Cross-Country Notebook: The Fred Gressler Invitational

On Saturday over 20 high schools from the tri-state area gathered at White Plains High School for The Fred Gressler Cross Country Invitational. The cross-country course at White Plains is one of the most challenging in the region because of the numerous hills throughout.

Things got a little more difficult for the runners because of the heavy rain that pelted the area on Friday the day before the race. White Plains cross country coaches Fred Singleton and Carlos Agudelo had to modify the course a little due to the weather.

“We survived the weather, festival, concert, football game, and still managed to host our largest Gressler to date,” said co-cross country coach Carlos Agudelo. “I would say it went well. As for our teams we are having a bumpy start to the season due to some illness and injuries. We plan on things getting better.”

Agudelo mentioned that despite the heavy rains he felt the modified course held up fairly well.

“Despite the bad weather the day before the course held up nicely. Ironically the finish line was the only place that got a little tricky,” said Agudelo.

The boys varsity squad ran the Gressler without their top runner Chris Cardon who has been dealing with health issues. On the girls side Liza Gellerman continues to show she is a talented runner who seems to get better with each competition.

Agudelo was very pleased with how the Tigers ran at the Gressler.

“We had solid performances from our varsity but I was especially proud of the way our junior varsity girls ran and are really believing that if they continue to work hard the opportunity to make varsity is there. Rachel Okun took eighth overall in the girls junior varsity race with a solid time of 24:45 on a very challenging course,” said Agudelo.

There were several local high school teams competing on Saturday. On the boys side you had White Plains, Woodlands and Stepinac. In the girls division White Plains and Good Counsel both took part in the Gressler.

Team scoring in cross-country is determined by adding up the places where your top five runners finished. The team with the lowest five-runner aggregate finishes in first place. In varsity country each team is allowed to start seven runners.

 BOYS

There were 13 teams and 90 individuals in the boy’s race. White Plains finished eighth as a team, Woodlands 10^th and Stepinac 12^th. Below are each team’s individual results and how they finished in the 90 runners heat.

WHITE PLAINS

1. William Garrison (11^th)
2. Sean Nicholson (47^th)
3. Zach Klein (49^th)
4. Tedd Chomiak (52^nd)
5. Adrian Ojeda (54^th)
6. Travis Laman (58^th)
7. James McCormack (64^th)

 

WOODLANDS

1. William Kramer (27^th)
2. Brendan Belmar (44^th)
3. Henry Cuateco (62^nd)
4. Raheem Farquason (77^th)
5. Daniel Booth (78^th)
6. Alan Shaji-Chacko (84^th)
7. Jack Garfield (87^th)

 

STEPINAC

1. Matthew Bruton (40^th)
2. Nicolas Defreitas (67^th)
3. William Ruger (68^th)
4. Michael Peche (72^nd)
5. Jack Avezzano (75^th)
6. Koray Turhan (82^nd)

 

GIRLS

In the girls race that featured White Plains and Good Counsel, there were 10 teams and a total of 76 runners. White Plains finished in sixth place and Good Counsel finished ninth.

WHITE PLAINS

1.Liza Gellerman (16^th)

2. Maria Bautista (22^nd)

3. Cardon Flurry (30^th)

4. Ayan Waite (33^rd)

5. Jackie Caceres (34^th)

6. Alexandra Smith (35^th)

7. Madeleine Beck (50^th)

 

GOOD COUNSEL

1. Emma Clarke (49^th)
2. Catherine Teige (52^nd)
3. Eugenie Aikens (56^th)
4. Gabrielle Osso (71^st)
5. Caitlin Waites (74^th)
6. Ellen Schoen (75^th)