Ryan Dearie runs St. Anthony's to state team championship
St. Anthony's boys cross country team were crowned team champions at the 2015 New York State Federation Cross Country Champioshipheld at Bowdoin Park, Wappingers Falls on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015. Credit: Errol Anderson
Ryan Dearie dreamed of this moment. As a child, the St. Anthony's senior would travel up to Bowdoin Park to watch his father, Tim, coach his teams to high finishes in the New York State Federation Cross Country Championship. There the young Dearie would stand, outside the ropes, dreaming of what it would be like to dash through the course's rolling hills, gold and black splashed across his chest.
On Saturday, those dreams came true. Dearie finished 11th on the 5-kilometer course in 16 minutes, 19.1 seconds, the fastest Long Islander to cross the finish line. Saratoga Springs' Aidan Tooker won in 15:42.8. St. Anthony's won the team title, topping Xavier, 89-91.
"It feels great," Dearie said. "When I came into high school, I wanted to make a big impact . . . Every year when I came here, this was my favorite meet to watch. Now that I'm actually in it, it's really exciting. To do it with these guys makes it even more fun."
And "those guys," Dearie's talented teammates, put together a run worthy of the history books. It is St. Anthony's second consecutive Federation championship and eighth in the school's history. It is only the second time they have defended their championship, winning in both 1990 and 1991, Tim Dearie, who is in his 19th year as coach, said.
"Last year, I was our fifth guy," Ryan Dearie said. "I was looking forward to this year to hopefully be able to lead these guys. Me and [Ryan] Kutch, and Freddie [Buckholtz] have pretty much been interchangeable this year. Leading these guys to a win feels great."
Kutch finished 16th in 16:27.9. Buckholtz was 19th in 16:30.3. Ryan Dearie, Kutch, Buckholtz, and Christopher Langer, who finished 37th in 16:42.5 were on the team that brought the title back to St. Anthony's last year.
"It gave me experience on the course," Dearie said of last year's Federation meet, where he ran a 16:29.5. "I just knew where to push and where to settle in. With the experience factor, it just helps to know what you're doing out there."
So far, the script for St. Anthony's has been identical to last season, when they qualified for Nike Cross Nationals, the ultimate Cross Country summit, held in Portland, Ore. They will try to book a ticket for a return visit next weekend at the New York Regional Championship race at Bowdoin Park. This year's national meet is scheduled for Dec. 5.
"We really think we can qualify," Kutch said. "But, nothing is given to us. I think we all have to make improvements and run a little bit better. We should put ourselves in a good position to qualify."
Oyster Bay's Alex Tosi finished 20th in the Federation in 16:31.3. East Hampton's Erik Engstrom was 38th in 16:42.7. St. John the Baptist was the second highest Long Island finisher in the team competition, placing eighth with 277 points. Devin Laudenschlager ran 40th in 16:43.6.
The race had 255 individual finishers and 27 teams, according to official results.
