Brothers TC Youth Movement On Schedule, Northeast Title Within Grasp

By Doug Binder and Erik Boal, DyeStat Editors

John Nepolitan photo

The return of the Nike Cross Regional Series, which started Nov. 13, serves thousands of high school cross country runners at each of nine regional meets that span the country. NXR Northeast,, which takes place at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. comes on the third of four compelling weekends, with live webcast coverage of every regional. 

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Brothers Track Club is without a doubt the cornerstone of the NXR Northeast regional and the New Jersey program from Christian Brothers Academy is seeking to reclaim the title that it has won six times since 2010. 

It's also an important year for a team that can reflect on the 10th anniversary of the 2011 team that blitzed the regional with a record 38 points and then won Nike Cross Nationals at Portland Meadows. The team has finished either first or second at the regional every year since 2010. 

This fall, Brothers has been in a rebuilding mode. Senior Jack Moran has led the team throughout, but the team's 2-7 are non-seniors. The team ran into the best Union Catholic squad in school history at the Groups and Meet of Champions weekends at Holmdel Park in New Jersey, but can cap the season with a regional title this weekend at Bowdoin Park in New York. 

One of the biggest challenges will come from U32 Cross, representing U-32 of Vermont. Led by Team USA World Junior Mountain Bike Team member Austin and Carson Beard, U32 became the first boys team from Vermont to capture the New England High School Championship since 1987 and perhaps the smallest (enrollment is 400). 

U32 Cross is riding a wave of good feelings and program firsts that began with a third-place finish at the Manhattan Invitational Eastern States Championship race on Oct. 9. 

Warrior Track Club, representing Wakefield MA, won the MIAA Division 2 championship last week. 

Evan Thornton-Sherman, the Vermont state champion from St. Johnsbury, finished sixth at the New England Championships.

Aidan Cox of the Black Bears (Coe-Brown NH), the top runner in New Hampshire, was seventh at New Englands. 

Abbott Valentine, the Maine Class A champion (Hampden Academy), is running unattached. He finished 14th at the New England Championships. 

Top New Jersey Teams Turn Up Heat, Again

Following a memorable matchup at the New Jersey Meet of Champions, the top two girls teams at Holmdel Park will look to showcase a significant rematch at Bowdoin Park in pursuit of a regional title.

Cherokee, competing as Tub Gator XC, will look to build on its momentum following a 117-126 victory over Ridgewood XC.

New Jersey programs took the top two spots at the 2019 regional, with North Hunterdon – competing as Hunterdon Lions Track Club – capturing the title and Ridgewood finishing second, just ahead of Champlain Valley XC Club of Vermont.

Tub Gator XC placed five scorers in the top 60 at the New Jersey Meet of Champions, led by senior Nicole Clifford finishing 11th.

Ridgewood XC had five scorers in the top 70, with senior Olivia Shattuck leading a veteran lineup by placing 14th.

Both groups have the capabilities to capture the regional championship, with New Jersey Meet of Champions fifth-place finisher Haddonfield Memorial – led by sophomore Anne Earp – also entered, in addition to Champlain Valley XC Club following a fourth-place effort at the New England Championships, with freshman Alice Kredell earning 10th overall.

Weymouth XC Club, the Division 1 runner-up in Massachusetts led by senior Alison Glavin, also has the potential to challenge Champlain Valley XC Club, along with the top programs in New Jersey.

Chloe Trudel of Souhegan High in New Hampshire, competing for Sabers XC Club, is the top returning finisher from the 2019 regional after achieving a ninth-place finish.

Trudel, the New Hampshire Division 2 state champion, returns to the regional following a ninth-place finish at the New England Championships.

Samantha Seabury of Warrior Track and Field Club, representing Wakefield High in Massachusetts, enters the championship race after placing second in the Division 2 state final.

Claire Zubey, a junior at Owen J. Roberts in Pennsylvania, is scheduled to compete following a third-place finish in the AAA state final. Eliza Miller of Kiski Area, representing the Cavaliers, is also entered after securing 11th in the AAA state championship.

Anna Macdonald won the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Championships and led Germantown Friends TC to a third-place team finish. Macdonald followed with a Nov. 6 victory at the Bob Kiessling Invitational in her final tuneup before the regional.

Although Hunterdon Lions Track Club isn’t entering a full lineup in defense of its regional title, sophomore Cassidy Roop is scheduled to compete following a seventh-place performance at the New Jersey Meet of Champions.

Mary Kate Finn, a senior at Bishop Guertin, won the New Hampshire Division 1 state title and placed second at the New Hampshire Meet of Champions.

Megan Donlevie, a junior at Shore Regional, representing Shore Track Club, won the New Jersey Group 1 title and placed 30th at the Meet of Champions.

Anna Boyd of Bishop Feehan High in Massachusetts finished ninth at the Division 1 state final.

Freshman Estella Laird of North Branch High in Vermont is scheduled to compete after capturing the Division 3 individual state title.