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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.