincoln McConnell, John McConnell, and Jaden Shaw rounded out the top 5 scorers that helped the freshman secure a 4th place team finish!

MWXC returns to action Tuesday as they travel to Presidential Park Elementary for a dual meet against division rival Middletown!

BACK ON PACK

MWXC RETURNS

9/1/23 -- Central Valley, NY -- For the first time since the magical 2022 season ended, the MWXC boys team was back on course hosting the Crusader Kickoff on a picturesque Friday afternoon.

Senior captain Oliver Jibb led the charge in the 2.5 mile veterans race placing first in a time of 13 minutes 42.2 seconds. Juniors Shane Golio and Gavin Catherwood followed in 3rd and 4th places respectively giving the Crusaders a strong top 3. Sophomores Krzysztof Balbuena and Tylan Haag locked up Crusaders score of 30 points by finishing 10th and 12th. Three more Crusaders, Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez, Vinny Costello, and Jason Saldanha finished ahead of top 5 scorers from every team in the race!

This seasons batch of newcomers were also victorious in the 1.75 mile race. Freshman Matthew Rubin led the charge with a 2nd place finish. He was followed up by freshman James Fackrell (3rd), sophomore Mason Williams-Murray (3rd), freshman Lincoln McConnell (13th) and freshman Josh Hazel (14th).

NEXT UP- The Crusaders host Kingston on Wednesday 9/6 in an OCIAA Division 1 dual meet.

BE LIKE GILLY

GATORADE CHOOSES GILSTRAP AS

NY XC PLAYER OF THE YEAR

1/30/23 -- Central Valley, NY -- It has been almost 2 months since the magical 2022 Cross Country season ended, but the honors continue to roll in. In mid December, website MileSplit NY selected Collin Gilstrap as the NY runner of the year. Now as we approach February, the Gatorade company, who once promoted their product using basketball great Michael Jordan and a slogan "Be Like Mike" has chosen Gilstrap as it's NYS Boys Cross Country Player of the Year.

For over 30 years, Gatorade has chosen winners from all 50 states in various sports including football, baseball, basketball, soccer, track and field, and cross country. The nomination process includes a thorough search into the athletic, academic, and volunteerism of each finalist.

Gilstrap is the first MWXC athlete to earn this honor and the 3rd athlete from MWHS to receive this recognition. He joins fellow distance running standout John Trautmann who won the first ever Gatorade Player of the Year for the sport of track & field in 1985/1986. Football star Dan Scalo won the award as well in 2009/2010.

As a state winner, Gilstrap will now have the opportunity to award a $1000 grant to a youth sports organization of his choice through Gatorade's "Play it Forward" program.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

GILSTRAP FINISHES 19TH @ NXN

12/3/22 -- Portland, OR -- Just under four months since training began, Collin Gilstrap wrote an epic final chapter in the magical story of the 2022 MWXC season. Competing as an individual at the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN), Gilstrap became the first M-W harrier to earn All American status since John Trautmann in 1985.

NXN, which was originally built as NTN (Nike Team Nationals) began in 2004. In 2008 the meet was expanded to include two teams and 5 individuals from nine geographic regions across the United States. Originally held at Portland Meadows Racetrack, the meet transitioned to its current location Glendoveer Golf Course in 2014.

Entering the race, Gilstrap joked his goal was to finish in the top 44 (his favorite number). While listening to pre race announcements, he heard that those who finish in the top 21 earn All American honors. That was all the motivation he needed.

In a field of 198 of the best runners in American, Gilstrap established early on that he was chasing his new goal. 1300m into the race he found himself in 23rd place. Five seconds off the leaders and surrounded by many others chasing the same goal. One mile into the race he had moved up to 21st in a fierce pace of 4 minutes 40.1 seconds. With still more than two miles left in the race anything could happen. The next split popped up at the 2 mile mark. The leaders were through in under 9:30. Gilly crossed in 23rd clocking 9:49. Slightly over one mile and two positions separated Collin from his ultimate goal. With each step getting him closer to the finish, he moved up to 22nd place with 1000m to go. Just over a quarter mile from the finish Collin found himself in 20th place and as he approached the closing stretch he heard the familiar bellow of Coach McCafferty's voice alerting him that he was up to 19th place. From that moment, Collin refused to allow anyone to pass him until he crossed the line. He did it! A personal best 5000m time of 15:21.0, good for 19th place and 3rd team All American honors! A perfect ending to one of the best cross-country seasons ever for a Monroe-Woodbury athlete!

BY THE NUMBERS:

In comparison to the other teams and regions in the NXN race, Collin would've been no worse than 3rd man on every team that raced and would've been amongst the top 4 individuals in every region except the Midwest.
Collin was the 3rd finisher from within the eastern time zone.
Collin's 15:21.0 time is the 2nd fastest time run by a NY runner since the meet moved Glendoveer in 2014 trailing only the 2015 performance from Ben Petrella of Liverpool, 15:15.1
Collin was the 11th Section 9 runner to compete at NXN. Warwick boys ran as a team in 2007 and individuals Marth Hehir (Washingtonville), Keith Baird (Mount Academy), and Behailu Bekele-Arcuri (Warwick) competed in 2010, 2014, and 2018 respectively.
Collin is the 2nd highest finisher amongst Section 9 athletes at NXN trailing only the 11th place finish recorded by Martin Hehir in 2010.

GO WEST YOUNG MAN

GILSTRAP QUALIFIES FOR NIKE NATIONALS

TEAM FALLS JUST SHORT

11/26/22 -- Wappingers Falls, NY -- For the first time since its inception in 2004, MWXC put itself in contention to compete at Nike Cross Nationals. The result of months of hardwork and success was a Saturday afternoon race at Bowdoin Park against the best XC teams in New York. The top two teams advance to Portland, Oregon for the December 3rd gathering of the best XC teams in the US.

Coming in off the high of their exhilarating victory at the Federation State Championship, the MWXC Club (teams are unable to represent schools after States) were once again facing the strong and talented squads from Coring and St. Anthony's High Schools.

Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, it became apparent early on that, on this day, Corning and St. Anthony's were just a bit better as the Crusaders battled unforeseen illnesses and fatigue. MWXC was able to maintain its status as one of the three best teams in NY by locking up a 3rd place finish.

In addition to the top two teams advancing to Portland, the top 5 finishers who aren't part of the advancing teams can qualify as individuals representing the NY region. From the start, Collin Gilstrap raced to assure that no matter what happened behind him, he was still in contention to grab his ticket to Portland. Through the halfway point of the race, Gilstrap was in a lead pack with two other runners approximately 3-8 seconds ahead of a chase pack containing an additional 6 runners. With each passing step, Gilstrap saw his lead over the chase pack increase while also finding himself chasing race leader Maximus Haynia. Locked into 2nd place, Gilstrap surged to the finish and locked up his place in the Nike National Championship race.

NOTEWORTHY:

Collin Gilstrap joins John Trautmann (1984/1985 - Kinney) and Jack Jibb (2014 - Foot Locker) as the only three MWXC boys to reach a National XC Championship. Gilstrap will be the first Crusader to compete at the 18 year old Nike Cross Nationals.

Monroe-Woodbury wraps up it's magical season losing to only 3 teams that they raced head to head. Each of those 3 teams advanced to compete in the Nike Cross Nationals race. Corning and St. Anthony's from the NY region and Episcopal Academy of Pennsylvania from the Northeast region.

GOLD RUSH

MWXC & GILSTRAP SWEEP STATE FEDERATION TEAM & INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

11/19/22 -- Wappingers Falls, NY -- Sometimes events happen the lead up to a magical moment and you don't recognize it until after the fact. Earlier in the week, in an attempt to brings some lightheartedness to practice, Coach Hemmer reunited some of the boys with memories of their first grade yearbooks from Smith Clove Elementary. Everyone was able to enjoy laughter looking at past pictures and, for senior captains Collin Gilstrap and Collin Catherwood, superlatives that were included. Ironically, it was Catherwood's response to his favorite TV show in 2012 proved to be the ultimate foreshadowing for the script the boys were about to write at the New York State Federation Championships, GOLD RUSH!

For the second straight week MWXC entered the race as an underdog chasing a perennial state powerhouse. Last week the Crusaders fell by 17 points to Corning. This week, they would battle St. Anthony's High School from Long Island. A team that has accumulated 8 Federation State Championships. With a field of 30 teams and an additional 60 plus individuals, this was the biggest race of the year, in more than one way!

Early on, the Federation race is difficult to read because of the sheer volume of competitors. Despite this factor, one thing was certain, Collin Giltrap was running from the front, and not far behind him was Collin Catherwood. Heading through the mile, it was clear the Crusaders were in a battle as both St. Anthony's and Saratoga Springs looked strong.

After conquering the first half of Bowdoin, the race began to string out as the downhill decent begain. Gilstrap, fellow Section 9 competitor Adam Furman from Tri Valley, and Joseph Perrazzo from Susan Wagner HS of the NYC PSAL broke the race into a 3 team battle. Collin Catherwood maintained his position hovering around the top 10. Senior John Urciuoli was chasing down the top 40, while Gavin Catherwood, Shane Golio, Devon Ryan, and Oliver Jibb were all in strong positions for the push the finish.

As the racers rounded the field before the final stretch, Gilsltrap nudged ahead to chase down M-W's first individual State Federation Championship since the great John Trautmann. With a final surge, Gilly broke the tape at 15:51.3 to win the race in what became the fastest time run by an M-W athlete at Bowdoin Park. Exactly 40 seconds later Collin Catherwood followed in 11th place. Twenty-four seconds later, John Urciuoli grabbed 38th place. Gavin Catherwood was next, placing 54th. Shane Golio closed out the team scoring in 72nd place. Devon Ryan and Oliver Jibb completed the team finishing 134th and 136th respectively.

The conclusion of the race was here and while it was certain the boys ran well, the team standings were close as St. Anthony's was able to place 5 scorers before M-W placed 4 and 6 scorers before M-W placed 5. The final score would come down to the Crusaders low numbers vs. the Friars tight compression (6 finishers within 23 seconds). Thanks to Leone Timing, modern technology and the AT&T network the results popped up rather quickly, Monroe-Woodbury 109, St. Anthony's 120. Eleven points separated the two phenomenal teams. MWXC clinched their first NYS Federation Cross-Country Championship!

Noteworthy:

M-W became the first Section 9 team to win the Federation title since Pearl River HS won in 1978. Nanuet HS won as well in 1974. Both schools joined the rest of Rockland county in a move to Section 1 in the early 1980's.
Gilstrap became the first Section 9 boy to win the Federation race since 1995 when Cornwall great Mike Fitzula was victorious.

Photo Credit - C. Catherwood

Photo Credits - T. McDonough - ny.milesplit

SECOND GEAR

MWXC Drive for State Title Stopped Short

11/12/22 -- Verona, NY -- Entering the 2022 season, many experts projected MWXC as the 5th best Class A team. The senior captains returning from a 7th place finish at the 2021 NYSPHSAA Championships had other ideas. At a table in a crowded Oliver Garden on Vestal highway, just west of Binghamton raised the questions, "can we win next year?" and "what do we need to do to win?"

The defending champions from Corning were bringing back a number of impactful runners and entered the season as the overwhelming favorite. The runners at M-W trained all summer with motivation to take a run at knocking off the talented Hawks. Strong regular seasons and local postseasons from both squads set up M-W and Corning for a fierce Class A race that also included very strong and storied programs from Norhtport, Fairport, Saratoga Springs, and Arlington high schools.

The field of 108 runners featured 63 runners representing the nine class a sectional team champions and 45 additional top individuals from across the state settling the score on the muddy course at VVS High School.

MWXC quickly found itself in solid positioning through the first mile with seniors Collin Gilstrap and Collin Catherwood injecting themselves into the top ten and senior John Urciuoli pushing the top 25. Corning countered with 1 in the top 10, 1 in the top 25, and strong pack of 3-4 runners hovering around positions 35-45.

Not only were the Crusaders racing for the team crown, but Gilstrap and Catherwood also had their sights on becoming the 4th Crusader to win an individual title. Just passed the 2000m mark on the course Gilstrap slip and fell in a muddy patch causing him to temporarily lose positioning amongst the top contenders. The fall couldn't keep him down though as he quickly recovered and raced himself back into contention.

The second half of the race proved to be the difference for M-W as their top runners slowly faded and Corning's pack mentality was too much to overcome as the Hawks' patience paid off, placing all 5 scorers just ahead of M-W's 3rd scorer. MWXC was able hold off a strong race from Long Island powerhouse Northport to secure the 4th (1974, 1984, 1994, 2022) runner up team finish in school history.

Corning Coach Lawson said in a local paper that this was "Corning's best team race of the season and it needed to be because the teams behind them ran outstanding." In the end, MWXC were unable to knock off the defending champs, but they did earn their respect as formidable opponents!

NEWS AND NOTEWORTHY -- Collin Gilstrap & Collin Catherwood became the first Crusader tandem to earn top 10 finishes at the NYS Championship since Andy Halpin and Jim O'Shea did it in 1976!

M-W will return to action for the NYS Federation Championship on November 19th. "Feds" brings together the top teams and individuals from public and private schools across NY regardless of size.

Photo Credits - G. Catherwood

Photo Credits - T. McDonough ny.milesplit.com

SECTION CHAMPS

The Inevitable Has Finally Become a Reality

11/2/22 -- Tompkins Cove, NY -- On an unseasonably warm November Wednesday, the MWXC boys officially punched their ticket to the NYSPHSAA Championships by virtue of their dominant victory at the Section 9 Championship.

The trio of senior captains Collin Gilstrap, Collin Catherwood, and John Urciuoli dominated the race tallying the first three places into the Crusaders team score. Sophomores Gavin Catherwood and Shane Golio rounded out the team scoring with 5th and 9th place finishes.

On the back end, 6th man Devon Ryan ran to a huge personal best dipping under the 17 minute barrier to finish 11th place in 16:50.6. Freshman Siddharth Ranganathan, running for a resting Oliver Jibb, also laid down a huge personal best grabbing 16th place in 17:16.7, the top time run by a freshman for the day.

The victory is M-W's 15th sectional team championship, four of which occurring in the last five runnings (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022) of the Sectional meet. There was no races in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.

Next up, the Crusaders return to Vernon Verona Sherril High School for the NYSPHSAA Class A Championship race at 11am on November 12th.

Photo Credits -- G. Catherwood

HISTORIC BATTLE

"Collins" Shine to Lead M-W to OCIAA Crown

10/21/22 -- Tompkins Cove, NY -- An annual end, of October, right of passage took place on Friday. For the 55th time, the top school of in the OCIAA converged on the legendary 3 mile course at Bear Mountain State Park.

Having help the championships at this site for over 50 years opened the opportunity for some historic performances. Entering the race, MWXC were heavy favorite to repeat as team champions, but the outcome of individual race champion was heavily debated between Tri Valley's defending champion Adam Furman and MWXC's dynamic duo, Collins Gilstrap and Catherwood.

Furman set a feverish pace early on to chase after besting his father (and coach) Chip's time from the early 90's. Racing on a picture perfect day with temperatures in the mid to upper 50's and a atypical non existent wind, all three boys rounded the first half of the race within a second of each other as they tackled the famed hill. Gilstrap temporarily surged into the lead, only to relinquish it once again as they raced towards the last mile. In the end, Furman pulled away for the victory becoming the 24th runner to break the fifteen minute barrier clocking 14:57.5. Gilstrap became the 2nd fastest runner up in meet history with the 28th fastest time ever run at Bear Mountain 15:01.1 Not be be outdone, Collin Catherwood finished 3rd in 15:11.2, good for top 60 all time at Bear. His performance ranks as the fastest 3rd place finisher since the 1975 meet where Mike Hall of O'Neill ran 15:08 for his 3rd place finish. Combined, Gilstrap and Catherwood become the fastest two teammates at the OCL meet since the M-W 1984 duo of John Trautmann (14:56) and Ed Ackerly (15:10).

After the historic race up front, the remaining M-W runners put a stranglehold on the team competition by placing 6 runners in top 11 places. After the Collins, John Urciuoli (5th), Oliver Jibb (9th), Gavin Catherwood (10th) and Shane Golio (11th) all earned all county honors. Freshman Siddharth Ranganathan rounded out the top 7 with a 35th place finish and the honor of being the fastest freshman of the day running 17:58.3

Later in the day. MWXC also defended its crown in the exhibition (JV) race. Sophomores Devon Ryan and Vinny Costello finished 1-2 to lead the Crusaders to dominant victory that saw MWXC take 10 of the first 13 places. Full results can be found in the results tab.

Photo Credits - Tony Morales

'TOGA PARTY

Varsity, JV B Teams Take Titles at Burnt Hills

10/15/22 -- Saratoga Springs, NY -- The Crusaders were on the move again. This time their travels brought them to the storied Saratoga Spa State Park for the 40th annual Burnt Hills Invitational. With over 90 schools in attendance from New York and the New England region, the stage was set for another great day of racing on one of the most storied courses in NYS.

The day started for MWXC with the JV B race. This race, comprised of each teams extra JV runners, gave MWXC an opportunity to race for a team victory with many future stars. Led by freshman Krzysztof Balbuena's 4th placve finish, the Crusaders placed their 5 scorers in top 25 to claim the title by 22 points over Scotia-Glenville.

Next up was the JV A race which was comprised of each teams top 7 JV runners. Senior Matt Rogozinski led the way dipping under 18 minutes on the 3.04 mile course for the first time. The Crusaders finished a solid 5th behind four class A powerhouses.

The main event kicked off shortly after 3:30pm. The varsity race featured 3 of the top 5 schools in NYS, M-W, Fairport, and Saratoga Springs. For the second consecutive week M-W competed without one of their top 5. Unfazed, the remaining eight racers ran a spirited race from the start. The Collins, Gilstrap and Catherwood got the Crusaders score stared with 2nd and 4th place finishes respectively. Racing under the weather, John Urciuoli teamed with a motivated Gavin Catherwood to finish 18th and 19th. In doing so, the Crusaders had an early scoring lead by placing their top four racers before Saratoga's 2nd and Fairport's 3rd. This race would come down to the 5th scorer. Saratoga was the first team to close their scoring when their 5th runner crossed the line in 33rd. Fairport was next with a 5th place finisher in position 38. The Crusaders 5th man on this day was Shane Golio. Running the best race of his career led to a 42nd place finished. He stayed close enough the 5th men from Saratoga and Fairport to clinch the team title for M-W

The victory wrapped up a super successful invitational season that saw M-W come away with 4 team titles and 1 very strong runner up finish. Next up, the postseason kicks off with the OCIAA Championship race on 10/21.

Photo Credits - Kyle Brazeil

LONG TIME COMING

Gilstrap, Varsity Team Victorious at Manhattan

10/8/22 -- Bronx, NY -- On a crisp October weekend, MWXC joined 344 other teams converging on Van Cortlandt Park for the Manhattan College XC Invitational. A day that saw over 7,600 athletes compete across 40 races was also a day to remember for the 2022 Crusader harriers.

Competing in the Edward O'Toole memorial varsity E race, M-W were heavy favorites to bring home the teams first letter race victory at Manhattan since 1994. Despite missing captain John Urciuoli, the Crusaders were still able to place 4 finishers in the top 8 positions, including the individual race winner. Collin Gilstrap became the first Crusader to individually win a varsity race at Manhattan in at least 30 years. Teammates Collin Catherwood, Gavin Catherwood, and Oliver Jibb finished 3rd, 7th, and 8th place respectively. Shane Golio rounded out the team scoring with a fantastic 28th place finish and Devon Ryan finished 44th in his VCP debut.

Gilstrap's 4000 meter time of 12:37.5 was the 7th fastest time of the day out of well over 1,300 varsity racers. Collin Catherwood joined Gilstrap in breaking the 13 minute barrier with the 24th fastest time of the day, 12:54.7

The Crusaders also brought a large JV contingent to compete in the Louis Vasquez Jr Memorial JV E race. Freshman Siddharth Ranganathan (7th) and sophomore Vinny Costello (13th) led the Crusaders to a respectable 3rd place finish beind Bolles HS of Florida and Long Island powerhouse St. Anthony's. Tylan Haag, Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez, and John Mancuso completed the top 5 scoring positions for the JV squad.

Photo Credit - Kyle Brazeil

Photo Credit - Mr. Catherwood

MUCH NEEDED R&R

Ranganathan, Ryan Lead MWXC

to Division Clinching Victory

10/4/22 -- Central Valley, NY -- On a cool, rainy, 50 degree day, while many other teams were hunkered inside for the day, the MWXC squad took to the course and clinched the OCIAA Division 1 title with a 19-44 victory over Newburgh.

Racing on the 2.5 mile campus course, M-W was able to secure 9 of the first 10 places led by first time race winner Siddharth Ranganathan. Sophomore Devon Ryan joined Ranganathan in a three way battle with NFA sophomore sensation Devin Batelic. 2.6 seconds separated the three boys with M-W placing 1st and 3rd.

The Crusader conclude the league dual meet season with a perfect 4-0 record. Next Wednesday, the dual meet season wraps up with a non-league matchup vs. Goshen on the campus 2.5 mile course.

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE

Young Stallions Shine Again at Brewster

10/1/22 -- Brewster, NY -- One day after the varsity team took on Pennsylvania the remainder of the MWXC team traveled to Brewster High School for the Brewster Bear XC Classic.

Early in the meet everyone was given a glimpse at what the future might hold for MW. First up was the freshman race. The Crusaders sent 19 boys to the line and placed each of their 5 scorers in the top 11 places. Siddharth Ranganathan (2nd), Tylan Haag (3rd), John Mancuso (5th), Tim Belmont (9th), and Nick Doran (11th) led the Crusaders to a team score of 28 points. Bronxville was runner up with 111 points.

A motivated modified team were up next. The 5 Crusader team member quickly established themselves as the team to beat placing all 5 runners in the top 10. Seventh grader Leo Gowrie placed 3rd followed by William Calohan (4th), James Fackrell (6th), Owen Angeloro (7th) and Henry Villone (10th). The Crusaders were again runway victors amassing 22 points, 18 ahead of runner up New Canaan (Ct.).

In the JV Race, newcomer Matt Sim would not be outshined by his younger teammates. He covered the 5000m course in 20:03.7, good for 19th place and his first race medal! The JV team finished 8th in their race.

In the varsity race, another sophomore, Ronaldo Rodriguez Perez had his best race of the season breaking 19 minutes on the 5000m course. The varsity team placed 10th.

LeHIGH NOTE

DESPITE 2nd PLACE FINISH,

BOYS SHINE AT PAUL SHORT RUN

9/30/22 -- Bethlehem, PA -- As the leaves begin to change colors, the MWXC team made its annual trek to Lehigh University for the Paul Short Run. In a meet that features multiple college races and 95+ high schools competing all on the famed Goodman Campus Course. Once again the Crusaders were slated for the white race, which typically is known as the lesser of the two races. MWXC and their competition for the day, Episcopal Academy (EA), a private school located in the Newtown area of Pa. had other ideas!

On a day where collegiate and high school course records were routinely falling, MW and EA engaged in a fierce battle that resulted in the two teams securing 10 of the first 24 finishing positions. Up front Collins Gilstrap and Catherwood found themselves in a tight race with Aidan McHugh and Michael Woolery of EA. All four covered the 5000m course in under 15:30 with Gilstrap winning the individual title in 15:22.7 followed by McHugh in 2nd, Catherwood in 3rd, and Woolery in 4th.

With the Crusaders ahead by 2 points through 2 finishers, the race would come down to which teams back end scorers would be better. At the mid point of the race the Crusaders were going toe to toe with EA and actually held a ten point lead. However, things changed drastically in the second half of the race with the talented PA school moving their 3rd, 4th, and 5th runners all move up to positions just ahead of MW#3 John Urciuoli. The late race surge resulted in Episcopal Academy besting the Crusaders by 26 points. Even though the White race is typically the "lesser" of the two HS races, Episcopal Academy and M-W ended the day in the top two positions when the white race was combined with the Brown race.

The fantastic team finish was only the start of the honors for the team. Collin Gilstrap secured the individual race championship. Gilstrap, Collin Catherwood, John Urciuoli, and Gavin Catherwood all bested their times from last years Paul Short race and Oliver Jibb, Devon Ryan, Vinny Costello, and Matt Rogozinski all crossed the line in outstanding 5000m times.

RYAN'S WORLD

Devon Ryan leads M-W to Victory over Middletown

9/28/22 -- Central Valley, NY -- The MWXC racers were back in action Tuesday on the 3 mile home course against Middletown. Sophomore Devon Ryan ran away with the individual race clocking in at 18:35.9, a 1:48 second improvement over his time on the same course fifteen days ago.

Following Ryan, the Crusaders picked up the next 5 finishers and 13 of the first 15 finishers to out distance the Middies 19-49. The win moves the Crusader XC crew to a perfect 3-0 in OCIAA division 1 dual meets. They will compete at Newburgh on 10/4 to attempt to lock up the Division championship.

MWXC ran 32 boys in the race and each one of them finished with a time improvement from what they ran on September 15th vs. Pine Bush! Link to full results can be found on the results page

YOUNG STALLIONS

Fr/Soph Boys Bring Home a Victory at Kingston

9/20/22 -- Lake Katrine, NY -- Monroe-Woodbury traveled to Kingston for an OCIAA Division 1 dual meet with the Kingston Tigers. The boys competed on the 3.0 mile course at Miller Middle School. Holding back the top 6 runners, the emphasis fell on the rest of the team to step up. In the end, a large contingent of Freshman/Sophomore runners lead the Crusaders to a 20 - 42 victory.

Freshman Siddharth Ranganathan, who also plays on the JV soccer team was the first Crusader finisher in 2nd place timing 17:30.8. After Ranganathan, MW took 7 of the next 9 places with 6 of those 7 finishers being in 9th or 10th grade.

The victory moves the Crusaders dual meet record to 2-0. They return to the course Wednesday September 28th at home against Middletown looking to take one step closer to the divisional championship!

NORTHEN EXPOSURE

Catherwood, Varsity, Victorious at Queensbury

9/17/22 -- Queensbury, NY -- For the second time in as many weeks, the MWXC boys traveled northbound up interstate 87. Their destination this week was the Queensbury Adirondack Classic held at Queensbury High School, site of the forthcoming 2024 & 2026 NYSPHSAA Championships.

Also for the second time in as many weeks, the Crusaders bought home an individual race champion and a team championship. In the large schools varsity race, MWXC was paired up with top flight schools from the capital district region as well as quality programs from western Vermont and Massachusetts.

Riding the wave of their success from last weekends VVS invite, the Crusaders once again established their top 5 scorers in the lead packs. Seniors Collin Catherwood and Collin Gilstrap worked together through the last 2.5 miles to steadily chip away at the early lead established by Matt Servin of Champlain Valley HS from Vermont. Exiting the wooded portion of the blazingly fast course, the top duo from MW had raced to the top two spots. Catherwood and Gilstrap raced to a 1-2 finish with Catherwood using a final surge to hold off the charging Gilstrap. Their times, 15:35.6 and 15:36.3 respectively both rank them in the top 35 all time on the Queensbury course.

The Crusader scoring was completed when Oliver Jibb, John Urciuoli, and Gavin Catherwood all crossed the finish line less than a minute behind the Collins in 11th, 12th, and 14th places. Sophomores Shane Golio and Devon Ryan also had outstanding races for the varsity crew.

Unlike last week, the Queensbury classic featured a JV race. MW had 30 harriers toe the line for this race. Saratoga Springs ran away with the team title, but MW was locked into a 3 team race for 2nd. In the end the Crusaders narrowly missed a team plaque finishing behind Champlain Valley by four points. Vinny Costello, Tylan Haag, John Mancuso, Matt Rogozinski and Tim Belmont were the first five MW finishers. Freshman Krzysztof Balbuena and J.R. Pizzoferrato also had breakthrough races for the Crusaders.

Next up, the Crusaders travel to Kingston on Tuesday 9/20 to face off with the Tigers in an OCIAA Division 1 dual meet.

M-W TOPS PINE BUSH

Golio Leads Team to 19-44 Victory

9/13/22 -- Central Valley, NY -- Tuesday afternoon, the Crusaders welcomed Pine Bush XC to campus for an OCIAA division 1 dual meet on the 3 mile course, arguably one of the most challenging XC courses in the northeast!

Sophomore Shane Golio took command of the race from the start and earned his first victory with a time of 18:33.3. 364 days ago, on the exact same course, Golio ran 26:16.3 in a dual meet against Newburgh.

Following Golio, members of the top 5 served to help push a youth movement throughout the race. MWXC took 12 of the top 15 places, with 8 of those 12 finishers being from the freshman or sophomore class! Full results can be found in the results tab!

Next up, the Crusaders head north on 9/17 for the Queensbury Invitational.

LEAVING THEIR MARK

Crusaders, Gilstrap, Victorious at V.V.S Pre-State

9/10/11 - Verona, NY -- The top 10 MWXC veterans traveled north this weekend to compete in the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Invitational. The meet served as a preview of the 2022 & 2023 NYSPHAA Championship course. With over one hundred schools spread across six varsity races, the competition made this meet an early season indicator of what could lie ahead.

Entering the varsity 3 race the Crusader harriers set their sights on injecting their names into the discussion of top teams across the empire state. The 14 team race included a match up with perennial powerhouse Saratoga Springs.

After an early race push from the Blue Streaks, the Crusaders established their quintet of scorers in and around the top 10 places out of the 155 competitors. Entering the 2nd mile, Collin Gilstrap and Collin Catherwood chased early race leader Mason Talarico of Saratoga Springs. Oliver Jibb, John Urciouli, and Gavin Catherwood tightly packed the Crusaders scorers and worked to break apart the strong early push from the equally tight pack of the Blue Streaks.

During the sun scorched 2nd mile, the race spread a bit more with Gilstrap and Talarico setting up a feverish last mile. Hitting the 2 mile mark side by side, Gilstrap channeled a 5:05 last 1.1 miles to secure the victory. Fellow senior caption Collin Catherwood followed behind in 3rd place to give the Crusaders a strong start in the team scoring. Oliver Jibb's breakout 6th place finish, followed by Gavin Catherwood's 9th place finish and John Urciouli's 11th place finish set the Crusaders on their way to a 19 point victory. Sophomores Shane Golio (26th) and Vinny Costello (43rd) rounded out the teams top 7.

At the conclusion of the long day of racing, results from all six varsity races were merged for recreational information. MWXC ended up as 2nd out the 82 school who competed with full scoring teams trailing only the defending NYS Champions from Corning.

Photo Credit - Coach Hemmer

Photoe Credit - Kyle Brazeil ny.milesplit.com

LIFT OFF AT THE KICKOFF

Crusaders start victorious at MWXC Kickoff

9/2/22 -- Central Valley, NY -- The Monroe-Woodbury boys cross-country team returned to the course for the first time since it's successful run in the fall of 2021. With a strong nucleus of returning harriers from last seasons league and sectional championship team, and a huge crop of newcomers, including 22 freshman, the team opened up with victories in both the 2.5 mile veterans race and the 1.8 mile newcomer race.

In the veterans race, the Crusader front 5 surged to the lead pack and raced with purpose taking 5 of the first 6 finishing spots. Seniors Collin Catherwood and Collin Gilstrap broke away early and led the Crusaders charge with a 1-2 finish. Junior Oliver Jibb, sophomore Gavin Catherwood, and senior John Urciuoli rounded out the Crusaders scorers finishing 4th, 5th, and 6th respectively.

The newcomer race gave the coaching staff a glimpse of what the future holds. Competing against local powers Warwick Valley and Washingtonville, the newest batch of Crusader harriers battled throughout the entire race and finished strong placing all 5 scorers in the top 11 places. Tim Belmont used a second half surge to move up 4 places and secure the individual victory. Fellow freshman John Mancuso (5th), Nicholas Doran (6th), Will Hassler (8th), and J.R. Pizzoferrato (11th) rounded out the scoring leading to the 14 point victory over Warwick.

The Crusaders return to action Tuesday 9/6 with a OCIAA division 1 league matchup with the Goldbacks of Newburgh Free Academy. Race time is scheduled for 4pm at Chadwick Lake Park.

Photo Courtesy of William Dimmit

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