Results
USATF New York fielded a deep and competitive squad of 197 athletes and 18 scoring teams at the 2025 USATF Region 1 Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships held on Sunday (November 23) in Attleboro, Mass. The New York athletes competed against athletes from the Adirondack, Connecticut, Long Island, Maine, and New England associations.
With the top 30 individuals and top 5 teams in each division advancing to nationals, New York produced 72 individual and 8 team qualifiers.
New York opened the meet with a strong performance as Avery Saunders (Ruff Kutz) placed 2nd in 8:16 and teammate Shaneigh Williamson (Ruff Kutz) finished 6th in 8:34. With five athletes inside the top 15 and seven inside the top 22, Ruff Kutz powered to the team title, scoring just 29 points.
Avery Saunders (2nd; Ruff Kutz)
Shaneigh Williamson (6th; Ruff Kutz)
Lucy Merkstein (12th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
Rebecca Campbell (13th; Ruff Kutz)
Salimata Coulibaly (14th; Ruff Kutz)
NaKia Campbell (15th; Ruff Kutz)
Edith O’Shea (17th; Tailwind)
Majesty Woollery (22nd; Ruff Kutz)
Wynter Johnson (23rd; The Camp)
Anastasia Mkrtchyan (24th; Ocean Breeze Wave Runners)
Victoria Kumah (25th; Westchester Striders)
Saoirse Ferry (30th; Unattached)
Ruff Kutz — 1st (29 pts.)
Five New Yorkers finished inside the top 10, led by Joah Henry (unattached) in 2nd with a time of 7:37. He was followed by Jacob Mena (Velocity Track Club New York) in 3rd, Samuel Yimfor (Chelsea Greyhounds) in 4th, Samuel Yotov (8th; Prospect Park Youth Running), and Jaxon Acevedo (10th; The Camp) Prospect Park Youth Running added a major highlight with a 3rd-place team finish to secure a nationals berth.
Joah Henry (2nd; Unattached)
Jacob Mena (3rd; Velocity Track Club New York)
Samuel Yimfor (4th; Chelsea Greyhounds)
Samuel Yotov (8th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
Jaxon Acevedo (10th; The Camp)
Lucas Gallo (15th; Ocean Breeze Wave Runners)
Winston Normie Broderick (16th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
Matisse Jikia (19th; The Camp)
Dominick Gallo (20th; Ocean Breeze Wave Runners)
Evan McHugh (26th; Manhattan Youth Track Club)
Prospect Park Youth Running — 3rd (59 pts.)
The division was dominated by Ocean Breeze Wave Runners, who swept the top four places with Victoria Pavani, Nicole Valladares, Eloah Bonaldo, and Keira Kidney finishing 1st through 4th. Their exceptional depth led Ocean Breeze Wave Runners to the team title, with an impressive 19 points, while Prospect Park Youth Running secured a strong 3rd-place finish to qualify as well.
Victoria Pavani (1st; Ocean Breeze Wave Runners)
Nicole Valladares (2nd; Ocean Breeze Wave Runners)
Eloah Bonaldo (3rd; Ocean Breeze Wave Runners)
Keira Kidney (4th; Ocean Breeze Wave Runners)
June Henry (5th; Unattached)
Marguerite Yimfor (11th; Chelsea Greyhounds)
Ezmerelis Davenport (12th; Velocity Track Club New York)
Louisa Bruce (13th; Westchester Wolves)
Emma Yotov (14th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
Sophie Cosgrove (16th; Tailwind)
Ada Willig (20th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
Madison Hall (27th; Ruff Kutz)
Nylah McDonald (28th; Ruff Kutz)
Ocean Breeze Wave Runners — 1st (19 pts.)
Prospect Park Youth Running — 3rd (61 pts.)
Another podium performance came from Hudson McGuire (Ocean Breeze Wave Runners), who finished 2nd in 11:04, followed closely by Nico Jones (Dashing Dons & Divas) in 3rd and Zain Azemi (Ocean Breeze Wave Runners) in 6th. Led by McGuire and Azemi's front-running efforts, Ocean Breeze Wave Runners A captured the team title.
Hudson McGuire (2nd; Ocean Breeze Wave Runners)
Nico Jones (3rd; Dashing Dons & Divas)
Zain Azemi (6th; Ocean Breeze Wave Runners)
Narayan Dabral (8th; Westchester Wolves)
Bryt Kumah (10th; Westchester Striders)
Byron O’Neal (15th; Unattached)
William Keeley (16th; Tailwind)
Noah Ramos (21st; Ocean Breeze Wave Runners)
Joseph Zarrilli (24th; Ocean Breeze Wave Runners)
Owen McElmurray (25th; Manhattan Youth Track Club)
Ocean Breeze Wave Runners A — 1st (46 pts.)
Alison Cleary (Prospect Park Youth Running)delivered a strong 5th-place finish in 11:32, with teammate Ella Kahn finishing 13th. Their top-end results propelled Prospect Park Youth Running to 2nd place and a secure trip to nationals.
Alison Cleary (5th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
Ella Kahn (13th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
Tegan Mejia (25th; Unattached)
Penelope Benbanaste (28th; Westchester Wolves)
Prospect Park Youth Running — 2nd (69 pts.)
The division featured two top-10 New York finishers: Paul O’Connor (Tailwind) took 5th in 10:29, and Harvey Hightower (Prospect Park Youth Running) placed 7th. Behind a deep supporting cast, Prospect Park Youth Running A earned the team title, scoring 81 points.
Paul O’Connor (5th; Tailwind)
Harvey Hightower (7th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
Arjuna Suri-Dalton (17th; Chelsea Greyhounds)
A.J. Tinnie (18th; Dashing Dons & Divas)
Gabriel Swetala (30th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
Prospect Park Youth Running A — 1st (81 pts.)
Fairfax Walker (Manhattan Youth Track Club)led the way for New York with a runner-up finish of 14:53, while Parvati Dabral (Westchester Wolves) finished 10th in 15:16. Prospect Park Youth Running claimed 5th place, earning the final team qualifying spot.
Fairfax Walker (2nd; Manhattan Youth Track Club)
Parvati Dabral (10th; Westchester Wolves)
Delila Iovacchini (28th; Tailwind)
Reid Macari (30th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
Prospect Park Youth Running A — 5th (129 pts.)
The top New York performance came from Jasper McHugh (Manhattan Youth Track Club), who placed 9th in 13:47. He was joined by two additional New Yorkers inside the qualifying window - Chuck Keeley (23rd; Tailwind) and Lionel Donlon (25th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
Jasper McHugh (9th; Manhattan Youth Track Club)
Chuck Keeley (23rd; Tailwind)
Lionel Donlon (25th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
Tatiana O’Neal (Unattached) delivered an excellent race, finishing 8th in 20:41. She led two other New Yorkers to national qualifying positions.
Tatiana O’Neal (8th; Unattached)
Caroline McDonnell (20th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
Samantha Santana (28th; Unattached)
Max Towle (Westchester Wolves) led New York with a 12th-place finish in 18:07, followed by strong performances from two additional New Yorkers who qualified for nationals.
Max Towle (12th; Westchester Wolves)
Gideon Eduful (16th; Westchester Striders)
Adrianko Tomecek (23rd; Ocean Breeze Wave Runners)
New York advanced two top athletes, led by Aisha Gomez (Unattached), who finished 9th in 23:20, and Penelope Gonsalves (Prospect Park Youth Running), who placed 11th.
Aisha Gomez (9th; Unattached)
Penelope Gonsalves (11th; Prospect Park Youth Running)
New York earned two top-10 finishes with Volodymyr Tsybriy (Ocean Breeze Wave Runners) placing 5th in 18:14 and Maynor Barrios (Unattached) finishing 10th.
Volodymyr Tsybriy (5th; Ocean Breeze Wave Runners)
Maynor Barrios (10th; Unattached)
Leonardo Risaliti (11th; Unattached)