Brewster Boys Roll to Fourth at States

BREWSTER—The Brewster High boys cross country team, fresh off winning a Section 1 Class A championship, took their act to the state championship meet at SUNY Plattsburgh last weekend, and posted an impressive fourth-place finish.

The Brewster High boys cross country team took fourth place at the state championships. SKIP PEARLMAN Burnt Hills (38) was first in Class A, McQuaid (57) was second, Calhoun (78) was third and Brewster (88) followed.

Brewster senior Mike Thomas once again led the Bears, turning in an 18thplace finish in a time of 16:20. Sophomore Charlie Carr was 27th in 16:26, soph Adam McIe took 37th place in 16:39, and senior Neeraj Suryanarayanan took the 59th spot, crossing the line in 17:03. John Carr was 65th in 17:11, Justin Maguire placed 69th in 17:16 and Alec Budd finished at 17:54, good for 94th place.

The strong finish earned Brewster an invitation to the Federation Meet, where the team will compete for the first time ever. The Federation Meet is scheduled for Saturday at Bowdoin Park, with the boys race set to go off at 1 p.m.

Brewster’s Ariana Bottalico is flanked by coach Joe Scelia and assistant coach Renee Acquisto SKIP PEARLMAN Bears coach Joe Scelia was pleased, but not surprised.

“We were expected – projected – to get fourth, and we got fourth,” he said. “I knew it would be tough to finish in the top three, but we were close to third, and if all seven of our runners were on, we would have finished third. But at the state meet, it’s hard to judge how you’re doing… and our times were exceptional. Charlie was one of the top sophomores at the meet, and the same with Adam. So it was a good performance.

“And earning an invitation to the federation next week – that’s a huge honor,” Scelia added. “It’s the first time it’s ever happened, so the kids were pumped… very excited. It was good to see Neeraj back in the scoring five, he really had a solid race, and Mike was great. He passed five or six guys in the last 200 meters… he’s had a phenomenal season. And Maguire didn’t feel great, but he was a big reason we got there. Justin will be a big force for us, and John has been battling stomach issues, but he hung in with a great kick.”

Brewster’s Ariana Bottalico also competed at the state meet, taking 19th place in a time of 18:58 – a personal best time for the distance and a new school record. She beat her prior PR by 26 seconds.

Bottalico also made it to the state meet last fall, placing 39th.

“She ran a phenomenal race,” Scelia said. “She left everything out there… she’s only a freshman, and it was her second year in a row at states and she improved 20 places. It was a very, very solid performance. She really had a special season.”