Hamilton Runs the Big Apple

Xavier Invitational

11 runners break in to our top 20

at the overlook with Manhattan behind

by Myles Stryder

   Saturday dawned cloudy and for the first time there was a bit of a chill in the air, but by the time the squad got down to the Bronx the sun had broken through and the stage was set for some fine early autumn cross country running. And what better stage could there be than Van Cortlandt Park. When you talk about XC running in NY State the two courses that stand out are Sunken Meadows and VCP. Unfortunately, the team will not make it out to Long Island this season, so they were more than eager to try their skills against the tough NYC course.

   After doing a little sight seeing, climbing to the overlook that looks out over the park, the team was ready to get down to business. First race of the day at the Xavier Invitational was the freshman 1.5 mile run. This time young Chris stepped down from his varsity spot to run the short race. His time of 11:23 was the fifth fastest time put up by a 9th grader since the return of Hamilton XC. After the race, Chris was a bit disappointed in his performance. He felt he went out too fast and faded at the end. Of course that's all part of learning how to race. After all, it's only his first month as a cross country runner. Chris was followed by Omar, Dennis and Brennan who put up the 12th, 17th, and 18th fastest freshman performances. Savallya and Joseph followed with both of them putting up faster times than earlier in the week at Woodlands.

Chris Y. leading the frosh squad

    In the girls' race today our only entrants were Naomi and Megan. Both of them had fine early season races with Naomi putting up our 8th fastest and Meagan the 10th fastest Hamilton girl times at the 2.5 mile distance. 

 

Ryan finishing hard

The Varsity boys closed the day for us, and they did some pretty good running while they were at it. Lowell ran a speedy 16:48 for our 5th fastest time and Ryan, fighting a nasty head cold, put up a VCP personal best of 17:51 for the lucky 13th fastest Hamilton time in the

Stephen having a good day

Bronx. Steven, Brandon, and Luciano followed with the #17,18, and 19 times. Jonathon was close behind,  and unfortunately Corey and Christian were given some bad directions coming out of the back hills and were DNF. This team is starting to come together nicely. Upcoming is a week with no dual meets. That gives the harriers 5 solid days of practice to get ready for Saturday's Woodlands Invitational. Check back with us soon.

Lowell leading the way for Hamilton

Return of the Red Shirts

Return of the Red Shirts

Hamilton vs. Woodlands, Dobbs, Irvington and Children's Village

by Myles Strider

The return of the red shirts. It's what Coach Aiello had been talking about all last week.  Several seasons ago coach decided to retire our Hamilton red shirts until the moment was right. This team has him feeling that the time is right, and this season Hamilton's top seven guys will run in red. Shirts get collected after every meet and reissued to whomever is top 7 that week. Hamilton red was set to make its debut last week against Croton, but a violent T-storm wound up canceling the meet. 

Turns out that Woodlands would be the site for our return to the old colors. It just might of helped, because the boys had their best performance in the last couple of seasons. Although the race was completely dominated by a very strong Irvington team that took the first 5 spots, Hamilton looked good against Dobbs Ferry; and the boys in red ran right past host Woodlands and a much improved and disciplined Children's Village team.

The boys were led, as usual, by Lowell and Captain Ryan. Our top two looked fast and relaxed as they ran the 3 mile course.  In the number three spot was freshman Chris Yeosock.  Chris jumped from the five spot last week to three this week. He was given a chance to run in the freshman race but he opted for the longer distance. This kid is starting to turn heads on our team. His approach to every workout and race shows a maturity beyond his years. Stephen S. moved into the four spot with Brandon Machado

Brandon Machado

only a second behind him at the finish line.  Jeff Q. and Jonathon closed out our top seven.  Luciano, Christian and Corey also put in strong performances despite the humid weather. 

Our other freshmen got a rare opportunity to run a freshman race at a dual meet, so they took advantage.  Speedy Omar Diakhate led the way. He was followed by Dennis Rambaran, who very well might be the sleeper on this team. He seems to be the guy to keep an eye on as the season develops.  Brennan Giglio turned in another solid performance, and Savallya Boyini and Joseph Delgado rounded out the day for our frosh squad. 

Frosh: (l to r)Dennis, Savallya, Joseph, Omar, Brennan

Our ladies also got a look at the team that is the class of our league, as Dobbs Ferry looks very strong this year. Nevertheless with a complete team effort the Lady Raiders were able to notch victories over Irvington and Woodlands. Captain Naomi seems to have found her stride after a slow start against North Salem. She was followed by Megan "the rock" Mirtil. Absolutely nothing phases her. If there is a job to do, she does it.

Megan at the finish

Senior Jenn ran steady to be our #3. Maddy and Lauren took care of business and it was two teams behind us.  

From  here the team looks forward to competing on Saturday at the legendary Van Cortlandt Park for the Xavier Invitational.

Hamilton kicks off 2016 season

Hamilton runs at North Salem

Veterans look good, rookies impress

   The Hamilton Harriers kicked off their 2016 season this Wednesday with a scrimmage against North Salem, Putnam Valley and old foes Dobbs Ferry. Because most of the team didn't have enough practices to compete officially, the day could be best described as a practice in uniform. Practice, scrimmage, time-trial, call it what you will it gave us our first look at the 2016 squad.

pre-meet focus

   Here's what we saw: Lowell and Ryan are right where they should be as  our #1 and #2 runners. Both looked good as they ran the early season contest in a controlled relaxed style.  Probably the most exciting sight of the day was watching some of our rookies getting their first taste of XC on a sunny, humid, hot afternoon. Running an XC 5K is never an easy task, but newcomer Brandon Machado showed he was up to it blasting a blistering finish to claim the #3 spot. Brandon was followed by returning sophomore Jeffrey Quispe, who has done nothing but make Coach Aiello smile with his performances so far this young season. Our standout freshman Chris Yeosock was close on Jeffrey's heels to grab the #5 spot. Yeosock is showing a lot of raw talent and desire; two elements that could add up to something big. Luciano and Stephen rounded out our top 7 for the day. Corey Field, in only his second day back on the squad, followed as did Jonathon Medina and Christian Torres. Our other freshmen: Savallya B., Brennan G. and Joe D., who are still getting their XC legs, were not expected to run the whole race. However, even 2 miles on the tough course left them feeling a bit more experienced.

boys' squad getting ready to roll

   Our girls' team only had 4 runners on the starting line today. Megan Mirtil made an early season statement by being the first Lady Raider to finish. Captain Naomi Imaizumi followed not far behind, and senior Jenn Vargas looked good. Rookie Binta Mbaye was only out for a 2 mile run; it will be interesting to see how she develops as the season goes on.

    No doubt this team has a lot of work to do yet, but this scrimmage was a positive step forward. Our first real meet will be on Wednesday Sept. 14 against Croton. Stay tuned.