September 15th, 2007
Despite colder temperatures, heavy rain and wind – the Eagles opened up their 2007-08 XC season formally at a well-attended Cherokee Challenge race in Marlton, NJ.
In the freshman race, it was Tom Hoban leading the way for the Eagles at 16th place and a wonderful 11:22 2 mile time only putting him 7 seconds out of the Top 10 list for Paul VI as well as the freshman race in general. Eric Hubbs came in less than a minute behind for a respectable 12:16 to grab 36th place. Nick Vadino and Mike Giordano kept on their improvement track as they leapt out to a 13:24 and 13:27. Vadino broke his 1600-personal record in the process, shaving 26 seconds off of it for a brisk 6:14 mile. Joe Pinto finished in 14:31. The freshman race was won by Triton’s Joe Rawls in 10:09.
In the Sophomore race, Mike Rankin went for it early with a view to stick with Haddonfield’s dynamic sophomore duo of Colin Baker and Boo Vitez. Vitez kept the pace honest going through the mile at 4:43, while Rankin stuck in there with a 4:47. The quick pace shaved 5 off from the race of at least 200 and Rankin charged up the final hill besting 2006’s time by 18 seconds and grabbing 4th place in a very stacked sophomore race and setting himself up for a great season. His time, 10:11, was enough to put himself at 1st on the PVI Top-10 list at the Cherokee Challenge with a certain view to best that in the coming years. Tom Pellegrino finished 14:33 after coming through in a 6:46 to hold on to a decent starting point. The race was won by Boo Vitez in 9:55.
The junior race saw the absence of Joe Fiore, but Alec Connelly overcame jitters and the lack of teammates on the starting line with a respectable performance – coming in at 14:14. The race was won by Ocean City’s Brett Johnson in 9:53.
The core of the Eagles – seniors – saw significant improvement from 2006 as they re-acclimated themselves to racing. They started and finished strong but the effort to stay together as a pack wavered a bit, still producing decent results. Paul Lively was the first PVI senior finisher at 62nd place with a time of 11:15 (26 seconds faster than last year). Lively’s time placed him 10th on the Top 10 list. First-year Tom Norris came in 15-seconds later at 11:30, Ed Murphy 30 seconds later at 11:45, and Wil Bradford came in at 11:56. A spread that has to be fixed but was tough to gauge in a race of over 230 participants. Steve Pellegrino was the next Eagle in at a very respectable 13:06. Matt Magrino and Jamie Rooney worked together and finished at 14:13.
Overall, a great starting point for the revamped Paul VI squad. Their next race will be crucial in-conference against a strong Bishop Eustace squad this Tuesday, September 18th at Gloucester County College.
For complete Cherokee Challenge results, click here.
