Gatewood emgerges from the pack in Boys Eastern States

By Brian Towey for DyeStat

THE BRONX, N.Y. -- Nearly one year ago at New York's Van Cortlandt Park, senior Mason Gatewood of St. Anthony’s NY had a race that gave him the confidence that he was a cross country runner. On Saturday at the same venue, Gatewood delivered on that promise when he won the Eastern States Championship in 12 minutes, 17.4 seconds.

"That was my breakthrough race," said Gatewood of his performance at the CHSAA Intersectionals in 2016.

"Then I believed. I think my coach (Tim Dearie) believed it all along, that I was more than a half-miler."

It was a rugged affair at the HOKA ONE ONE Manhattan Invitational (2.5K course) featuring many of the Northeast's top teams -- among them Christian Brothers Academy NJ and Fayetteville-Manlius NY -- as well as a number of top teams from the Southeast, like Green Hope NC and The Bolles School FL. A pack of 12-15 runners emerged at the mile mark on the course's rolling, forested course, including Gatewood, junior Charles Hicks from The Bolles School and senior Nathan Lawler of Pittsford-Mendon NY.

"I had to push around to get into the front pack," said Hicks, a 2016 Foot Locker finalist who showed a gash on his right shin following the race.

When the pack emerged from the hilly loop onto the race's final, flat, 800, Hicks had the lead. But the group was jumbled.

Pulling down the final straightaway, Cameron Ponder of Mount Tabor NC led with about 150 meters to go. Gatewood began reeling him in, easing past Ponder for the win.

"My coach said to me a couple of weeks ago, 'I think you can run with the top guys,'" said Gatewood, who finished second Sept. 23 at the Ocean State (R.I.) Invitational and won the St. Anthony's Invitational on Oct. 6.

"I think that's when the seed was planted."

Ponder finished second in 12:17.4. Lawler was third in 12:20.7, followed by Rusty Kudych of Neshaminy PA (12:24.1), Hicks (fifth, 12:30.2) and Silas Derfel of Ithaca NY (sixth, 12:36.1).

Other notables included the McDonogh School's Dalton Hengst (ninth, 12:44.3) and Bishop (Pa.) Shanahan's Josh Hoey (10th in 12:46.5).

Christian Brothers Academy won the team race with 136 points, led by Brian Hill's seventh place finish in 12:40.5. Fayetteville-Manlius was second with 149 points and Green Hope third with 180 points.

"We're starting to peak at the right time, the championship season," said Tim McInerney, a member of CBA's top five. "Brian Hill is leading the way for us. He works harder than anyone in the state."

In a loaded field, other team finishers included Niskayuna NY (fourth,192 points), Kingsway NJ (fifth, 211 points), Corning-Painting Post NY (sixth, 220 points) and The Bolles School FL (seventh, 224 points).

North Rockland (N.Y.) sophomore Katelyn Tuohy stole the limelight from a banner field in the Eastern States Championship by running 13:21 out of the girls Varsity C race to smash the course record by 32 seconds. She would have won the girls Eastern States by over 50 seconds.

New Yorkers John Jay-Cross River won the team title in the race with 70 points followed by Tatnall DE with 134 points and Smithtown East NY at 136 points.

in the girls Eastern States race, Fayetteville-Manlius sought a fourth straight Manhattan Invitational crown, and ninth overall. The Hornets did it in resounding fashion.

Sophomore Claire Walters led a 1-2-3 finish, winning in 14:13.2. She was followed by senior Sophie Ryan (second, 14:18) and sophomore Phoebe White (third, 14:20.1). F-M tallied 22 points in the win over Liverpool NY (127 points) and The Bolles School FL (152 points).

"I was very pleased with how the girls ran because we straightened things out after a lackluster effort at our invitational one month ago," Fayetteville-Manlius coach Bill Aris said. "We got a good month of training in and we did well."

During the awards ceremony, Aris picked former F-M runner (Class of 2016) and current Columbia University runner Jenna Farrell out of the crowd.

"Kind of reflecting back on it, it's all about priorities," Farrell said. "(Aris) prioritizes working together, working as a team, team synergy. It's not the training. We worked together. We worked for each other. It's not physical, it's mental."

Senior Lydia Olivere of Padua Academy DE finished fourth overall in 14:24.1. Senior Abby Green of Walter Johnson MD finished fifth in 14:28.8. Warren Hills NJ junior Alexa Westley was sixth in 14:29.9.

Other top team finishers included Padua Academy (fourth, 155 points), Walter Johnson (fifth, 170 points) and Niskayuna NY (sixth, 181 points).

In the boys Varsity B race, junior Noah Tindale of Guilderland NY won in 12:49.7, holding off David Vorbach of Nashua (N.H.) North (second, 12:50.3).

"I went out a lot harder than usual," said Tindale, who is aiming for an NXN spot. "Usually I go out behind the first runner. ... And I reached for my 400-meter kick. That's what I do well – 400, 800 meters on the track."

Guilderland won the team title with 93 points over Taylor Allderdice of Pittsburgh, Pa. (121 points) and Nashua North NH (121 points).

In the boys Varsity A race, junior Tyler Schwinn of Red Bank Regional NJ won in 13:12.5 over Ben Brugger of Upper Dublin PA (13:15.1). Red Bank won the team title with 105 points over Chariho RI (112 points) and Morristown NJ (126 points).

In the boys Varsity C race, Matt Politis of Pearl River NY won in 12:53.6 over Colin Fitzpatrick of Lowell MA (12:59.5). Lowell won the team title with 43 points, running 2-4-10-11. Boyertown (Pa) finished second with 63 points, while Pearl River was third with 144 points.

In the boys Varsity D race, Liam Higgins of Goshen NY edged out Connor Nisbet of Wilmington Friends DE 12:33.2 to 12:34.2. Tristan Shellgren of St. John's Prep MA was third in 12:45.3 and Patrick Tuohy of North Rockland was fourth in 12:55.5

Cornwall (N.Y.) won the boys team title with 94 points over St. John's Prep (116 points) and Baldwinsville, N.Y. (140 points).

In the boys Varsity E race, sophomore Behailu Bekele-Arcuri of Warwick (N.Y.) Valley pulled away to win in 12:40.7 over senior Fahd Nasser of McNair Academy (Jersey City, N.J) (12:49.3). Brendan Balthis of Tatnall finished third in 12:57.3. Rhode Island's Bishop Hendricken won the team title with 43 points over Warwick Valley (129 points) and Tatnall (132 points).

In the boys Varsity F race, junior Ryan Guerci of Nanuet NY won in 12:57.2 over senior Kevin Keegan of St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, N.J.) 13:09.8. St. Peter's won the team title with 92 points over Ocean Township NJ (102 points) and Ward Melville NY (123 points).

In the boys Varsity G Race, senior Colin Logsdon of Chatham NJ edged Patchogue-Medford NY senior Carlos Santos 12:58.7 to 12:58.9.East Brunswick NJ won the team title with 66 points over Kellenberg Memorial NY (87 points) and Chatham (115 points).

In the girls Varsity B race, Syosset NY senior Reilly Seibert held off sophomore Maggie Maier of Sacred Heart NY for the win, running 14:50.6 to Maier's 15:05.4.

"I went with the pack (initially) and then I decided to break away," said Seibert, who planned an official visit to Providence College this weekend following trips to Georgetown and Villanova. "Right after (the two-mile mark) I decided to make my move and started rolling."

Greenwich NY won the team title with 70 points over the Ursuline School NY and Jamesville-Dewitt NY (114 points).

In the girls Varsity A race, Mount Tabor sophomore Frances Whitworth held off Kayla Schramm of Goshen NY for the win, 15:09.8 to 15:17.5.

Bethlehem NY won the team title with 54 points over Mount Tabor (88 points) and West Chester Henderson PA 126 points.

In the girls Varsity D race, Brooklyn Tech senior Aziza Chigatayeva held off Tappan Zee's Alexandra Thomas, 15:22.6 to 15:25.8. Ithaca NY won the team title with 84 points, followed by Guilderland, N.Y. (86 points) and Tappan Zee (87 points).

Shoreham Wading-River's Katherine Lee ran away with the varsity E title, running 14:25.0, which would have placed her fifth in the Eastern States Championship. She beat sophomore Sarah Trainor (Franklin D. Roosevelt NY), who ran 15:00.1. Warwick Valley NY won the team title with 83 points. Maple Grove NY was second with 121 points while Brewster NY was third with 127 points.

In the girls Varsity F race, Suffern sophomore Mary Hennelly ran 14:53.7 to hold off Middletown NJ South senior Madison Brand (15:02.2). Pearl River NY won the team championship with 43 points, followed by Middletown South (67 points) and Corning-Painted Post East (119 points).