The St. Anthony’s Cross Country Invitational is always a memorable meet.
For the past two years, the athletes have had to contend not only against each other, but against the weather, too. In a remarkable coincidence, Long Island was hit by a tropical storm in both 2015 and 2016 on the day of the invitational. Superstorms Joaquin and Jonas, respectively, blinded the runners with rain, battered them with high-speed wind, and turned the course treacherous and muddy. Many teams withdrew their entries, and the St. Anthony’s Friars faced little competition.
The 2017 Invitational was a breath of fresh air for the Friars. Mild temperatures and a slight breeze ensured a much bigger turnout this year: nearly 60 teams, including some from New York City and some from out of state, showed up at Sunken Meadow State Park to run. The St. Anthony’s team was able to enjoy hosting their meet for the first time since 2014.
The St. Anthony’s girls’ coach, Delia Hopkins, was especially glad. She expressed relief that her team could focus on the race without the distraction of a superstorm.
We’re entering championship season now,” said Hopkins. “I want progress, progress, progress.”
The girls’ varsity 5000-meter race started at 5:20 p.m. It was an enormous race-nearly 300 girls competed-but the Friars managed to hold their own. St. Anthony’s top athlete was junior Jennifer Furman, who finished in 51st place with a time of 22:18. As a team, the Friars came in 15th place, while the team from Tappan Zee took first.
“We worked together to get through the course…Snake Hill and Cardiac Hill didn’t beat us!” said Furman. “We had a good race and had lots of fun hosting the meet.”
Although the varsity race went according to plan, it seems that the St. Anthony’s Invitational can never go off without a hitch. The junior varsity race was scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m., but 6:15 found the runners still standing on the starting line, wondering why no officials had arrived with a starting gun. Minutes later, it was announced that both the boys’ and the girls’ JV races had been cancelled due to a medical emergency during the girls’ varsity race and to concerns that the sun would set before all of the JV runners finished.
Sam Torre, a sophomore on the St. Anthony’s JV team, said that the announcement left her “shocked and surprised…because that was, like, the first time a race has been cancelled.”
Despite this bump in the road, the St. Anthony’s team is proud of the meet that they hosted. They only hope that next year, the weather will be perfect and all of the races will go off.
About The Author:
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Danielle D’Alonzo Danielle has run cross country and track since freshman year. She reads the sports section every day and also writes for school newspaper, The Paduan. Danielle is also a member of NHS, Math Honor Society and English Honor Society. |
