On Tuesday afternoon, the cross country teams opened their league seasons with dominant wins on Portledge’s 2.48-mile home course. The five-time reigning PSAA champions each placed their first five runners into the top 10 to run away with the victories on a perfect mid-September afternoon.

On the girls’ side, Sophia Dabbraccio, last year’s PSAA Champion, took the top spot in 17:43. Evelyn Apazidis, the 2021 PSAA Champion, charged to second place in 18:21. Emma Cohen (3rd/19:15), Autumn Nichols (4th/21:16), and Ali Puopolo (8th/21:54) rounded out the scoring for the Bears who accumulated a scant 16 points to best Portledge (48) and Kew-Forest (74).

For the boys, reigning PSAA Champion Duncan Kipkoech was over a minute ahead of the rest of the field, taking first place in 14:25. John Duggal showed incredible growth since last season by taking second overall in 15:31. Roger Zhou (5th/16:39), David Guo (6th/16:42), and Clinton Kilroy (7th/17:37) also scored for The Brook, who racked up just 21 points to easily outdistance Portledge (52) and Long Island Lutheran (67).

Both teams return to action this Saturday in the Suffolk Coaches Invitational held at famed Sunken Meadow State Park.

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