The challenging terrain of Van Cortlandt Park can get even the most elite that traverse the historic trials.
Don’t count Marshall Vernon among them.
In a race he led from the beginning, the La Salle Academy junior dominated the Letter D race at Sunday’s Manhattan College Invitational in New York City. Proving he’s in peak shape for the upcoming championship season, Vernon clocked a winning 12 minutes, 24.7 seconds for the challenging 2.5-mile course. His sub-5 effort was the second fastest performance by a Rhode Islander at Manhattan and No. 1 among the storied alumni that have made the annual trip to the prestigious meet.
“Marshall ran as good as one can be on this course,” said La Salle coach Ken Skelly, a few hours after his star runner’s win. “He told us there was another athlete at the mile but hitting the back hills he was able to go solo the rest of the way. It was good to see him execute the race plan he had in mind. The goal was to be fast and go after the clock.”
Vernon impressive victory was 36 seconds faster than his previous best of13:00.00 from 2023, an effort that placed him second in the Letter B race last year. On this day, he was also the second quickest of the day with a time that would have earned him runner-up honors in the featured Eastern States Championship race, won by defending champion Joe Barrett of Christian Brothers Academy (NJ).. Barrett, who was timed in 12:20.7, currently ranks No. 6 in the country, according to DyeStat.
With his signature win at Manhattan, coupled with his big victory at the Bowdoin XC Classic a few weeks ago in Wappinger Falls, N.Y., where he also ran the second fastest time behind Barrett, Vernon certainly is making a case for himself that he belongs in the top 25 rankings once the new national rankings come out.
“He’s in some rare air,” Skelly said. “Coach (Bill) Myers and I are happy to see him at the fitness level coming off of invitational season and moving into the championship part of the season. Right now, we two more weeks of hard work in terms of training.”
In the team competition, La Salle compiled 156 points to place third overall. Scarsdale (NY) defeated fellow NY rival Brighton, 112-116 to take the title. Senior Tristan McDonough was the next LSA runner across the line, placing 13th in 13:57.4. Seamus O’Brien, also a senior, was 23rd in 14:19.4.
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Hendricken sophomore Colby Flynn was second best for the Ocean State at Manhattan. Flynn clocked a PR of 13:10.9 to finish 25th in the Eastern States race. The BHS standout’s time was nearly 30 seconds faster than last year. BJ Kerachsky, a senior, was 52nd with a time of 13:32.8. As a team, Hendricken matched their ninth-place finish from last week’s Great American XC Festival with 298 points.
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Keaney Bayha nearly earned a victory in the Letter C race. The Pilgrim senior was just over a second behind individual champion Sophia Semo of Cornwall (NY) with her time of 15:06.8. Semo broke the tape in 15:04.3. In compiled results of all the high school races, Keaney’s effort ranked No. 18 among 956 runners.
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The La Salle girls were a strong second overall in the Letter B race. The Rams scored 86 points, two ahead of third-place finisher, Tappan Zee (NY). East Aurora (NY) won the crown with 75 points.
The top five scoring runners for the Rams were separated by just 30 seconds – junior Olivia Wahlberg (12th, 16:18.1), sophomore Carolina Terlato (16th, 16:42.0), sophomore Sabrina Ghamrawl (18th, 16:43.6), senior Maeve Casey (19th, 16:45.7), senior Jayden Donnelly (21st, 16:48.4), Keep in mind, the Rams’ prime showing at Manhattan was done despite not having their No. 1 runner, Alyssa Parenteau, who is recovering from an injury suffered at the start of the season.
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In the other varsity races…
Classical’s Tai Liebman was the top local finishers in the boys’ Letter A race. He was 36th overall in 14:12.5. In the girls’ Letter A race, St. Raphael’s MacKenzie Lickert was seventh overall with a time of 16:08.5. The Saints’ Alex Ramos cracked in the top 10 in the Letter B race where he was ninth overall with a time of 14:05.3.
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We can’t forget the freshmen.
In the Freshmen E race. Hendricken dominated the competition with a near-perfect 16 points. The Hawks swept the first four placements and had six in the top nine. Oliver Redmond edged teammate Shepherd Butler by a tenth of a second for the individual title with a time of 8:04.9 for the 1.5-mile course. Aaron Stockford (third, 8:10.7), Justin Stockford (fourth, 8:15.2) and John Oliveira (seventh, 8:44.4) were the remaining scorers. Fellow classmate Christian Nunez was ninth at 8:50.4. Chariho’s Gus Freelove was also under nine minutes, placing tenth overall with a time of 8:57.3.
La Salle was fourth in the ‘A’ race with 104 points. Gaston Preira led the Rams by placing 15th overall with a time of 9:50.8.
In the girls’ races, the Rams won the Letter C race with a convincing 26-55 victory over Cornwall Central (NY). La Salle had three of their runners in the top five, including individual winner, Stella Pelagio, who grabbed the gold in 9:41.1. Madison Studley was third at10:09.4, while Gemma Kent placed fifth with a time of 10:14.2.
Classical’s Fiona Hughes captured the Letter D race in 9:48.2, four seconds ahead of her closest rival.
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