By Matthias Fontao ’27
RAMSEY, NJ – On Saturday, September 14th, countless teams from New York and New Jersey flocked to Van Cortlandt Park for this year’s edition of the Regis Invitational.
One of the oldest cross-country courses in the nation, Van Cortlandt opened its first cross-country trail in 1913 and has since become a mecca for the sport. Best known for hosting the prestigious Manhattan College Invitational, the park hosts a number of other competitive invitationals throughout the year.
Along with being renowned for its longevity, many consider the Van Cortlandt XC course to be one of the most challenging courses in the State. With a wide 600-meter start that funnels into a 2-yard wide gravel path, passing opposing runners is very difficult if a quick start to the race isn’t achieved. Furthermore, the course is punctuated with two major uphills that are followed by various rolling hills through the back half of the woods. Many runners fall victim to the intensely steep downhills that complement the uphills. Accelerating without control makes falling down the winding declines inevitable. Slow down too much and opposing runners will make up ground.
If runners are able to conquer the difficulties they have faced, they only need to conquer the 700-meter finish that runs down the middle of the park. A fast start, steep inclines, ferocious downhills, and a narrow path make this course quite tricky, and many runners have found it difficult to perform on this course. Former Olympian Matt Centrowitz said, “Van Cortlandt was the ultimate. Kids would come from Massachusetts and Maryland. The point was, if you were a star in any State, you came to Vannie (Van Cortlandt) like a gunslinger. Guys came ready for war.” Every runner in the area was always excited for a race at Van Cortlandt, and Don Bosco Prep’s Cross Country team headed by Coach Kevin Kilduff was handed the tasks of conquering the renowned course.
This year’s edition of the Regis Invitational consisted of 4 races: Freshmen, Sophomore, Junior, and Varsity. Only Freshmen could run in the Freshman race, only Sophomores could run in the Sophomore race, and the Junior race functioned in identical fashion. Only the Varsity race was made up of runners from different grade levels. Although the DBP XC team did not bring its quickly improving Freshman roster, the other teams did not disappoint. The Sophomore team finished sixth in their race. The group was led by Sophomores James Cutler in 6th place, Blake McCarthy in 7th place, and Robert Gaida in 11th. The Sophomores were quite proud of their performance, but they know that there is still more work to be done. “The races aren’t going to win themselves, so we need to keep working so that we can continue competing at the highest level,” said McCarthy after his strong performance.
Don Bosco’s Junior team also had a magnificent outing, finishing with the top overall team score in the Junior event. The team was led by Juniors Vincent Rodriguez, Ryan Pelosi, and Jack Algor, who finished 3rd, 4th, and 10th, respectively. Vincent Rodriguez, who has found himself in very good form, said that trusting his training is a big reason for his recent successes: “Trusting my training was what got me through this race. Every mile, hill, and workout has led to my recent successes, and that is what allowed me to secure a spot on Varsity.” Vinny will be locking back up his position on the Varsity roster after facing a number of injuries throughout the year. As for the Varsity squad, the day wasn’t too shabby at all. Finishing first in their race and third overall, the team drew a lot of positives from the race. Matthias Fontao (SO) finished 7th overall, with Jake Pullen (JR) right behind him in 8th and Jack Dowd (SR) finishing the day in 16th position.
The Varsity team ran well collectively, and most likely would have come out on top if one of their top guys hadn’t fallen during the race in a series of unfortunate events. Yet, the Ironmen were still proud of their race, acknowledging that they are capable of even greater things. “It obviously is disappointing that we weren’t able to come home with the win, but the fact that we finished third without one of our top guys shows that we have the chance to be a good team,” said Coach Kevin Kilduff, who has produced many talented Bosco teams throughout his years of manning the program.
The team now turns its attention towards the Bowdoin XC Classic on September 28th, when the squad will look to dominate one of the nation’s most difficult courses while running up against some of the best competition in the Northeast.