Eric Keppeler '85
Sports Writer
The St. Joe’s cross country team placed all seven of its runners in the top 20 as the Marauders cruised to victory in the All-Catholic Championship on Nov. 8 at Como Lake Park in Lancaster.
The win – which qualified the team for the Federation championships – was the 33rd in school history and the first since 2018.
“We had some really solid returners and we had some new guys coming in,” St. Joe’s coach Emily Lowe said. “They were all pushing each other all season to get better. And it worked.”
St. Joe’s won handily with a score of 42 (low score wins), followed by Canisius (76), Nichols (78), St. Francis (87), Bishop Timon (89) and St. Mary’s (150).
Individually, sophomore Weston Peirick was second overall in 17:06.69, with senior Anthony Scarozza in third (17:09.54), sophomore Jackson Famiglietti in 10th (18:05), junior Jayvion Hicklen-Brown in 13th (18:18.76), freshman Cashel McCaffrey in 14th (18:25.31), senior Dylan Forant in 15th (18:30 99) and junior William Kennedy in 20th (18:52.60).
“Our 1 and 2 really pushed each other,” Lowe said. “Weston and Anthony made each other better every week. You never knew who was going to win. It kept fueling both of them, and then that just trickled down to the rest of the guys.”
The Marauder lineup was very fluid throughout the season, beyond those top two. If someone had a bad day, someone else would step up in his place; the three through seven finishes were different in just about every event.
“Our three through seven shifted all season – there was a lot of mobility,” Lowe said. “They were really great teammates in that respect. If someone was struggling, someone else would step up.”
The team now turns its focus to the 51st annual Boys and Girls Cross Country Federation Championships at noon, Saturday, Nov. 22 at Bowdoin Park in Wappinger Falls.
The course – not far from Poughkeepsie – is a challenging one, with lots of hills and bottlenecks that make it difficult to catch up if you fall behind early.
“This is a tough meet. As a team, I want us to show up and work hard,” Lowe said. “We’re focusing now on the preparation. What can we do to make sure that we do well?”
Despite its challenges, the course should be familiar to both Peirick and Scarozza as both qualified for the Fed last year as individuals – Scarozza with St. Joe’s and Peirick as a member of the Holland squad.
Lowe doesn’t have specific goals in mind for placing; she just wants her guys to work hard and do their best and let the chips fall where they may.
“They’re hard workers and I think they’ll take on the challenge of the course,” she said. “We just to make sure that they leave it all out there – that they showed up and they pushed themselves. If we do that, I think we can beat a couple of teams there. That would be a successful trip for us.”
