MAHOPAC, N.Y.—Mahopac's cross-country teams are off to a strong start this fall, with returning runners – along with some talented newcomers – ready to build on the team’s growth last season.
The team’s most impressive showing so far came Sept. 20 at the Dan Purdy Invitational at Pawling High School. With 13 schools competing, Mahopac's girls varsity took team honors for the second year in a row, led by Kira Waring’s second place (19:20). Olivia Spinella (20:42.3, ninth) also finished in the top 10 in a crowded field that saw Daniella Marks (21:18.6, 15th), Evangelina Doupis (21:52.4, 22nd), Danna Yari (22:56.5, 40th) and Aurelia Moser (23:12.9, 48th) finish strongly, as well.
“Every one of the girls had a monster race,” coach Kelley Posch said. “They knew they had to get out hard to get a good position since the field was huge—about 150 finishers. They did just that. We had six girls in the top 20 in the first half mile of the race. The girls ran so tough. Kira used the chip on her shoulder from Somers to make sure she didn’t leave any kick to chance, fighting hard in the last half of the race to finish second overall.”
Posch said the return of Spinella, who was absent from the previous race, was a boost for the team.
“We all missed Olivia last week and it was so good to have her back this week!” the coach said. “Her performance was a more-than two-minute improvement on her time on this course last year.”
Marks had a strong finish, making “significant gains in the latter half of the race moving up, with Evangelina in tow,” Posch said. “And Danna and Aurelia worked together to close that gap for the team score.”
Posch said she and coach Janet Bauer have seen “astounding growth” in the team since last season.
Mahopac swept the individual titles in the freshman-sophomore races. On the boys side, Alex Zamrzla closed things out with a strong finish, while Summer McDermott controlled her race from the beginning.
“Alex ran with a monster kick to pass the leader in the final strides of the race and secure first place,” Posch said. “Not too far behind him was Aiden Dicob, who continues to impress us. Both have the potential to make a big impact on our varsity squad as the season progresses.”
“Summer McDermott dominated start-to-finish and won the meet, with her teammate Alyssa Settembrini close behind in third,” the coach continued. “The girls took first as a team and the boys tied for second, but ultimately placed third due to tiebreaker rules. This is the second week in a row that our freshman girls have won their race as a team! Coach Bauer and I are looking forward to seeing these younger runners join the upperclassmen and contribute at the varsity level later in this season. They’ll bring the depth that both sides of the team can benefit from.”
The varsity boys were missing some key players this week due to conflicts.
Posch said the boys “ran tough and we saw some substantial progress,” with Brandon Kumrow leading the way in 27th place as he works back from a preseason setback.
“It was good to see him out there again able to push himself, and we expect him to get stronger each week,” Posch said.
Thomas Baron followed, running nearly two minutes faster than he did on the course last year. The boys finished 13th out of 22 teams, and with Alex and other athletes returning, Posch said the team is “excited to see what they can do next week."
Posch cited Waring's emergence as a team leader and said the runners' offseason efforts were paying dividends.
"The culture on the girls team is so strong right now and the depth gives us something to be really excited about," Posch said. "I know Daniella and Aurelia had some strong summer training and that is clearly showing. As these girls lead the way with these great examples, I know the rest of the team will follow.
“We could not be more proud, nor more excited!” Posch added. “They’re just getting started and this weekend proved to them that they belong in the front of the pack.”
Saturday's success came on the heels of some strong early season meets. The Wolf Pac opened the season Sept. 9 at North Salem against all of the teams in League L—and Waring got the girls a win on the board right away. The boys team was led by Thomas Baron, who placed sixth.
The teams ran again Sept. 13 at the Somers Big Red Invitational, which included 44 schools from New York and Connecticut. The highlight of the day was the girls freshman race, where Mahopac took first place. Individually, McDermott placed third, Doupis fourth and Settembrini 15th, all contributing to the team score.
"We are really excited to see this success with our youngest runners," Posch said of the Somers effort. "It shows us the future is bright, and when they merge in with our upperclassmen runners, we have some significant depth that should help us greatly come championship time."
The boys freshman team took a strong sixth place, led by Dicob (18th), Matty DiNizo (34th) and Logan Viggiano (38th).
"They listened well to the race strategy for this course and it paid off," Posch said. "It's exciting to see such intuitive racing from our newest team members and bodes well for the future competitions."
With SATs scheduled for the same weekend, the varsity girls and boys teams had to make do with a limited roster. But while Posch said the absences "hurt us a little," the available runners still made a strong showing.
The girls took third in Division 1 (large schools), led by Waring (fourth place), Marks (11th), Yari (25th), Aurelia Moser (27th) and Nicole Machado (63rd), who all contributed to the team score.
The varsity boys took seventh in Division 1, led by Thomas Baron (69th), Brandon Kumrow (72nd), Alex Zamrzla (99th), Kyle Haase (157th) and Kelvin Cabrera (193rd).
"Brandon and Kelvin are nursing some injuries and hope to be back to full strength soon," Posch said. "The other runners held up some strong performances to support the team. I'm particularly excited to see how Thomas, Alex and Kyle progress as the season continues. They committed to a strong foundation of training this summer that should foster some fall success."
Next up for Mahopac is the Arlington Admiral Harrier Invitational on Sept. 27 at the Milton Sportsdome.
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