The 2018-19 cross-country season is in full swing, the St. Anthony’s Invitational is just around the corner on Oct. 5th. Both the boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams are more ready than they will ever be! Cross-country is not an easy sport. It takes hard work, dedications and most importantly, it takes heart. Each and every athlete participating in this cross-country season has trained extremely hard over the summer and after school practices for the past 5 weeks to prepare for meets such as the St. Anthony’s Invitational.
The girls’ team had their first meet on September 12th at Sunken Meadow State Park, and the varsity girls traveled upstate to Bear Mountain. They have many returning runners and freshman who show much potential. Each and every girl on the team works extremely hard to prove themselves to their coaches. Head Girls Coach Delia Hopkins, is excited about the upcoming season.
The top seven runners on the girls’ team currently are Kelly Parker (10), Larisa Dorrian (11), Lindsay Schwasnick (10), Melissa Cunningham (10), Jennifer Furman (12), Vanessa Franco (12), and Katherine McPharlin (12). Sophomore Kelly Parker, an extremely talented runner, trained hard over the summer. She is ready for the season and is stronger than ever. Kelly has been running with the varsity girls since the beginning of her freshman year. Coach Hopkins, along with the freshmen assistant coaches, saw Kelly’s talent from the moment she joined the team. Now a sophomore, Kelly has her mind set on one thing, to win. She shows her hard work and dedication this season finishing in the top 20 of every race where you have over 100 runners sometimes. From hill repeats to long distance runs in the rain, Kelly has always given her all and remains positive no matter what.
Tim Dearie, the Head Boys Cross Country Coach, pushes his athletes hard. He expects a lot from them, and they all meet every expectation. Matthew Payamps (12), Brendan Dearie (12), Michael Barbaro-Barnett (12), Joshua Chung (11), Jake Connelly (12), Griffin Kudla (10), and Jonathan Solar (11)
are the top varsity runners for the boys’ team. Matthew Payamps, and Brenden Dearie, both returning runners, and now in their last cross country season, are looking forward to an outstanding season. Payamps has a personal record of 12:57 for the 2.5-mile race and a 15:56 for the 5k race.
He has his goals set to improve on this times for the season and is focused and always ready to race. Brendan Dearie, one of St. Anthony’s most outstanding runners, also has his goals set. He has a personal record of 13:22 for the 2.5-mile race and a 16:21 for the 5k. Brendan is also looking to improve his mindset while racing and hopes to become a better competitor overall. Both are looking to place in the top ten at the New York State Federation meet at the end of this season and to hopefully qualify for Nike Cross Country Nationals.
After the SA Invitational, both teams will start to look forward to the championship part of the season where the boys look to defend their CHSAA League title and the girls look to win back the CHSAA title on Oct. 28th at Sunken Meadow State Park.
Come to show your support for the Friars and cheer on your friends!
By Larisa Dorrian (Class of ’20)
