State Meet SUNY Canton (Potsdam) 2014

Hamilton Harriers run at States

Frigid temperatures and mud make for tough going

Once again the Hamilton Harriers returned to the state meet. Six runners made the long trip to SUNY Canton, 10 miles south of Potsdam. Mikayla, Gabby, Naomi, Rachel and Lily represented the girls' team and Stevie B.  ran for our guys, Aden also qualified, but opted out to take the SATs. What a long, strange trip it was. This year's trip was a bit longer with the team departing on

beautiful upstate New York

Thursday afternoon for the seven hour journey to Canton. We spent the night in the Section 1 hotel and headed to the course for a jog through on Friday morning.

breakfast

As we jogged the muddy, rain soaked course in a cold, windy, rain/snow mix, I couldn't help feeling that I had seen this movie before several years earlier at Vernon Hills High School. The SUNY Canton course was a beauty, wide open grassy lanes, a wooded section by the river, one fairly steady hill at the two mile mark, followed by a steep descent and rolling 800m descent to the finish line. On a sunny October day, it would have been absolutely beautiful, but on this day in November, well, not so much. 

Saturday dawned overcast and frigid. The race time temperature for the girls was about 31 degrees. I warned them back in July that if they made it to states in November it very well could be snowing. It wasn't, but it was plenty cold enough to. Our ladies all ran their hardest and represented us well. Mikayla was our first finisher, as she was at every race this year. Gabby was close behind her today, running her best race of the year on the muddy course Gabby's time of 26:22 was almost a three minute PR.

Gabby sprinting to a PR

Naomi, Rachel and Lily rounded out our finishers. Though the course wasn't as muddy as states in 2011 it did slow the times down for most of our runners. In the boys' class D race Stevie B. turned in a fine performance in his last  XC run for Hamilton as he

Stevie B.

matched his PR of 20:14.Going to the state meet is something that I hope our team doesn't take for granted. It's an honor to compete against the best in the state, and to get a look at the best teams. The level of competition was simply outstanding. I have to say this was one of the finest settings I have seen for a state meet. I spent the whole morning right at the last stretch to the finish line. What a treat it was to watch these runners rolling down the grassy path heading for the finish. Mud splattered they were sprinting full speed past the

Energy food?

packed cheering crowd. The sound of the cowbells and the frosty vapor coming from the spectators mouths as they shouted just made the atmosphere even better. You all know that I love track, but nothing can match a cross country scene like that. It's kind of ironic that as I was standing there watching the 2014 season ending all I could think about was how I can't wait for the 2015 season to start.  Have a great winter, see you next summer.

Section 1 Championship Meet

Hamilton 2014 XC regular season ends 

7 runners qualify for State Meet in Potsdam

Class D runners up

Bowdoin Park:
It was a typical November day at Bowdoin, cold, windy and grey. It is quite likely that this might be our last time running here. Much as I dislike the long ride to get there, it is the park I associate with our championship performances.  Jacey's, Robin's and Jason's individual titles and the girls team title in 2011 are memories that I will never forget, and they warmed my heart a little as I walked the course on this cloudy raw morning. The team however was focused on the present and not the past, they spent most of the morning huddled in the walled tent trying to stay warm. Girls Class D was the first race of the day, and it featured as usual, Hamilton and Haldane. No championships for us today, we are after all in a rebuilding phase, but we had some solid performances. Mikayla was the first Lady Raider to punch a ticket to Potsdam.  Rachel,  and Gabby followed, with each one posting their best 5K time ever. Naomi was our fourth finisher and Lily also PRd to take the last state qualifying spot. Alana and Erin finished out of the money, but that didn't stop both ladies from also recording their fastest times for 5 kilometers. You can't do better than your best and when you end the season with a PR, well that's just about a perfect finish.
It was the guys who really stole the show today. We still haven't won a plaque, but we might be getting a little closer. Steveen was our top finisher today covering the 5Kin 20:13 a PR. Aden was next across the line with a 20:39 for his fastest time ever on the Bowdoin course. Ryan, who is really developing into a fine runner PRd with a 22:02, not fast enough to qualify for states this year, but his time may come next November.

Ryan running strong

 Jonathon followed, turning in his 3rd PR in as many Saturdays. He shaved his 5K time down from 29:44 at the beginning of the season to 23:11. Luciano was our number five guy today putting up a 23:58 PR. Lowell and James finished out of the scoring today, but also ran tough races on this cold November day.
What was really impressive was how much our boys team has improved since last year. At the 2013 Sectional Meet our top 5 average time was 25:36, and our spread between #1 and #5 was seven minutes and ten seconds. This year our average time finishing time was 22:01 and our spread was 3:44. That's a tremendous improvement, and it didn't come at the top. That was our #2 -5 spots getting faster and closing the gap.

Boys' team's best year ever at Bowdoin

We lose Aden and Steveen next year, but the rest of the guys are showing that they're ready to step up and lead the team. When you end the season thinking about how much better you're going to be next year, that's pretty nice.
Stay tuned for a report from the State Meet next week.

Nasty day

trying to stay warm

think you're cold now?
wait till Potsdam

Westchester County Championship Meet

Back to Woodlands for Counties

PRs a plenty as harriers run wild

start of the boys' varsity race

At the start of the season in September, we didn't even know that Woodlands had a cross country course, much less that we would be running there three times this season. The third time was today for the Westchester County Championship. The Woodlands coaching staff and grounds crew did a great job preparing the course and it looked great. Colorful flag lined lanes and the leaves of autumn trees lit up in the late October sun made a beautiful stage for the day's competition. The Hamilton harriers were hoping that the third time on the course would be the charm for them, and they turned out not to be disappointed. 

Mikayla, our top finisher of the day

As always the girls team was led by Mikayla whose 18th place finish in the freshmen race was the highest finishing place of any of our runners today. Following Mikayla were Naomi who cruised to her best 1.5 mile run of the season. Hot on her heels was Rachel who had  her best race of the season as well. This was the last time any of our freshmen will run the shorter distance and our girls decided to make the most of it. Erin was the last of our girls across the line today, but she finished giving it everything she had. She held off two runners who were closing on her at the very end of the race and that extra effort carried her to her personal best time at the 1.5 distance as well.

Naomi PRs

The freshmen boys, seeing how well the girls did, couldn't wait to get the line. This was freshman Lowell Pierrette's last chance to claim the Hamilton boys' freshmen 1.5 mile

Lowell after his new record

record. He rose to the occasion, finishing strong he was able to complete the course in 10:49. 8th grader, Mike Napoli, was our next runner to cross the line, and he shaved almost three minutes off of his previous best finishing with an 11:45. Hopefully, he'll be back next year to take a crack at Lowell's new record. 

We had only one runner in the girls' varsity race today, and that was Lily. Keeping the PR day going, Lily raced to a 31:12, her best 5K yet. 

The boys varsity race was our last race of the day and the PRs weren't over yet. Running with some of the fastest runners in the state Luciano and Aden both ran strong races very close to their season bests. Stevie B. and Jonathon though had that little bit extra to push themselves to their personal bests. Steveen covered the course in 20:20, our team's second best time this season. Jonathon ended with a very impressive final 500m kick that pushed him to a 23:34.

Jonathon gets better every week

Although none of our teams were able to figure in the team scoring today, it was a perfect last tune up for next Saturday's Section 1 Championship meet at Bowdoin Park. Who knows?  Next year's state qualifier might very likely be held at Woodlands Park. After our performances  I would say that Hamilton would have no problem with that. See you next week.

Coaches' and Officials' Meet at Bowdoin

Coaches' and Officials' Meet

After so many meets at Bowdoin Park, it's hard to imagine this might be one of the last times that we run here. The park was showing all its' different faces today.

At times we got sprinkled upon out of a leaden sky. Other times it was bathed in warm, golden late october sunshine, and at one point we were treated to a sky filled with golden leaves fluttering and falling all around us. 

But, nature aside we were here to run. Mike and Lowell started the day in the freshmen boys' race. Lowell came up short in his attempt to break the freshmen 1.5 mile mark, but he still gets one final shot next weekend. The girls' freshmen race was next to the line. As has been the case all season our fledgling runners were led by Mikayla who captured anther medal today. Rachel, Naomi, Gabby and Erin also had strong runs, with a particularly nice flash of closing speed shown by Rachel. Lily was our only non-novice female to compete today. She competed in the JV 5K and turned in a nice performance, especially after being out for two weeks with an injury. The Boys' Varsity race closed the day for Hamilton. Steveen ran a very solid 20:41 to lead the team.

Ryan was next across the line competing the tough course in 23:20. The highlights  of the day though, were PRs by Jonathon, 23:57 and Luciano,24:40. Congratulations to both of them, Bowdoin is not a course known for setting PRs.

Fine performances al around

The tough workouts at the end of the season seem to be paying off at just the right time. The team gets back to work on Monday to get prepared for the Westchester County Championship at Woodlands next Saturday, see you then.

another strong race for Stevie-B

Our boys, ready to run

always smiling

our "ratchet" tent

Bobcat Run

The Bobcat Run:

rain, mud and sweat

Hamilton Harriers Kick Off Season 

Against Croton and Blind Brook

by Alexander Huguenot

On Thursday afternoon the Hamilton Harriers traveled to beautiful Croton Gorge Park to kick off their 2014 season. The season's first opponents were Blind Brook and a very strong Croton team. Although both of these teams have been league opponents in the past, neither is in Hamilton's league this year. This early in the season the team's goal was simply to stretch out their legs and basically run a practice in uniform.

Boys ready to start the season

The boys team had a great beginning to their season. Seniors Aden Nasarat and Steveen Bernalworked well together during the race and they came in tied for 4th/5th place. Sophomor Ryan Alicea was next across the the line with a very strong finish. Felice was the 4th Hamilton runner to finish. The biggest surprise of the day was the #5 finisher. Eighth grader James Ricciardi waved Coach Aiello off at the half way mark and decided to run the whole race. An impressive performance for such a youngster. James' eighth grade buddy, Mike Napoli, decided to opt for just half a race, and that is just fine for now. Vishnu Unnithan and Jonathon Medina were next to complete the tough 5K course. Vishnu looked strong , and it was Jonathon's first time competing at this distance. Luciano Aprile and Chris Clough also finished well today.

Where as Coach Aiello felt pretty confident about what he

Aden and Steveen working together

would see on the boys' side. The same can't be said for the girls' side where things were a bit more uncertain. Starting this year with such an inexperienced squad, the question was how many girls would complete the course today. Expectations for the freshmen were to simply run half the course their first time out. Aiello was pleasantly surprised by how things turned out. Our freshmen girls ran as a pack for most of the race. Mikayla Green broke away from the pack late in the race and was the first Lady Raider finisher. Rachel Jessamy was the next girl home, like Ryan she finished with a very strong kick. Next girls in were Naomi Imaizumi an Gabby Blanks. Our fifth freshmen Erin decided half a race was enough on such a hot day. Senior rookie Alana survived her first 5K and finished with a smile. Sarin Itty was the next girl in for Hamilton. The bad news for us today was that Croton had done such a bad job of marking the course. This resulted in poor Arianna Albino making a wrong turn. The good news is we decided to give Arianna the unofficial 7K record. Though no one is exactly sure how far she ran.

All in all, it was a nice start to the season. The team has a weekend to rest up and then it's back to the races next Tuesday against a new opponent,Edgemont.

2014 season preview

Boys' team chock full of veterans

Girls' team loaded with newcomers

Aiello says "the sky is the limit"

by Alexander Huguenot

It's the end of August, so it's time to take a quick look at what the 2014 season may have in store for the Hamilton XC team.  The unofficial motto for the season is "the Sky is the Limit", and it may well be that for this year's squad.

Aden competing this summer
at VCP

On the boys' side the team is led by a quartet of senior veterans. Captain Aden Nasarat is back for his final season. A state meet qualifier last year, Aden is clearly the leader of this team. Coming off a great spring track season and a solid year of summer training, the team has high hopes for his returning to once again represent Section 1 and Hamilton at states. Aden is helped in his leadership duties by three other highly capable seniors. Chris Clough and Felice Aprile are both back for their third seasons with the team. Chris was last year's most improved athlete and the improvement shows no signs of stopping.

Felice showing his speed at a recent rep workout

Felice has been working out, he has honed his speed and is looking forward to his best XC season ever. The senior crew is rounded out by Steveen Bernal. "Stevie B.", one of Hamilton's finest track athletes, has been training on his own all summer, and the team is confident that he will be ready to contribute upon his September return. Other returning veterans are sophomores Ryan Alicea and Luciano Aprile. Both have been attending summer practices, have a year of experience under their belts and are in good form as the season gets ready to begin. Vishnu Unnithan a returning junior has not been around too much this summer, but the team knows they can count on him when needed. The question marks for the team are the newcomers. There has been a lot of buzz about sophomore Jonathon Medina. Aiello keeps referring to him as his "ace in the hole. Jonathon comes to the squad with a reputation as a sprinter, but he has been looking great during summer practices. At the moment the guys' team is rounded out by the brothers Mirtil, senior Michael,  junior  Stefan and 8th grader James Ricciardi. 

It has been a while since our boys' team has been really competitive. However, Coach Aiello thinks this team has a good deal of potential.  Ironically, Aiello's best male team was his first back in 2008. That squad beat 10 schools at the Westchester County Championship Meet. Hamilton's coach is hoping that this team can surpass that performance.

some, but not all, of our fresh new faces

Where the guys team is full of experienced veterans, the girls' team is a bevy of fresh faces. At the end of last season, with the graduation of five seniors, things looked grim for the future of the lady raider team. Instead with an infusion of new blood the 2014 team looks ready to turn a few heads. Returning are senior Lily Villanueva, junior Sarin Itty and sophomore Arianna Albino. They are joined by senior rookie Alana Watt, whose hard work during the spring track season made her a stand out performer.  But, perhaps the most interesting story to come out of the summer pre-season is the apparent rebirth of the girls' team. It doesn't seem possible, but at the moment the team is carrying an amazing 7 freshman girls.  Two of these young ladies come to us with Hamilton XC pedigree. Rachel Jessamy  and Gabrielle Blanks both had siblings who were members of the our team. Add to that Erin Malaver, Naomi Imaizumi, Mikayla Green, Megan Mirtil and Binta Mbaye. Though November's roster isn't always the same as August's, Coach Aiello is positively giddy as he ponders what the future may hold for the 2014 season and beyond. 

Check back here in a couple of days and we will try to have a preview of the upcoming meets and the 2014 league re-alignment.

September 25, 2010

Posted by ahhsxc on September 26, 2010 at 6:03 PM

Robin and Jason Bring Home

the Fred Gressler Trophies



   A small, but determined, group of Hamilton runners climbed on to an early 

morning bus to compete in the first invitational of the season. It felt more like

 summer than autumn on this warm, stick morning, but our harriers were  ready 

to give it their all.
   First race of the day was the boys' varsity. Jason led the way. His 19:38 didn't 

match Arnold's 2008 effort of 18:50, but it was good enough to secure him a 13th

 place finish and only the 2nd Hamilton trophy won at this meet. Alexis, "el 

Torro", battled one of rival Keio's runners to the finish line with a 23:36 on the 

hilly White Plains H.S. course. Allen, running with a banged up foot, cruised to a 

25:12. James turned an ankle late in the race and was a DNF.


   For the first time we had entries in the Freshman events. Aram gave it his 

all in the boys' race. The highlight of the day though was the girls' freshman 

race. Robin, sharp after her great run earlier in the week, came back with an 

outstanding 2nd place finish at the 1.5 mile distance. The future couldn't be

 brighter for this promising athlete. Let's hope Haldane doesn't know about her 

yet. Mikayla and Shanelle also gave gutsy performances in the race as well.


   The girls varsity race was not what I had hoped. SAT classes and prior 

committments left us with only two runners toeing the line. Dulce tested her 

knee at the 5k distance and KZ used the race as a return to the 3.1 mile 

distance. 

    Isaiah was the lone Hamilton runner in the boys' JV race. Starting off with 110 

runners, the 10th grader got a true introduction to the tough sport of XC. He 

even had the good fortune to have a runner puke his guts up in front of him..

. I've said it before: " Cross country is freakin' hard!". Completing the 5K 

distance for the first time (pictured below) Isaiah can take comfort in knowing 

that they don't get any longer than that.

   As I told the gang at the meet. Ok, that's it. The easy part is over. It's time for 

the real work of this season to begin.

Next race Tuesday at Westlake 

The Brewster Bear Classic

Posted by ahhsxc on October 2, 2010 at 5:03 PM

Jason Breaks Arnold's 5K Record!
Angelene and Robin medal in frosh race

   Jason on his way to a new Hamilton record

   After days of gloomy rain, the day dawned dry and bright. A crisp October 

morning, just pefect for XC running. Once again a "skeleton" team of Hamilton's 

most dedicated runners were climbing on to a 7am bus heading for another 

race.The destination today was a new one, The Brewster Bear Classic. This was 

our first visit to this event, but I doubt it will be our last.

   As soon as we got off the bus we knew we were at a big meet. We walked past 

the orange Nike bus, t-shirt vendors, food stands, and the multi colored tents of 

the other 47 teams. Finally we found ourselves a nice, dry spot right across from

 the p.a. system that was blasting music. Maybe it was the music or maybe the

large crowd, but you just got the feeling that today was going to be an exciting 

day.

   First race up was the girls' freshman race. Shanelle, Mikayla, Robin and 

Angelene were filled with eagerness and couldn't wait to strip off their sweats 

and toe the line. (Ok, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little) The girls' race was a 

quick 1.5 miler. Robin and Angelene both finished in the medals coming in 17th 

and 19th. Angelene also brought home a PR as did Mikayla both of them running

about a minute faster than previously. That was the first indication of what was 

to happen later that morning. Ariel was up next. Running solo in the boys' frosh 

race, he also set a PR slashing his time by about a minute. It quickly became

 clear this Brewster course might be muddy, but it was obviously not slow.

   Because of our bear bones roster (Come on you missing guys, you have to 

show up for Saturday meets) a deciion was made to skip the varsity races and to

run our squads in the JV races. This meant that Jason and company would have

to run in a larger field, but we had no idea how much larger. The JV race took 

off with 330 runners in it (see the video section of the site). At the blast of the

starter's horn our boys in red and white charged out with the rest of the mini

army that wound itself up the first grassy hill. The weather conditions were

perfect and Jason was ready to "seize the day"and run into the Hamilton record 

books. He blazed through the course, his ninth place finish at 18:22 eclipsed

Arnold Lane's 2008 record of 18:40. This makes Jason now the top runner in

modern day Hamilton XC history. Hopefully, this is a record that will continue to

fall as Jason and Joel push each other through the rest of this season. Alexis

(21:45), James (23:15), Travis(25:37)  and Isaiah(25:37) also all PRd as well.

Coming back from a DNF at Westlake, Brandon also PRd (23:27) and impressively

so after having to recover from being pushed and falling at the crowded start.

   The girls' JV race found Dulce all alone on the starting line. Hats go off to

Dulce. Her courage, dedication, and determination to comeback from her

injured knee has been an inspiration to this team. Hoping to just get another

low stress 5k under her belt, she started the race just hoping to finish steady and

strong. However, the results wound up being better than that. She took 

advantage of the relatively flat course to run a 26:08, only a minute slower that

her PR at the State Meet last season. We could not have hoped for a better

performance. Our finger remained crossed


  It was a happy team that spent the rest of the meet soaking up the sunshine,

collecting free colored spikes and laces from the Nike bus and chilling to the

music. And as if things hadn't gone well enough for Coach Aiello. He also got to

see his son Dom PR and run into the #3 spot for New Ro. All in all a great day. It

almost makes you look forward to the next meet: our return to

Briarcliff.....almost.



    Robin, Angelene and Jason bringing home the hardware

September 28, 2010

Posted by ahhsxc on October 1, 2010 at 5:21 PM

Girls Run to Biggest Margin of Victory Ever

Crush Westlake

   Three years ago the Hamilton Girls' XC team lost every meet they competed in. Not because they were slow, but when you don't have an official team of five members you automatically lose by the shut out score of 15-50. Today Hamilton's ladies won their dual meet against the home team Westlake by that same shut  out score. Not because Westlake didn't have enough girls, but because ours were so much faster. Led by freshman Robin Jessamy and sophomore Daisy Pogyo the Lady Raiders had seven girls cross the finish line before the first Westlake runner made it home.
   The times don't tell the story of this tough course. Though I didn't see the back section, I heard many a story about the steep descents, mud, logs and rocks. The course took it's toll on our team with both Sydney and Jason finishing with aching knees, and Brandon being injured during the first loop. Luckily, the course didn't knock out Dulce who was able to complete another re-hab run on the challenging course. Kathleen, Angelen,and Kazia were the other finisher for the girls' side today.
   Our boys, those who were able to show up, had a tougher time today. The team was with out any seniors today for several reasons.Led by Jason the Hamilton Harriers just couldn't keep up with Westlake and Keio. Though we are getting closer. Once again Alexis and James gave gutsy performances and Isaiah completed another 5k. Congratulations also go out to Travis who completed his first 5k and to freshman Ariel Portillo who came through today in the #3 spot.
   Unfortunately, the camera we brought had no memory card so we have no visual record of  today, but it will be a long time before the girls forget this victory. Congratulations to charter members Kathleen, Dulce and Sydney you deserved this victory! Next up the Brewster Bear Classic on Saturday and then back to the "mountain": Briarcliff on Tuesday.

vs. Briarcliff and Blindbrook

Posted by ahhsxc on October 13, 2010 at 7:36 PM

Robin Wins !

Girls Take Two!

Tré makes his comeback

   When we heard that the meet was being moved from Briarcliff High due to 

unsafe conditons we figured that any course had to be better than 'he "mountain".

The team had never run at Rockwood Hill Park before, so we were not sure what

we were getting into. Well, it couldn't have been better. We discovered a 

challenging but beautiful course practically next door to Elmsford. With one big 

hill, gentle wood paths and sweeping views of the Hudson this was sure to be 

one of the best courses we had ever seen.

   Guys went first.We had some solid performances on the guys' side with Joel

and Jason coming in 4 and 5 @ 19:43 and 19:45. Allen took the #3 spot back

today at 22;14 with Alexis four seconds behind. Tré decided to run today and took

 the #5 spot at 22:59. Brandon was next up the hill with a PR of 23:00. Followed

by frosh Ariel, Travis and Isaiah. The boys couldn't overcome a strong Briarcliff 

team losing 21-40. The results were a lot closer against Blind Brook who just 

edged us out at 25-30.

   On the girls' side it was another great race with the lady Raiders running away 

with two victories: 25-30 against Briarcliff and 15 -NS  against Blind Brook. Robin 

had the race of the day. Going into the last hill with Briarcliff's top girl right on her 

heels Robin showed that she might be young but she's not weak. She 

managed to stretch out a 14 second lead in the last half mile. Daisy held off a 

strong finish from another Briarcliff runner to finish third. Syd also fought hard to

secure 5th for the team. I've always thought the girls' team was kind of odd and

they proved that today coming in with Kathleen in 7th, Angelene in 9th and Dulce 

in 11th. Only Kazia finished in an even place in 12th. Great job girls. The future is

 bright. Next meet back to Valhalla where the girls will try to defend their league 

champs title.