Colts Honor Former Runner With Outstanding Performance At Van Cortlandt Park; Kavi Gibson Runs Seventh-Fastest Time In Meet History; Padua Girls Win First Eastern States Title; Maeve Going Adds Big Win To Family Legacy

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

Photos by John Nepolitan

NEW YORK — The Christian Brothers Academy boys took home their fourth consecutive and 21st overall Eastern States Championship trophy at the Manhattan College Cross Country Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park on Saturday afternoon.

With a 78-point effort led by senior Luke Hnatt and junior Gavin Schmitt, the Colts ran away with the title, beating runner-up Bishop Hendricken RI by 47 points. 

“Luke and Gavin ran out of their minds,” head coach Sean McCafferty said. “It was really, really good.”

This year’s victory was a little different than those of years past. Recent CBA graduate Alex Kemp died in a skiing accident in January, and the trophy for this year’s Eastern States race was named the Alex Kemp Memorial trophy. Knowing that, McCafferty’s squad faced more pressure than usual, but he was proud of the way they handled it.

“It was a big deal for these guys,” McCafferty said. “We didn’t talk about it much. I think everyone knew the gravity of the situation and what it meant for the program and the Kemp family. They took care of it very well.”

Hnatt finished fourth in a time of 12:19.6, and Schmitt finished eighth in 12:28.3. The rest of their top five — seniors Sean Galvin, Wyatt Falkowski and Ryan Collins — all finished in the top 30. Their five-man average of 12:41.54 was one of the best in meet history.

The Colts are ranked first in the Northeast, and McCafferty believes they’re only going to get better from here. In past seasons, he said, they’ve hit their peak early and maintained it throughout the season; this year, they are intentionally hoping the peak arrives later, leaving more time room to grow.

“We kind of slowed things down,” McCafferty said of the early portion of the season. “We had some guys injured in June, at the end of the spring season. Some of them are starting to come alive.”

On the individual side, Cary Academy NC’s Kavi Gibson threw down one of the fastest performances in Van Cortlandt Park history, winning in a time of 12:04.9 on the 2.5-mile course. Gibson’s time ranks seventh in meet and venue history, only nine seconds off of Edward Cheserek’s record of 11:55.4.

Gibson jogged the course on Friday and knew from its design — it starts wide and rapidly narrows — that if he didn’t go out fast, he would get trapped in the middle of the pack.

“From the gun, I knew I really had to get out,” Gibson said. 

Acting on advice from some of his friends who had raced at Van Cortlandt in the past, he kept a steady effort on the uphill portions and let it rip on the downhills. By the time he exited the woods and started down the finish chute, he had a commanding lead and was not about to give it up.

“I opened the gates,” Gibson said of his finish. “(I gave) everything I had left.”

Ryan Sykes (Horace Greeley NY) took second overall in 12:12.7. The junior has been on a tear lately; last weekend, he took second to Marcelo Mantecon (Belen Jesuit FL) at the Great American XC Festival in Cary, N.C. and set a 20-second personal best.

Last year, Sykes took second in the Varsity D section, and he wasn’t too happy about his time of 12:50.3. This year, he made some mental adjustments, which helped him take nearly 40 seconds off of that mark in worse conditions.

“I went into this race knowing that these hills would be brutal,” Sykes said. “I tried to fight for as long as I could.”

Benjamin Berman of the Bronx School of Science took third overall in 12:16.2, followed closely by Hnatt. Nathan Lee of the Brunswick School CT rounded out the top five in 12:20.7.

Padua Wins 1st Eastern States, Going Adds To Family Legacy

In a stark contrast to CBA’s historical dominance, the Padua DE girls won their first ever Eastern States Championship trophy Saturday, winning the girls’ title with 81 points.

The Classical Academy CO finished second with 102 points, while Cathedral Prep PA took third with 131.

Head coach Marnie Giunta said her team overcame plenty of obstacles — sickness, exams and a heavy training load, to name a few — to come away with the win.

“They were able to come through, come here and put forth a team effort,” Giunta said.

Padua didn’t have any standout individual performances, but they didn’t need them. The team's depth was on display, as the top five finished within 21 places. The Pandas' fifth runner, Leah Campbell, finished 23rd overall, the best finish by a fifth runner from any school by a wide margin.

“They like to lean on one another,” Giunta said. “We’re an all-girls school. We really pride ourselves on sisterhood. They are so very close, and I think they really have big goals this year and they want to achieve them, so I think they work really hard for one another.”

One of the team’s main goals, Giunta said, is to qualify for Nike Cross Nationals in December. That will be a tall order — in the latest DyeStat regional team rankings, Padua is ranked fifth in the Southeast region — but Giunta knows anything can happen on any given day.

“I don’t know if we’re gonna be the favorites,” Giunta said, “but we’re gonna be feisty, and we’re gonna make (the other teams) work.”

Maeve Going of Sacred Heart Academy NY won the individual race in a time of 14:05.0, which ranks 17th in Van Cortlandt Park history. Last year, Going ran in the Varsity A race, where she took second.

Going had mixed feelings about graduating to the Eastern States race. On one hand, she felt less pressure because she wasn’t expected to win, but the race still had bigger implications overall.

The pressure was even higher because of Going’s family legacy. Her father, Mike, won the boys Eastern States Championship in 1989, and she knew she couldn’t let him hog the glory.

“It’s so nice to continue the tradition,” Going said. “I didn’t want him to one-up me. I couldn’t have that happen. It’s nice to know I’m continuing something that he worked so hard for, and now I get to work so hard for it.”

Sloan Wasserman of John Jay NY took second in 14:10.2, followed by Tsadia Bercuvitz of Ithaca NY in 14:17.0. Vivian Jack of the Classical Academy and Kyleen Brady of Auburn NY rounded out the top five with times of 14:22.1 and 14:26.1, respectively.

Hall of Fame Inductees

Aisling Cuffe (2025) - The 2009 and 2010 Girls Eastern States individual champion at the Manhattan College Cross Country Invitational, in Van Cortlandt, Cuffe also captured New York State XC titles in both years and won the 2010 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships as a Cornwall (NY) senior. Her 13:58.1 Van Cortlandt time in 2010 still ranks as the ninth fastest high school time ever.  Representing the USA after winning the gold medal at the USA Junior Cross Country, Cuffe finished 17th at the 2011 IAAF Junior Cross Country Championships in Spain.

A two-time Pac-12 champion at Stanford, Cuffe was the Pac-12’s individual cross country titlist in 2014 & 2016. In 2009, Cuffe was the 5,000-meter titlist at the 2009 USA Junior Outdoor Championships leading to a silver medal at the World Juniors in Trinidad.

Bill Aris (2025) - Director and Head Coach at national cross country powerhouse Fayetteville-Manlius (F-M) for over 25 years.  His teams have won a record 11 (10 girls, one for the boys) Eastern States Championship team titles in Van Cortlandt.  From 2007 through 2021, the F-M girls captured 10 Eastern States titles.  Additionally, Aris coached 2009 and 2017 F-M girls squads that recorded the lowest team score (22 points) for the Girls Eastern States Championship.  On the boys side, his 2014 Fayetteville-Manlius squad established and still owns the event’s top team average of 12:37.96 at Van Cortlandt.  At the 2004 Manhattan Invitational, the F-M varsity boys posted the lowest point total (15) with Fayetteville-Manlius capturing the first five places.

Bill Leahy (2025) On November 11, 1963, 17-year old Bill Leahy from Boston’s Catholic Memorial High School won the Irish Christian Brothers Meet at Van Cortlandt Park in a time of 12:58.6 becoming the first scholastic runner to record a sub 13-minute time over Van Cortlandt Park’s 2.5-mile course.  A self-described “front runner with not a lot of speed” Leahy enjoyed Van Cortlandt success by sprinting out of the start to ensure his lead heading into the hills.  “I loved the hills and twisting terrain of Van Cortlandt.  It’s a real cross country course and not like these races over golf courses.  Van Cortlandt to me is the Mecca of USA cross country running.”

Leahy competed for Notre Dame and after graduation spent three years teaching at PS 20 in the Bronx.  He eventually graduated from Harvard Law School and went onto a distinguished career as a public defense leader in Massachusetts (1991-2010) and New York (2011-2021).