This Week In Sports
By Michael Batten '10
By all accounts, the cross-country team's performance at the New York City Mayor's Cup on Sunday was legendary. The varsity seven took the championship in dominant fashion, defeating Collegiate 34-56 in their first time racing this year at Van Cortlandt Park. The team set a number of records, personal and team, in this race, and among them include record times set by Giancarlo Cipri '17 (2nd best sophomore time in Xavier history) and Christian Raslowsky '16 (3rd best overall time in Xavier history). Moreover, their five-man average of 13:10 improved on their previous record by 20 seconds. As a result of their work and successes this season, they have improved from last week and are now ranked the 3rd best team in New York State by ArmoryTrack.com.
The J.V. A team also took first place in their race. Henry Camacho ’15 took first place, Christian Watch ’15, Will McCann ’17, and Will Hatheway ’15 were among the first ten to finish, and Christian Tiong-Smith ’16, Isaac Parker ’16, and Dante Perez ’15 came in soon after. Raphael Oettl ’18 won the freshman race, and the team took 2nd place in a narrow loss to Fordham Prep.
While the team as a whole put on a fantastic performance, lead runner John Rice '15 put on one of the best prep school performances of history for the course. He crushed the school record he set last year by over 30 seconds, running a time of 12:24.82. This time puts him in elite company; many elite prep school runners have taken on the Van Cortlandt 2.5 mile course at some point in their career. With his race, he has run the 37th best time in Van Cortlandt history, which is truly impressive considering the number of people and household names who have run the course in the last 50 years. On an upward swing, J.C. is ranked 8th in the state by TullyRunners.com, and he looks to improve upon this ranking.
In addition to the successes of Mayor’s Cup, some of the team competed in the Fordham Prep Development Meet on Friday. In this race, all upperclassmen hit personal bests for the course, as did nearly all freshmen. We would like to extend a hearty congratulations to all.
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Football Knights Play Tough In Bad Weather
Varsity football lost in a hard-fought game to St. John the Baptist, 0-6. The weather was awful for their Saturday game, which undoubtedly affected game play. Both teams suffered from a number of turnovers, and unfortunately, the Xavier Knights had more than their opponents. Their record is now 1-3, and the team plays again this Saturday against Monsignor Farrell.
Despite similar playing conditions, the freshman team managed to find a victory, defeating Fordham Prep 6-0. Patrick Dunne '18 rushed for the only touchdown of the game. Commenting on the game, Coach James Costa '02 said, "We played very well. For the most part, we made good yardage, but weather conditions resulted in a number of unfortunate, though difficult to avoid, turnovers." He also noted the play of Frankie Corrado '18 and Nick Valentino '18, who ensured victory with crucial tackles at the end of the game. With great wins against historically talented programs, the freshman football players have set themselves up for a great few years.
Though they also played on Saturday, the J.V. Knights did not face the bad weather that the other two teams did. The team made a definitive statement against Xaverian with a 44-0 victory. Head Coach Jose Aquino '07 cited their win as a true team effort - their offense was dominant, and their defense allowed only one first down for the entire game.
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Varsity & J.V. Soccer Ready for Playoffs
In the last week, varsity soccer played four games and came out with a 2-1-1 record. Their first game was a 0-2 loss to St. Francis Prep, though they rebounded with a 2-0 victory over Xaverian, during which Liam Goldfarb '16 and Nicky Leong '16 each contributed a goal. Andrew Kiarie-Mumbi '16 scored the lone goal in 1-1 tie to Iona. In the last game of a busy week, the varsity Knights dominated the Farrell Lions, winning 4-0. In this game, Najee Hall '15 kicked in two goals, while Nicky Leong and Andrew Kiarie-Mumbi contributed to the tally with one apiece. With a 5-3-3 record, the team looks to play consistent soccer in the last few games of the season, make a good showing in the city playoffs, and hopefully qualify for the state playoffs.
Junior varsity soccer has continued its strong play. They won all three games last week, defeating Xaverian 1-0, Iona 3-2, and Farrell 2-0. The lone goal in the Xaverian game was scored by Gianni Contrera '17 and assisted by Ethan Bazan '18. In the Iona game, Richie Terranova '17 earned two goals and one assist, while Kevin Lopez '17 had one goal and two assists. Lopez also scored both goals in the Farrell game. Their record is 9-4 with three games left to play in the regular season.
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As always, visit Xavier Athletics for the most detailed, up-to-date information, and stay tuned for the next edition of This Week In Sports.
Schedule:
Thursday, 10/9: Var. Baseball v. Regis - 4:00pm @ Randall's Island
Var. Soccer v. Regis - 4:30pm @ Randall's Island 71
J.V. Soccer v. Regis - 4:30pm @ Randall's Island 54
Friday, 10/10: Cross-Country: All Hallows Invitational - 4:00pm @ Van Cortlandt Park
Saturday, 10/11: Var. Football v. Monsignor Farrell - 7:00pm @ Farrell
J.V. Football v. Monsignor Farrell - 1:00pm @ Farrell
Frosh Football v. Cardinal Hayes - 10:00am @ Hayes
Frosh Swimming v. Chaminade - 9:30am @ Chaminade
Tuesday, 10/14: Var. Soccer v. Fordham Prep - 6:00pm @ Fordham
J.V. Soccer v. Fordham Prep - 4:30pm @ Aviator
Wednesday, 10/15: Cross-Country: NYCHSAA Sophomore Sectionals - 3:00pm @ VCP
Thursday, 10/16: Var. Soccer v. Archbishop Stepinac - 4:30pm @ Stepinac
J.V. Soccer v. Archbishop Stepinac - 4:30pm @ Randall's Island 84