Sports Column: Historic Start for Cross Country

By Nick Byrne '11

Halfway through the 2015 cross country season, the Xavier Knights are winning races, setting records, and making history. Here are a few notable events from the first half of the season:

NYCHSAA Sophomore Sectional Championship (October 15)
The Knights made history yesterday afternoon at the NYCHSAA Sophomore Sectionals. For the first time in the NYCHSAA’s 59-year history, a team—composed of Aidan Donohue '18, Michael Crorkin '18, Josef Raphael Oettl '18, Sawyer Gwyn-Rowson '18, and Fergus MacDonnell '18—posted a perfect score of 15 at a championship race. The five sophomores ran as a pack and crossed the finish line within four seconds of each other.

Manhattan College High School Cross Country Invitational (October 10)
Refusing to be outshone by the recent success of the varsity football team (5-0), cross country runner Christian Raslowsky ’16 put on an impressive exhibition at the 43rd Annual Manhattan College High School Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, dominating the field and completing the 2.5 mile-course in a time of 12:53.1. Raslowsky is the first Knight in Xavier history to win a race at the largest meet in the country.

McQuaid Invitational (September 28)
Although no individual male runner from Xavier was able to match the outstanding performance of Christian Raslowsky ‘16 (15:10.2, 7th place), the team as a whole posted an impressive showing by claiming second place overall, behind only Pittsford Mendon, the third-ranked team in the state. The Knights also set the school record in the 5-man average, 15:36.4.

A Note from Coach Dormer
“The team is working hard, and that is accounting for their success. Cross country is a sport where doing the little things on your own (long runs, core work, etc.) really pays off. We have a team of 99 guys who have bought in. Every guy is improving every week. The varsity is presently ranked fourth in New York State for ‘A’ Schools (large schools). The real season starts at the end of October, but we will be ready.”

In Conclusion
The first half of the 2015 season proved to be a very productive one for the Knights’ cross country team. For all of your latest stats, news, and results, visit http://departments.xavierhs.org/athletics/xaviertrack/.