This past Saturday the Sachem East Boys Cross Country traveled up to Bear Mountain State Park to participate in the Suffern Invitational Cross Country Meet. A 5:00 a.m. departure did nothing to deter these runners from having an outstanding day.
The early race of the day was the sophomore three-mile race. As the gun went off Sachem’s talented Edmund Carroll went out with the lead pack as it raced around Hessian Lake. Carroll was soon joined by teammates Nick Caruana and Max Osterberg.
As the race evolved these three were soon being closely followed by Nick Pandolfo and Vinny Cavalino. As the finish line appeared the Sachem harriers stormed to the tape with Carroll leading the way with a strong second place finish. Caruana and Osterberg were directly behind him in third and fourth place. Next to arrive was Pandolfo in seventh and Cavalino in tenth. Supporting these runners were teammates Noah Cone and Andrew Polakos. With this strong finish these boys took home the Sophomore Championship trophy.
Next to get going were the Freshmen. Again another Sachem runner got out with the lead pack and challenged them throughout the entire race. As the finish line loomed Brandon Guerrera was battling with his opponent right to the tape. Guerrea was edged out for the victory but established himself as a force to be reckoned with.
Following the Freshmen were the Junior varsity harriers. As in the prior two races another Sachem athlete charged to the front of the pack. Felix Arriaga was battling with the lead runners for the entire three mile race and came across the finish line in fourth place. This was Arriaga’s first major race in almost two seasons as he battled back from injuries.
The last race of the day saw the varsity team take to the starting line alongside the powerful squad from Suffern. Trevor Guerrera, Tom Rascona and Joe Battaglia surged to the front of the pack and maintained that position throughout the race. The tough climb up Bear Mountain did not deter these guys from fighting to stay with the lead pack.
After the hill there was a breakaway and Guerrera and Rascona responded well. As the race sped around the final turn there was a mad dash to the finish. Guerrera battled to the end and came up just short with a strong second place finish. Rascona was close behind with a fourth place effort and Battaglia dashed to a tenth place finish. Eli Mueller and Rocco Corbisiero rounded out the scoring effort as the team just missed the victory with their second place finish.
This was an outstanding effort from these athletes as good things are sure to follow.
The teams next meet is Tuesday against Connetquot at home, starting at 4:00 p.m.
-Words submitted by Sachem East coach John Horst