Boys Cross Country

HEAD COACH: Ned Gallagher (17th year)
ASSISTANT COACHES: Scott A. Mattoon and Michael P. Danahy

Final record: 7 wins, 2 losses, 0 ties
Runner-Up, 2004 Founders League Cross Country Championships

DATE	OPPONENT/MEET	TIME	SITE	SCORES (low score wins)
DATE	OPPONENT/MEET	TIME	SITE	CHOATE	OPPONENT
9/6/04	New Haven Road Race 5K	8:30	New Haven, CT	No team score in this event.
NEW HAVEN , CT--The Choate boys' cross country team entered a record twenty-seven harriers in the 2004 edition of the New Haven Road Race, ten of them first-time members of the squad. This annual Labor Day event has become an integral component of pre-season training for the Wild Boars. Senior captain Jay McCormick led the way for the Blue and Gold in the field of nearly two thousand. Choate runners represented four of the top fifty and eight of the top hundred places. Former CRH standouts Matt Milikowsky '98, Yoon Chay '99, and Steve Fair '99 were on hand to lend support.
9/18/04	Choate Invitational	2:00	CRH	Contest canceled due to inclement weather.
9/26/04	Bigelow Tea Community Challenge 5K	10:10	Southport, CT	No team score in this event.
SOUTHPORT , CT--Jay McCormick won the youth division of this road race, with teammates Chris Verrillo and Tyler Jorgensen taking third and fifth places in the under 19 category.
10/2/04	Kingswood-Oxford School	3:00	Watertown, CT	17	46
	Taft School			23	35
	Trinity-Pawling School			19	40
WATERTOWN, CT--In their first outing of the season, the Wild Boars posted a trio of victories against Founders League rivals. As inclement weather and scheduling conflicts conspired to eliminate meets the first two weekends of the season, the Choate boys were champing at the bit to test themselves in interscholastic competition for the first time this season. Their eagerness proved to be sufficient fuel for some first-rate performances, both individually and collectively. "We didn't know quite what to expect in the varsity race, given that Choate was fielding a largely untested squad," observed head coach Ned Gallagher. "None of our varsity harriers were on the team when we last raced at Taft two seasons ago. In fact, four of the seven starters were running their first-ever high school cross country race today! But their performances in time trials and in workouts led Coaches Mattoon, Danahy, and me to expect that our athletes would respond to the challenge capably. And that's just what they did. Captain Jay McCormick ran a tactically shrewd race, trailing a talented Rhinos #1 on his home course before blowing by him in the final half-mile for the win in a time that earns him a berth on the elite sub-15:00 roster on the Taft course. (The course record of 14:23 was set by Choate harrier Patrick Martha '01.) Teammates Mike Kelly and Mike Morrill crossed the line nearly together to lock up three of the first four finish positions for the Wild Boars--a huge advantage in the scoring. We had expected Dane Evans to round out our top four once again, but at the tail end of a week of illness, he had to dig deep to place as our #6 man today. Fortunately, wunderkind Chris Krokus '08 and veteran John Gelb '05 stepped it up to round out the scoring five; both turned in smart, tenacious performances. Our seventh finisher, David Cha '06, placed ahead of Taft's fifth finisher, Trinity-Pawling's fourth, and Kingswood-Oxford's second. Thus we prevailed with an impressive combination of speed at the front of the pack and overwhelming depth."
10/6/04	Kent School	3:30	CRH	25	34
WALLINGFORD, CT--The Wild Boars hosted the Lions in the 2004 home opener, fending off a troika of aggressive Kent front runners who led the field for most of the race before the Choate leaders reeled them in over the course of the final mile.
10/9/04	Phillips Academy	4:15	CRH	37	22
WALLINGFORD, CT--Jay McCormick again executed tactical brilliance in biding his time before leaving the lead pack in his wake and posting a clocking that earned him a berth among the sub-16:00 elite for the first time. His teammates Mike Kelly and Mike Morrill mixed it up with the top Andover guys throughout the race, an experience which will help these first-year runners greatly in the weeks to come. Coach Ned Gallagher's observations: "Andover's team carried the day with its typical early-season readiness and its solid depth. We coaches fully expect that this year's group will be better equipped to contend with Andover's depth when next we see the Blue at season's end. A loss like this can be an important turning point for a team like ours. How the boys respond when we gather for practice on Monday will tell us a lot. The challenges ahead will be tougher, but we think the adversity may present opportunities for greatness."
10/16/04	Deerfield Academy	3:00	Deerfield, MA	24	33
10/16/04	Loomis Chaffee School	3:00	Deerfield, MA	33	24
DEERFIELD, MA--In a meet which Choate has dominated in the last decade, the Wild Boars ran well to take three of the four boys' contests today. "We knew heading into this double dual meet at the Emerald City that we would have our hands full, with arch-rival Deerfield and Founders League power Loomis Chaffee both eager for Blue and Gold scalps," reported coach Ned Gallagher. "In the varsity race, Loomis demonstrated it had the strongest squad at this point in the season, particularly on a short, mostly flat Deerfield course with nothing to slow them down. The hosts fielded a solid team, headed by a strong front runner in Nick Blixt, but couldn't match the depth of either visiting squad. While it was surely disappointing that we lost to Loomis--for only the second time since 1995--we can proceed into the toughest phase of our training the next couple of weeks knowing that they are within reach. Individually, five of our top seven established PR mile splits, and we are confident they are on track for even more improvement in the month remaining."
10/23/04	Hotchkiss School	3:00	Lakeville, CT	19	44
LAKEVILLE, CT--Choate took seven of the first eight finish positions in front of a partisan parents weekend crowd at Hotchkiss. Among the fans were two former All-New England runners for the Wild Boars, each watching younger siblings in action: Jonathan Hamilton '98 and David Desjardins '02. Leading the way for the Blue and Gold once again was captain Jay McCormick, finishing within 14 seconds of the course record while never being seriously challenged during the race. Mike Morrill was third overall, nearly outkicking the Bearcats' #1 harrier in the closing meters of the race. Coach Ned Gallagher's comments: "We saw a number of breakthrough performances in the back half of our pack, as the gap between #1 and #7 is within a minute now and falling fast. More impressive was the manner in which our boys tackled this challenging, hilly course together. These are just the sort of indicators we had hoped to see heading into the final weeks of the fall. We expect some terrific times on the home course next Saturday in our Parents Weekend meet with NMH."
10/30/04	Northfield Mt. Hermon School	2:30	CRH	19	44
WALLINGFORD, CT--When the dust settled in this Parents Weekend meet, the Blue and Gold had nabbed eight of the top ten finish positions in the race and placed seven runners before the NMH #2 for a victory in 2004's final dual meet. Captain Jay McCormick put together another top-notch performance, gradually pulling away from a talented Hogger postgraduate halfway through the race for the win. Michael Morrill and Mike Kelly again rounded out the top three for the Wild Boars. In a pleasantly surprising development, Krishna Delahunty Nirmel placed as Choate's fourth finisher, blowing away his previous PR time. Teammate Chris Krokus broke the third form record that had stood since 1990, thus placing him ahead of such ninth-grade predecessors as Charles Bieler '94, Patrick Martha '01, and Nate Gelb '04--all of whom went on to enjoy illustrious All-New England careers. Dane Evans, David Cha, and Creighton Stevenson also lowered their previous PRs significantly, and John Gelb competed valiantly with the NMH pack in spite of a nagging injury that slowed him from his usual pace. "After a couple of weeks encompassing some of the most challenging workouts we coaches have ever devised, our boys were pretty spent heading into this Parents Weekend meet," observed coach Ned Gallagher. "In spite of their fatigue, though, most of them managed to post their best-ever times on the home course. Our training is on track and we've seen our pack gel on schedule. We now turn our attention to the focus of our campaign: the two championships. First up is the Founders League meet, which will be run on our own course next Saturday. I think we can expect to see more dramatic improvement in PRs, as the lads will be entering the race better rested and the occasion certainly will be bigger." The Choate varsity has won six of the last seven League titles.
11/6/04	Founders League Cross Country Championships	3:05	CRH	Choate finished 2nd of 9 teams in the Championship.
WALLINGFORD, CT--Choate approached the 2004 League Championship brimming with confidence after a pair of strong performances the past two weekends. The home course advantage added to the sense of anticipation. Among the former teammates on hand to lend support were recent graduates Frank DiVittorio (2002 League champ, 2003 New England champ, and course record holder) and Drew Marvinsmith, as well as Dave Desjardins '02. The race started at a brisk pace across the Gunpowder Creek soccer field and up the first incline. In the first mile of the course, Choate runners were very well positioned, with three among the top six and the remainder just steps behind. At race's end, however, it was clear the Pelicans ran by far the best race, with five of their runners among the top ten. The individual performances of the Choate boys turned out to be something of a mixed bag, as four of the seven starters were off their PR form, some significantly so, with both illness and inexperience playing a role. On the other hand, team captain Jay McCormick finished with tremendous tenacity after running in fourth place for most of the race, chasing down competitors from Loomis and Taft--the latter in the final yards of the course--for the silver medal. Mike Morrill '05 cracked the 16:00 barrier for the first time in taking a very impressive fifth place. Mike Kelly was the third Wild Boar to earn 2004 All-League honors for finishing among the top fifteen in the varsity race, while Krishna Delahunty Nirmel experienced a tantalizing near-miss in 16th place, seemingly a hair's breadth behind a Westminster harrier. For complete results click here. Coach Ned Gallagher's observations on the day's competition: "Full credit to our rivals from Windsor for assembling a handful of fine performances to defend their title; they fully deserved the win. We had designs on reclaiming the title we lost last fall, but it was not to be. Our work is far from done, though. Nor are our boys ready to assume we will not be ready to contend in next weekend's New England Championships. Veterans of the 2003 squad well remember how collectively we took an average of 45 seconds off times on a common course in the final week of the season. We also believe the hills of Hotchkiss will be an advantage for a squad like ours. It will a meet we'll look forward to running."
11/13/04	New England Cross Country Championships	1:30	Lakeville, CT	Choate finished 5th of 11 teams in the Championship.
LAKEVILLE, CT--A blanket of snow covered Lakeville (as it had the Choate campus) and so the Division I teams faced a novel challenge in this New England Championship: running a race quite literally through the snow, as the course over the fields of the Hotchkiss campus had not been cleared at all. The temperature was in the 30s and a vicious wind whipped off the lake next to the starting line. Conditions were far from ideal, but the setting was surreal enough to provide runners, coaches, and spectators memories of a meet they'll never forget. The Phillips Exeter squad defended its 2003 title with a trio of top ten finishers leading the way. Andover was a surprise in second place, with a solid performance from the Blue pack. Choate reasonably aspired to finish among the top three teams--and would likely have done so, had the race ended at the two-mile mark--but two of its seven starters were unable to complete the course and some of their teammates lost ground in the remaining portion of the race. Captain Jay McCormick finished his official Choate Cross Country career in a blaze of glory, however, taking a most impressive fifth place after contending with the leaders over the 3-mile course (and in the process defeating the two Loomis runners whom he had targeted since earlier in the season). Krishna Delahunty Nirmel completed a fairy tale debut season, placing among the top twenty-five as the Wild Boars' second finisher. Mike Kelly, Chris Krokus, and Dane Evans battled gamely for finish position, despite the forbidding conditions. Complete meet results are online here. Coach Gallagher's summary: "For a team that has become used to being counted among the top two teams in this meet, fifth place was clearly something of a disappointment. As a team, we didn't respond well to the conditions. That said, this is squad that accomplished far more than was expected of it this fall, particularly when a majority of the varsity harriers were first-year runners. Had we dropped out of the top five today, we'd all be scratching our heads, wondering what went wrong. But we beat the schools we knew we should have beaten, even if we didn't knock off those a bit ahead of us this season as we usually have done in recent years. In the end, we finished among the schools we should have been grouped with, and our younger runners will take the day's lessons into the 2005 campaign."
11/14/04	USATF Junior Olympic Cross Country Connecticut Championships	2:00	Litchfield, CT	No team score in this event.
11/18/04	47th Annual Mark Tuttle Cake Race	3:30	CRH	No team score in this event.
11/21/04	USATF Junior Olympic Region I Cross Country Championships	2:00	Augusta, ME	No team score in this event.
11/27/04	Foot Locker Cross Country Championships Northeast Regional Qualifier Meet	8:30	Van Cortlandt Park New York, NY	No team score in this event.
12/11/04	USATF Junior Olympic Cross Country National Championships	8:30	Schaumburg, IL	No team score in this event.

Final record: 8 wins, 1 loss, 0 ties
1st place, 2004 Founders League Cross Country Championships

DATE	OPPONENT/MEET	TIME	SITE	SCORES (low score wins)
DATE	OPPONENT/MEET	TIME	SITE	CHOATE	OPPONENT
9/6/04	New Haven Road Race	8:30	New Haven, CT	No team score in this event.
9/18/04	Choate Invitational	2:00	CRH	Contest canceled due to inclement weather.
10/2/04	Kingswood-Oxford School	3:00	Watertown, CT	15	50
	Taft School			15	50
	Trinity-Pawling School			15	49
WATERTOWN, CT--A swarm of Choate runners in their new uniforms dominated the front of the pack, sweeping the first six places and twelve of the first thirteen. Alex Zbrozek '05 led the waves of Blue and Gold competitors, winning the race with a time that would have bested half the varsity field.
10/6/04	Kent School	3:30	CRH	15	50
10/9/04	Phillips Academy	5:15	CRH	34	21
WALLINGFORD, CT--Andover won the JV race convincingly, less with depth than with speed up front. David Lighton's fierce kick in the final hundred meters prevented a 1-2-3 sweep by the visitors. New runners Angelo Coclanis, Creighton Stevenson, and Krishna Delahunty Nirmel joined veteran Austin Ogilvie among the scoring five for the Wild Boars; all of these runners made significant progress in their racing. And similar improvement was evident in the performances of nearly all the JV runners in action today; some took minutes off their previous best times on the course! No fewer than thirty-three of Choate's forty-one finishers bettered or equaled PR times on the home course, many by very impressive margins.
10/16/04	Deerfield Academy	4:00	Deerfield, MA	15	50
10/16/04	Loomis Chaffee School	4:00	Deerfield, MA	21	37
DEERFIELD, MA--The Choate boys ran as an effective pack in fending off Deerfield and Loomis Chaffee, taking six of the first eight finish positions to seal the double victory. Fourth former Creighton Stevenson fought for the lead through much of the race with a lone Pelican harrier before finishing in fourth as teammates Alex Zbrozek and Krishna Delahunty Nirmel slid past him in the closing meters of the race. Angelo Coclanis, Austin Ogilvie, Frank Hamilton, Geoff Anderson, Corey Sherman, and Alex Kveton all placed among the top fifteen as well. Nearly the entire Choate team was able to post PR mile splits, taking advantage of the relatively flat and fast course.
10/23/04	Hotchkiss School	4:00	Lakeville, CT	15	50
LAKEVILLE, CT--In a formidable display of depth, the Wild Boars snared the first seventeen finish positions to defeat the Bearcats. "With a handful of our usual JV leaders missing the race for various and sundry reasons, we had to look to others--mostly less experienced runners--to step it up today," reported Coach Gallagher. "The team responded wonderfully. Fourth former Creighton Stevenson won the first race of his young career on the hilly Hotchkiss course, with classmate Corey Sherman just a few steps behind. The balance of the top seven was populated by fifth formers Geoff Anderson, Frank Hamilton, David Lighton, and Alex Kveton, and sophomore Conor Meehan. We coaches think our junior varsity is poised for even more dramatic performances in our final dual meet of the season at home next weekend."
10/30/04	Northfield Mt. Hermon School	3:30	CRH	18	45
WALLINGFORD, CT--The Choate boys dominated their Parents Weekend race in spite of a handful of top harriers missing in action from this meet. There were PR performances aplenty; the average improvement in home course times for the team was exactly one minute. Aside from the lone Hogger who managed a third place showing in the race, the first eleven finishers were attired in Blue and Gold. In fact, nineteen of the top twenty-two spots went to Choate runners. Sixth former Alex Zbrozek was the gold medalist, establishing his lead at the outset and never looking back. Frank Hamilton '06 finished impressively in second place and was followed by a pack of Wild Boars in tight formation. Coach Gallagher's comments: "We coaches were struck by how well our charges worked together throughout this race, pushing themselves and each other all the way. It's just the sort of teamwork we'll need in November's meets."
11/6/04	Founders League Cross Country Championships	2:30	CRH	Choate finished 1st of 9 teams in the Championship.
WALLINGFORD, CT--The JV boys' race was the first event of the day, and the home team brought to the starting line a winning streak in this meet dating back to 1996. The Wild Boars were dominant once again in this edition of the League Championships, with five of the first seven finish slots secured to wrap up the victory with a stellar 19 points. Four-year veteran Alex Zbrozek won the race in heroic fashion even after losing one of his shoes almost a half-mile from the finish! Fourth former Creighton Stevenson matched his older teammate nearly stride for stride the entire way, crossing the line less than a second after Alex. Their spectacular performances would have placed them among the top twenty in the varsity race. This pair received stalwart support from Frank Hamilton, Austin Ogilvie, Geoff Anderson, Alex Kveton, and Corey Sherman, who rounded out the top seven Choate harriers. The Blue and Gold prevailed both with superior firepower up front and strong depth, foiling the closest challenger--Loomis Chaffee--with nine men in before the Pelican #5 to earn a ninth straight title. For complete results click here.
11/13/04	New England Cross Country Championships	1:30	Lakeville, CT	Choate finished 4th of 11 teams in the Championship.
LAKEVILLE, CT--The Choate JV runners had big ambitions in this event and fought hard before settling for fourth place. Complete meet are posted here. Creighton Stevenson '07 and David Cha '06 served notice that they will be forces to contend with next year by running in the lead pack throughout this race. And our sixth formers ran particularly well in their final outing in Blue and Gold. The Wild Boars' efforts were not strong enough to unseat great team performances from Andover and--in a surprising development--Loomis Chaffee (the Pelicans tied the winning score, but fell short in the tiebreaker of the sixth finisher's place).
11/18/04	47th Annual Mark Tuttle Cake Race	3:30	CRH	No team score in this event.
11/27/04	Foot Locker Cross Country Championships Northeast Regional Qualifier Meet	8:30	Van Cortlandt Park New York, NY	No team score in this event.

Schedules are subject to change.
Please call the Wild Boars Sports Hotline at 203-697-2136 for updates.