Westchester County…who ya got
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- January
- 30
Alright, we’ll start with Westchester because they’re first on Sunday…sorry Rockland – we’ll get to you in a minute.
I’ll also be back a little later to talk about what happened at Millrose. Even though I was unable to attend we’ll spend some time and see what you think about what happened at Millrose tonight.
Okay, now on to the predictions of what I think will happen on Sunday. WARNING – Do not place wagers on what I say. In all likelihood they WILL be incorrect.
Boys
I figured we’ll get the tough one out of the way. This meet will be extremely close. It was close last year and it will be close this year. I’m going to focus on the open meet and then talk briefly about the classes. I don’t know who I think is going to win this one. This will come down to the two New Rochelle schools.
We all know Iona Prep won this thing last year. But this is a much more-rounded New Rochelle team. It can score in a lot of events and besides that, the team can place well. But can the Huguenots overcome Iona Prep’s depth? I think they can.
One of the keys will be how new Rochelle will use Aki Bajulaiye. He’s the team’s best runner. They will need him to have a big meet. Will he run in the 300, 600 and 1,000? Or will he he run in a relay? Or the 1,600? I really don’t know. Everyone else on that team will need to do what they’ve been doing all season. And I strongly recommend you keep an eye on Andres Montalvo. He has really come on strong this winter and could really rack up a lot of points and most importantly he adds some depth to this team. Other interesting events will be how Chris Rones does. He has the talent to be one of the best hurdlers in the state. But he will be going against Claudio Delli Carpini. Something as simple as who takes first or second – those two points could be the difference in this meet.
Delli Carpini will also be competing in the long jump where he could go up against Shawn Day. What will also interesting is this will be the first meet where Delli Carpini and Maurice Easterling will go head-to-head in the long jump In the high jump Delli Carpini and Roscoe Balter of Scarsdale will do some damage in the high jump.
Iona Prep has some depth and it will need Sean Halpin to have a big meet. But he always comes up big in meets like this. In order for the Gaels to win though they will need others to step up – Kyle Shepard, Shioma Obemeata, Tyrae Woodson-Samuels.
This meet will come down to the relays. So, I ask – who has the better relays? Whoever does will win this meet.
On the classes, I thinkClass B will come down to Harrison and Somers – I am leaning toward Somers. I feel as though the team has more depth than Harrison. Harrison has one great athlete, but it will struggle to get points everywhere else.
In Class C I think this is Bronxville’s title. The team has the most depth and the best runners. Hamilton could have a decent team at this meet, but I can’t see anyone beating Bronxville.
Girls
In the poll all of you made a pretty loud statement that you think Ursuline will win the title. I don’t think it’s a lock by any means, but that is the favorite.
This is a team that has one legit verteran runner in Katie Sullivan. Then, outside of her the team has real quality behind her. There’s Shanel Golding, Kaitlin Mallinson, Mary O’Shea, Fiona Nugent, just to name a few.
While I think Ursuline has the best and most complete team in the county, you can’t count out New Rochelle or Mount Vernon. The Huguenots have the best field team out of any in the county. Tameekia Cooper will need to have a big meet. But besides her, Charlotte Pope, Natasha Graham and Christina Hamilton will need to carry this team. I understand you can never count out New Rochelle in a meet like this, but I don’t know if it has enough to saty with Ursuline.
What could help them is the entry of Bronxville into the county meet. This is the best team in Class C and could have a really strong meet and potentially finish top three in the county, which would be incredible, but it has the best distance runners in the county. Tori Flannery, Olivia Bruton, Caitlin Hudson, just to name a few. This is the team that will take a lot of points away from ursuline. Will it be enough?
A team I like in the beginning of the season – Mount Vernon will have a tough time to keep with New Ro or Ursuline. It has some top tier talent in Tanaya Yarde and Breanda Crump, but the team lost some real talent as the season wore on through injury. Again, I don’t know if this team has enough to stay with the other schools.
In Class B it will be between Somers and Harrison. I think Somers has to much talent and depth. Kennedy could make a run at the title although the team doesn’t have a lot of depth. Woodlands could steal some points as well.
In Class C, there’s no way Bronxville loses this title. However, I will say, Hamilton has a real good chance to push Bronxville. The Red Raiders have had a really solid season. This is a team definitely on the rise. Although it won’t be this year, hamilton will promise to be right on Bronxville’ heels in the the next few years.
Okay, that’s all for Westchester. I’ll be back in a little bit to talk about Rockland. SO, be sure to check back a little later.
This entry was posted
on Friday, January 30th, 2009 at 9:52 pm by Dan Marra. 
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Dan Marra began working for the Journal News this past September. He graduated from Manhattan College in 2004 and from John F. Kennedy High School in 2000. While at Kennedy, he ran cross-country and track. He is excited to be covering the sport that he participated in throughout his four years in high school. Dan loves all sports, but has, what some may say, an unhealthy obsession with the New York Giants.
Matthew Ng has been with Varsity Central and The Journal News sports department for the past two years handling high school beats such as skiing, bowling, girls soccer and tennis. Ng is a 2004 graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School with his major in broadcast journalism.
Casey Tolfree spent her high school career playing Section 1 sports at Dobbs Ferry and is excited to have the opportunity to cover them for the Journal News. After graduating from St. John's University, Casey joined the Journal News staff in December 2007 and has covered a variety of sports including basketball, softball, and volleyball.
Is anyone really concerned about the class scoring? It is never reported in the newspapers and sometimes is even hard to find on line. The day is about the open winner as it is in the Fall and Spring. Let the points fall where they may.
Regarding class scoring for the County meet, take note that the classes apparently are divided differently for the County meet than they are for Sectional-sanctioned competition—i.e., there are several Class B schools (as per the NYSPHSAA classifications) that are treated as Class C schools for purpose of the County meet only. Not many folks realize this. Does anyone know what the reason is for this?
I agree with Track Fan—just treat it as an open meet…JMHO.
All schools under 500 are considered Class C for the county meet to better equalize the number of schools in each class.
why dont u write something on the putnam county champs??
There is no “Putnam County Champs”. There is a “Northern County Champs”. Arlington won both the boys and girls titles quite handily.
The classes were changed at the coaches meeting in a vote by all coaches. It only really affected the Class C teams, as some of the B teams came down, however every coach, regardless of class size was allowed to vote, considering that there are MORE class A and B schools, it was a no brainer that they would vote to put more schools in the C class. It didn’t affect A, as no schools moved up, it affected B in that they lost teams going down to C that helped eliminate some of their B competition.
If it affects Class B and C only then maybe only B and C teams should be voting?????
Not that it’s the world’s biggest issue, but why—in the first place—is there a realignment for the County meet? Is participation in that meet—as compared to, say, the sectional meets—too heavily weighted towards one class? Are there that many schools that participate in the County meet that don’t participate in sectional/NYSPHSAA competition so as to warrant realignment for this one meet?
Don’t get me wrong—I am not complaining one way or another. I am just curious. I understand that there is probably a very good and well-thought-out reason for doing this.
Frankly, I think that what makes this such a great meet is that most really only pay attention to the open results (just like the XC County champs). So, I am not so sure all this call realignment is really worth it. But, I haven’t put much thought into it.