WAPPINGER'S FALLS, N.Y.-- La Salle Academy RI, with a win at the Eastern States Championship at the Manhattan High School Cross Country Invitational Sept. 28, began a steady build-up to nationals.

 

"We've really hit our stride at the right time," senior Max Dimuccio said. "We won at Eastern States, which gave us some momentum, then took care of our state championship and New Englands, which we won without me, which shows how deep we are."

 

RESULTS 

 

Saturday at NXR Northeast, the Rhode Islanders stepped up big again. 

 

La Salle, led by Jack McLoughlin's second-place finish (15:50.9), scored 74 points and will advance to Portland as the champion of the NXR Northeast. In a super-charged region with neighbor Bishop Hendricken, it was an electrifying finish for the Ocean State.

 

"We're going out there to podium," said Dimuccio, who finished 10th in 16:18.5 as La Salle held off Christian Brothers Academy NJ (105 points). "We're so willing to hit the grindstone. It's all paid off."

 

Concord Carlisle MA senior William Chaffin won the race in 15:49.6. Other individual qualifiers for NXN included Mt. Ararat ME's Lisandro Berry-Gaviria (third, 15:51.2), Southern Regional NJ's Jackson Braddock (fifth, 15:57.6), Bishop Hendricken RI's Evan Reynolds (sixth, 16:00.6) and Essex VT's Henry Farrington (16:05.1).

 

Senior Chloe Gonzalez has been an anchor for North Hunterdon NJ. So it was only fitting when, after a second-place finish in the NXR Northeast, she looked around and said, "Where's my team?"

 

"Coming here and running the way we did today is exactly what we wanted to do," Gonzalez said after North Hunterdon won NXR Northeast over Ridgewood NJ with 81 points, it's fourth regional title in a row. "I couldn't be more proud of our girls."

 

Gonzalez reflected on the team's bond, which has produced three of the past four New Jersey state championships.

 

"It's been everything to me (being a part of this team)," said Gonzalez.."Coming here four years ago, we were a team on the verge of greatness. Being a part of the goals our coaches set for us has been very special."

 

It will be Ridgewood NJ's first trip to Portland.

 

Lawrenceville NJ sophomore Charlotte Bednar won the race in 18:00. Other individual qualifiers for NXN included West Chester PA's Jenna Mulhern (third, 18:25.2), The Winsor School MA's Meg Madison (fourth, 18:40.0), Newton South MA's Lucy Jenks (18:49.0) and Middletown South NJ's Reese Fahy's (sixth, 18:56.7). 

 

 

The girls from Manlius XC (Fayetteville-Manlius) and Kinetic (Saratoga Springs) once again went down to the wire.

 

After winning the NYSPHSAA championship by six points, Manlius came away with a two-point win on Saturday, 47-49.

 

"Our one, two and three girls ran out of their minds," Fayetteville-Manlius coach Bill Aris, who received second-and fourth-place finishes from Claire Walters (17:27.1) and Hannah Kaercher (18:14.7). "Hopefully we can tighten it up next week heading into nationals."

 

For North Rockland senior Katelyn Tuohy, Saturday's 17:06.6 win was especially satisfying. 

 

In a slow-building season -- coach Brian Diglio was temperate in his training plan -- once again she reached the top.

 

"This was a good way to end the season," Tuohy said. "Haleigh (Morales, who also qualified for NXN with her seventh-place finish) and I went to Portland as eighth graders. We've come full circle."

 

Other individual qualifers from NXR New York included Liverpool's Jenna Schulz (third, 18:01.7), Tully's Brooke Rauber (fifth, 18:26.8) and Mount Sinai's Sarah Connelly (eighth, 18:42.2).

 

Fayetteville-Manlius' boys won NXR New York in scintillating fashion. 

 

Runaway champion Peyton Geehrer (15:47.1) won, while Sam Otis (third) and Geoff Howles (fifth) cracked the top five.

 

"I'm mostly ecstatic (with the result of 74 points)," Aris said. "Our fourth and fifth guys got caught in traffic. I think we're a better team than we showed. Our first three guys ran out of their minds."

 

Deluge, aka Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, earned the second team automatic berth with 106 points.

 

"Winning the New York Federation meet gave us a big confidence boost, knowing we could do great things on this course," Will Marchant (16th place, 16:37.4) said. 

 

Individual qualifiers out of the race included Pittsford-Mendon's Sam Lawler (second, 15:55.4), Beaver River's Colton Kempney (fourth, 16:06.1), Windsor's Joshua Stone (seventh, 16:18.1), Getachew Hayes (eighth, 16:22.2) and Saranac Lake's Peter Fogarty (ninth, 16:24.2).